AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

Science for Human Rights

The application of science and technology to human rights is a specialty of SHRP.  Through Science for Human Rights, SHRP brings scientific tools, techniques, and technologies (TTTs) to bear on human rights challenges in the field, and builds the capacity of human rights organizations to effectively use these aids.  SHRP pursues this area of work with the following objectives:

• To contribute to the greater and more effective promotion, protection, and fulfillment of human rights, and to the prevention of violations, through the application of new TTTs;
• To expand the human rights community’s benefit from scientific methods and TTTs through the demonstration of their usefulness; and
• To transfer the appropriate skills and capacity to human rights partners at home and around the world to ensure the application of TTTs in the field, where they are directly needed.

Applying Science and Technology to Human Rights Work

SHRP is developing its capacity to identify, explore, and develop a variety of scientific tools, techniques, and technologies for human rights applications. Currently, the Program possesses an advanced Geospatial Technologies program, and has begun research on the potential human rights applications of the following technologies:

Wireless Communication Technologies
Network Mapping
Budget Analysis

Transferring Skills and Building Capacity of Human Rights Organizations

SHRP has a long history of building capacity through training with the goal of diffusing essential scientific skills and expertise for field-driven applications. SHRP began its capacity-building work in the 1980s with forensic and genetic sciences, when the Program provided training and support to local teams of forensic anthropologists, resulting in the establishment of two renowned organizations: Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense (Argentina) and Fundación de Antropología Forense de Guatemala. 

The transfer of scientific skills and capacity building remain integral to SHRP’s work. Each of its science programs entails such a component to enable its human rights partners to aquire the appropriate skills and know-how in the course of implementing joint projects. 

Contact Us: If you are a human rights practitioner or represent a human rights organization or institution and would like to receive training in any area of our work.

(page updated 10/24/2007)