Watch now: “In the Face of Tyranny,” a Webinar with HRDAG
The Human Rights Data Analysis Group recently hosted a conversation about the significant threats facing human rights researchers and scientific NGOs in the United States. We are posting the first part of this conversation on YouTube so that others may watch:
In addition to this community conversation, HRDAG put out a statement outlining our specific concerns about the targeting of the human rights and research community. Read the statement and our blog post.
As HRDAG Executive Director Dr. Megan Price explained, this is not a departure for HRDAG. As a scientific organization grounded in evidence, HRDAG remains fundamentally nonpartisan. This is not about opposing a political party or ideology—it is about standing against violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—as we see happening today in the United States
First, Don’t Lose the Data
HRDAG Research Director Dr. Patrick Ball emphasized the importance of data preservation, saying: “First, don’t lose the data.” As he explained, any future accounting for the harms that are occurring in the United States today will require evidence. That means tracking violations. When governments arrest people and refuse to acknowledge the arrest, that’s a disappearance—and HRDAG has built databases to track and analyze disappearances in authoritarian regimes all over the world. HRDAG is particularly interested in collaborating with other organizations to track and analyze disappearances happening in the United States today.
Data preservation also means acting as a careful steward of data. HRDAG has committed to securely storing and validating our data, and in today’s environment that means ensuring backups are kept outside of the United States. Patrick offered to help other human rights nonprofits who are thinking about data preservation.
Patrick and Megan were joined by HRDAG data scientists Sam Zhang, Ayyub Ibrahim, and Maria Gargiulo, who talked about their involvement in shaping HRDAG’s position, as well as facilitator Danny O’Brien.
If you are a human rights nonprofit publishing your own statement against authoritarianism in the United States, please email info@hrdag.org.