AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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Report on Science and Human Rights

Fall/Winter 2003 Vol XXIII, No. 3

The American Statistical Association (ASA) is one of the oldest professional associations in the United States. ASA was founded in 1839 in order to create a society that would “collect, preserve, and diffuse statistical information in the different departments of human knowledge.” Today this nonprofit organization has 78 affiliated chapters throughout the United States and has achieved an international scale with a membership composed of over 16,000 professional statisticians and data analysts.

The ASA constitution states it objectives as being “to foster statistics and its applications, to promote unity and effectiveness of effort among all concerned with statistical problems, and to increase the contribution of statistics to human welfare.” ASA realizes its objectives by holding meetings and producing resources on statistical methodology and its applications. ASA also makes information about statistics and its importance available to the scientific community. In addition to fulfilling its own objectives, ASA works with other organizations to advance statistics, promote high professional standards and integrity, and to foster education and the application of statistics to societal problems.

The ASA Committee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights (ASACSFHR) is responsible for directing its attention to “violations of and threats to the scientific freedom and human rights of statisticians and other scientists throughout the world.” The Committee assists other scientific societies, such as AAAS, on statistical questions which pertain to human rights data. ASACSFHR participates in activities such as letter writing campaigns, events and symposia, and research.
SHR recently spoke with Dr. Francoise M. Seillier-Moiseiwitsch, the current chair of ASACSFHR. Dr. Seillier-Moiseiwitsch, a mathematical statistician by training, is an associate professor of Statistics and Director of the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. She was elected to act as Chairperson for the committee in 1999. Her term as Chair will end in December 2003.

SHR: What kind of arguments do you make to the statistics community about why a statistician should care about human rights?

FMS: We (ASACSFHR) have a good reputable history within the statistics community, as well as good support. We don’t necessarily need to argue why statisticians should care about human rights since most academics already do care about scientific freedom. Statisticians help by bringing in evidence about human rights cases. As scientists, we should use our skills for the good of humanity.

Statistics and data analysis have been instrumental in showing that there was human rights abuse in Milosevic trial and also during World War II. There are a number of examples where one can look at the original data and can see that within that data, something is wrong and the official line is not the right one. Being able to accumulate data into a database and to analyze that data has something to offer human rights and demonstrate cases of human rights abuses.
Individual members in ASA have been involved in providing evidence that can affect policy making. Herb Spirer has conducted research on landmines and effects of landmines as a committee member of ASACSFHR. In reviewing his data, he was able to provide evidence that landmines cause so much damage and pushed for a ban against landmines.

SHR: What do you think are some of the most important human rights issues or cases for ASACSFHR right now?

FMS: For ASACSFHR, an important issue is looking at any time there is a case for an academic or statistician–something to do with our profession–if that person is a prisoner of conscience. It then becomes important for us to write letters on their behalf. This is probably our most important activity. ASACSFHR also presents statistical work on human rights issues at meetings and organizes sessions about those issues. The Committee also works on a regular basis on the issue that some of our colleagues in the Third World are being refused visas to participate in international conferences in the United States, such as Palestinian statisticians and Nigerian academics a few years ago.

SHR: How do you measure the impact or the success of your efforts?

FMS: There really is no measure we have to determine our success. The best way that we are able to measure our success is anytime there is an expressed interest in the Committee. Probably the best way to measure our success is when ASACSFHR knows we may have made an impact as part of a committee or global action when there is a release. ¨

Interview conducted by Christina Sames, Intern

For more information, visit the ASACSFHR website.

Next Issue: National Academies of Science, Committee on Human Rights