Risk knowledge Monitoring This builds the baseline understanding about risks (hazards and vulnerabilities) and priorities at any given time. In this case the participants in the training have one way or the other a critical understanding of the levels of risk involved in their respective communities. In general terms the closer we are to high stakes national processes such as elections, the higher the risk of politically motivated violence. This becomes the baseline knowledge for the human rights defenders which will inform the structuring of the EWS. This entails the logical follow-on activity to keep up-to-date on how those risks and vulnerabilities change through time. It helps to keep track of the indicators of the much feared volatility. Human rights defenders should be very clear on what they are monitoring i.e. the indicators should be defined and shared so that all the stakeholders are one the same page. Response Warning Communication Capability In entails that on The action point is on the ability each level being by the information animators able to reduce risk and other human rights once trends are defenders to package the spotted and monitored information into announced — this actionable messages may be through understood by those that need, the use of and are prepared to hear them. agreeable This is the actionable phase communication which completes the role of the tools by the primary extraction of information stakeholder such before it is disseminated to Heal as secure mobile Zimbabwe Trust for second level phone interventions such as lobbying technologies government arms, triggering international community alert system and feeding into the respective media platforms. c) Early Response Tools and Systems Disaster response has equally evolved from panic reactions, which are characteristically uncoordinated, ineffective and very expensive. Early response involves the use of early warning information to implement a well thought through plan to avert disaster. With time, early response may be informed substantially by interventions which were made before on a similar disaster. Lessons learned are applied to mitigate or totally prevent the effects of future reoccurrences of a similar disaster and, at the same time, make preparations to respond, should it recur. Most disasters have sudden impact. An early warning that is timely issued lessens the impact. Populations can be alerted to disasters and the potential for politically motivated violence through the timely collection and analysis of data. 16