SJAC Update | March 30, 2017
DatNav Arabic cover. Photo from The Engine Room.
Bridging the Digital Divide of Human Rights Documentation in Syria
This week in Brussels, human rights and technology organizations convened at RightsCon to hear about the latest developments at the intersection of the Internet and human rights. At the same time, a collaborative effort between Amnesty International, Benetech, and The Engine Room released the Arabic version of DatNav: How to navigate digital data for human rights research. DatNav was created in May 2016, and brings together 70 leaders of the human rights, technology, and data communities representing over 40 organizations.  The translation of DatNav into Arabic is made possible by Meedan, a group building digital tools for global journalism and translation.
The translation of DatNav gives Syrian civil society groups greater access to information about the benefits and limitations of a variety of digital tools. DatNav Arabic also provides advice on how groups with limited resources can still leverage digital data in their documentation work. The guide, however, is not a replacement for a sound documentation methodology. Rather, DatNav unlocks the ability of documentation groups to understand how digital data can contribute to information about human rights violations, including by strengthening the veracity of traditional documentation methods like interviews.
DatNav is not only a valuable resource for civil society; when the UN’s new International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) begins developing its methodology for building case files through documentation collection and analysis, it will be confronted with an enormous challenge given the large volume of information that has emerged from Syria and the variety of digital resources available, including satellite imagery, social media data, and telephone records. Given that the IIIM’s mandate is broader than the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI-Syria), many groups have suggested that the UN create a technology task force for the IIIM to assess the different digital tools available. It is also critical that the IIIM reach out to existing documentation groups to understand what types of data have been collected to date and how to prioritize its collection and analysis in order to complement what has already been achieved.
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The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) is a Syrian-led and multilaterally supported nonprofit that envisions a Syria where people live in a state defined by justice, respect for human rights, and rule of law. SJAC collects, analyzes, and preserves human rights law violations by all parties in the conflict — creating a central repository to strengthen accountability and support transitional justice and peace-building efforts. SJAC also conducts research to better understand Syrian opinions and perspectives, provides expertise and resources, conducts awareness-raising activities, and contributes to the development of locally appropriate transitional justice and accountability mechanisms. Contact us at info@syriaaccountability.org.

Author: Impunity Watch Archive