Radio Canada Covers HRDAG Chad Report

May 23, 2010, Palo Alto, CA — In a story entitled "Hissène Habré, le Pinochet Africain," Radio Canada covered the study by the Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) showing that former Chadian president Hissène Habré was well informed of the hundreds of deaths that occurred in prisons operated by his security forces. Read more about this report here.

Foreign Policy Magazine Posts Story about HRDAG Chad Study

March 9, 2010, Palo Alto, CA — Reed Brody, counsel and spokesperson for Human Rights Watch, has written an article in Foreign Policy magazine entitled "Inside a Dictator's Secret Police," which cites an HRDAG report on human rights violations in Chad. The HRDAG study, "State Coordinated Violence in Chad under Hissène Habré, A Statistical Analysis of Reported Prison Mortality in Chad's DDS Prisons and Command Responsibility of Hissène Habré, 1982-1990," shows that former Chadian president Hissène Habré had detailed information about the hundreds of deaths that occurred in prisons operated by his state security force, the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS).

The HRDAG report is based on thousands of documents generated by the DDS itself. The analysis could be critical in the long delayed prosecution of Habré who has been accused of killing and systematically torturing thousands of political opponents from 1982 to 1990. Read more about this report here.

Colombian Press Reports on HRDAG Analysis of Violence in Casanare

February 23, 2010, Palo Alto, CA — The Colombia Reports news site has reported on an HRDAG study analyzing violence in the Colombian department or state of Casanare from 1998 to 2007. Entitled "NGO Seeks to Stop Conflict Victims Falling Through the Cracks," the story documents HRDAG's February 2010 study analyzing the patterns of violence in Casanare. The study uses a technique called Multiple Systems Estimation (MSE) to calculate the magnitude of these violations. By analyzing multiple datasets containing all known cases of violence, HRDAG analysts were able to estimate the number of killings and disappearances in Casanare that were never recorded. Read more about this study here.

AP Quotes HRDAG's Patrick Ball on Haiti Victim Statistics

February 11, 2010, Palo Alto, CA — The Associated Press has quoted HRDAG director Patrick Ball regarding efforts to estimate the number of victims impacted by the earthquake in Haiti. The story includes Ball's observation that accurate data on victims is extremely difficult to gather in such circumstances. "One of the things that distinguishes a disaster like this is a complete breakdown in communications infrastructure," said Ball. "So how are they going to know the difference between who is dead and who is missing?"

HRDAG Releases Study Analyzing Patterns of Violence in Colombia

February 10, 2010, Palo Alto, CA, Bogota, Colombia - The Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) has released a study analyzing the patterns of killings and disappearances in the Colombian state of Casanare from 1998 to 2007. The study, “To Count the Uncounted: An Estimation of Lethal Violence in Casanare,” calculates the magnitude of these violations and estimates the number of killings and disappearances that were never recorded. HRDAG believes that methodologically rigorous, theoretically grounded scientific analysis of violence can help support honest dialog to improve the human rights situation in Colombia.

“History, victims, and the survivors need to know how many people have been killed and disappeared in Casanare,” said Tamy Guberek, the study's lead author and the Benetech Human Rights Program Latin America Coordinator. “We must determine how many victims of violence in Casanare have never been accounted for by any documentation project. This report provides invaluable estimates of the number of invisible victims. If we cannot name all the victims, at minimum, we can count them.”

The HRDAG study analyzed information about victims of killings and disappearances provided by 15 datasets submitted by Colombia government agencies and civil society organizations. The authors found that the peak in overall disappearances in 2001 largely took place in the southern region of Casanare, precisely at the time when reported killings in that region were at the lowest. The report concludes that disappearances are committed in different times and places than killings, suggesting that perpetrators changed their methods of lethal violence during the course of the conflict. Read more here.

HRDAG Chad Analysis Covered In Huffington Post Story

February 10, 2010, Palo Alto, CA — In story for the Huffington Post news site entitled "Justice Denied In Africa," Human Rights Watch spokesperson Reed Brody cites HRDAG's study showing that former Chadian president Hissène Habré was well informed of the hundreds of deaths that occurred during his regime in prisons operated by the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS) state security force.

"A report on the documents released last week by the Human Rights Data Analysis Group of the Benetech Initiative found "a clear communication and command link" between Habré and the DDS and showed that Habré received 1,265 direct communications from the DDS about the status of 898 detainees," writes Brody. "The documents listed 1,208 dead prisoners, confirming what victims told me — that most of those who entered Habré's dungeons, including one at the presidential compound, never came out alive." Read more about this report here.

Radio Netherlands Covers the Case Against Hissène Habré

February 10, 2010, Palo Alto, CA — Radio Netherlands has broadcast a story about the case against former Chadian president Hissène Habré. The report includes information about the recent study released by HRDAG showing that Habré received detailed information about the hundreds of deaths that occurred in prisons operated by his state security force, the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS). Read more about this report here.

Human Rights Watch Cites HRDAG Analysis

January 29, 2010 &mdash Key analysis from Benetech's Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) was cited in a press release from Human Rights Watch on a complaint filed by torture survivors and the families of those who died from torture during the regime of former Chadian leader Hissène Habré's. The complaint charged Habré with crimes against humanity and torture and asked a Senegalese prosecutor to investigate their claims and file formal charges against Habré.

The case is based on documentary evidence and well as the testimony of victims and those who worked for Habré. The complaint alleges that Habré created and controlled a political police force, the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS), which systematically tortured political opponents and members of ethnic groups perceived as hostile to his regime. In 2001, Human Rights Watch discovered a cache of DDS files in its abandoned headquarters in N'Djamena, Chad. Among the tens of thousands of documents were daily lists of prisoners and deaths in detention, interrogation reports, surveillance reports, and death certificates. A preliminary analysis of the data by HRDAG showed that a total of 12,321 different victims were mentioned in the documents, including the deaths in detention of 1,208 individuals.

Christian Science Monitor Covers HRDAG Comments on Human Security Report

January 25, 2010, Palo Alto, CA — The Christian Science Monitor has quoted HRDAG director Patrick Ball in a story which examines the recently released Human Security Report. The story, entitled New Study Argues War Deaths Are Often Overestimated notes that Ball agrees with the authors of the report who assert that estimates made by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) of deaths due to conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo are flawed.

But in the blog item posted below, HRDAG researchers question the HSR claim that "nationwide mortality rates actually fall during most wars" and that "today's wars rarely kill enough people to reverse the decline in peacetime mortality that has been underway in the developing world for more than 30 years."

Anita Gohdes, Megan Price, and Patrick Ball write that they are deeply skeptical of the methods and data used by the HSR authors to conclude that conflict-related deaths are decreasing. "We believe that the authors should examine their own data on mortality related deaths with the same rigor with which they critique the recent IRC surveys," write the HRDAG researchers. "If they did this, they would find that they have inadequate information to conclude anything about the trend in war-related lethality in recent decades." HRDAG's concerns about the estimates of war deaths by the HSR authors are discussed by noted statistician Andrew Gelman on his blog.

The HRDAG Blog

The Mismeasure of War

By Anita Gohdes, Megan Price, and Patrick Ball

Several media organizations including Reuters, Foreign Policy and New Scientist covered the January 21 release of the 2009 Human Security Report (HSR) entitled, “The Shrinking Cost of War.” The main thesis of the HRS authors, Andrew Mack et al, is that “nationwide mortality rates actually fall during most wars” and that “today’s wars rarely kill enough people to reverse the decline in peacetime mortality that has been underway in the developing world for more than 30 years.” This claim is based in large part on the authors’ graphical representations of pre- and post-conflict mortality rates for a variety of countries, and on their critique of five surveys conducted by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2000 and 2007. Read more here.

Jeune Afrique Publishes Story on Violations During Habré Regime

January 2010, Palo Alto, CA — The news magazine Jeune Afrique has published a story about the analysis of human rights violations which occurred during the regime of form Chadian president Hissène Habré. The story cites the report released by HRDAG showing that Habré knew about the hundreds of deaths that occurred in prisons operated by his state security force, the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS). Read more about this report here.

Colombian Press Covers HRDAG Estimates of Disappearances in Colombia

November 2, 2009 — The Colombian news magazine SEMANA has published an article citing research by the Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) estimating the number of people who have disappeared in the Colombian department or state of Casanare. The article, entitled "The Invisible Crime," (English translation) reports that the Colombian Prosecutor's Office has confirmed 25,000 cases of forced disappearance throughout Colombia including 591 disappearances in Casanare.

The article notes that HRDAG estimated in its 2007 study "Missing People In Casanare" that the total number of missing persons in Casanare from 1986-2007 is 2,553. HRDAG's analysis suggests that between thirty and forty percent of missing persons in Casanare were unreported during this period. Read more about HRDAG's analysis of disappearances in Colombia.

Smithsonian Magazine Covers HRDAG Project in Guatemala

September 22, 2009, Palo Alto, CA &mdash The October issue of the Smithsonian magazine features a detailed story about HRDAG's analysis of records at the Guatemalan National Police Archive.

The article recounts how Benetech's Human Rights Program is collecting a random scientific sample and conducting an analysis of the estimated 80 million documents contained in the archive. The collected data contains critical information about the involvement of the National Police in the killing and disappearance of an estimated 200,000 people during Guatemala's 36 years of internal conflict. Dr. Patrick Ball, director of Benetech's Human Rights Program, notes in the article that the archive presented a unique challenge that was "longer-term, more scientifically complex and more politically sensitive" than any of Benetech's previous projects.

Benetech Analyzes Human Rights Data for the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Posted by Kristen Cibelli, July 22, 2009 8:00 AM

Our team at the Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) has recently concluded a three-year project with the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help clarify Liberia's violent history.

I managed the project in which we analyzed more than 17,000 victim and witness statements collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in Liberia and compiled the data into a report entitled "Descriptive Statistics From Statements to the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission." The HRDAG analysis is included as an annex to the TRC's Final Report released on July 1 in Monrovia, Liberia. The TRC's report has been covered extensively in the press, but the media coverage has largely overlooked the broader role of the TRC in Liberia and the larger purpose of truth commissions around the world. Read more here.

Read the press release for HRDAG's report for the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Read our FAQ on the purpose of truth commissions.

Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) Releases Report for the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission

July 3, 2009, Palo Alto, CA — The Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) has released a report based on its analysis of more than 17,000 victim and witness statements collected by the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The report, entitled "Descriptive Statistics From Statements to the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission," is included as an annex to the final report of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released on July 1 in Monrovia, Liberia. The press release and summary of the HRDAG report provides details on the findings.

HRDAG provided the statistical expertise to transform information from the TRC statements into scientifically-defensible knowledge to create a clear historical record and help end impunity for the perpetrators of human rights abuses in Liberia. According to the HRDAG report, former Liberian President Charles Taylor &mdash already on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in Sierra Leone's civil war &mdash also led the Liberian rebel group responsible for the largest number of violations during Liberia's 24 years of civil unrest.

BBC and Business Press Cover Benetech's Guatemalan National Police Archive Project

May 8, 2009, Palo Alto, CA — The BBC has aired an extensive two-part investigative report on the Guatemalan National Police Archive project entitled The Atrocity Archives.

The story includes comments from Dr. Patrick Ball, Director of Benetech's Human Rights Program. The archive project was also covered in a recent story about Benetech by Investor's Business Daily. Benetech's Martus and HRDAG teams have provided technology to collect, organize, secure and back up data collected from the archive which includes an estimated 80 million records. The recovered police records, which were the subject of Guatemalan government report last month, could provide critical information about the estimated 200,000 people dead or missing during Guatemala's 36-year civil war and help bring perpetrators to justice.

HRDAG and Ensaaf Release Report on Punjab

January 29, 2009, Palo Alto, CA — The Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) and Ensaaf has released a report presenting verifiable quantitative findings on mass disappearances and extrajudicial executions in the Indian state of Punjab, contradicting the Indian government's portrayal of the Punjab counterinsurgency as a successful and "humane" campaign. The report by HRDAG and Ensaaf, "Violent Deaths and Enforced Disappearances During the Counterinsurgency in Punjab, India," (2.9 MB PDF with cover; 504 KB PDF without cover) presents empirical findings suggesting that the intensification of counterinsurgency operations in Punjab in the early 1990s was accompanied by a shift in state violence from targeted lethal human rights violations to systematic enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions, accompanied by mass "illegal cremations." Read more in the press release and on the HRDAG India page.

Spanish Translation of Who Did What to Whom? Published

Texto en Español

September 22, 2008, Bogotá Colombia — The Spanish version of Dr. Patrick Ball's well-known manual, Who Did What to Whom?: Planning and Implementing a Large-Scale Human Rights Data Project,has been published under the title ¿Quién le hizo qué a quién? Planear e implementar un proyecto a gran escala de información en derechos humanos.

Originally published under the auspices of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1996, the manual has long been a reference for human rights institutions that gather, analyze, and process information on human rights violations. The manual is based on Dr. Ball's many years of work in human rights information management. Read the press release for more information on this publication.

Bay Area ABC News Affiliate Covers HRP

July 21, 2008, Palo Alto, CA — The local ABC News affiliate KGO-TV Channel 7 has broadcast a story about Benetech's Human Rights Program and its work at the Guatemalan National Police archive. You can watch the report here.

Frontline Airs Story on Guatemala National Police Archive Project

May 27, 2008, Palo Alto, CA — The PBS television series Frontline/World aired an investigative report on the Guatemala National Police Archive project which includes interviews with team members from Benetech's Martus and Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG). Martus and HRDAG provide technology to collect, organize, secure and back up data collected from the archive which includes an estimated 80 million records. The largest known human rights archive in the Americas, the recovered police records could provide critical information about the estimated 200,000 people dead or missing during Guatemala's 36-year civil war and help bring perpetrators to justice.

The archive segment aired on the East Coast on May 27th and will air in the San Francisco Bay area on KQED Channel 9 on Tuesday, June 10th at 9:00 PM PST.

HRDAG Included In Science News Report on Humanitarian Statistics

March 29, 2008, Palo Alto, CA — Dr. Patrick Ball and Romesh Silva of Benetech's Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) are included in a Science News story about statistical tools that help guide responses to human rights crises. The report, entitled "Humanitarian Statistics," describes HRDAG's analysis of deaths during the Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste from 1974-1999. HRDAG's analysis for the Commision for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation concluded that the country suffered more than 100,000 deaths beyond what would have been expected in peacetime and that this rate of mortality was not driven by direct violence but rather famine-related deaths.

The New York Times Magazine Profiles HRDAG's Patrick Ball

February 17, 2008, New York, NY — Patrick Ball, the director of HRDAG and Benetech's Human Rights Program, was described by the The New York Times Magazine as "one of the most admired figures in the field." The article, entitled "The Forensic Humanitarian", documents Ball's ongoing analysis of homicide rates in Colombia and describes how statisticians calculate human rights violations that have not been counted. "Statistical methodology has parted the veil of indifference and ignorance, and the true state of affairs . . . has begun to emerge," Ball told the NYT.

Dr. Patrick Ball Recognized as Cutting Edge Human Rights Statistician

Palo Alto, February 13, 2008 — The Christian Science Monitor has published a lengthy profile of Dr. Patrick Ball, the director of Benetech's Human Rights Program. The story entitled "A Human Rights Statistician Finds Truth In Numbers," documents Dr. Ball's role in analyzing some of the most prominent large scale human rights violations in recent history - including the migration of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Kosovo. Dr. Ball presented this data as an expert witness in the case against former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

San Francisco Chronicle Covers Presentation by Patrick Ball

Palo Alto, CA, January 29, 2008 — Patrick Ball's presentation at the Technology in Wartime conference has been covered in a story by the San Francisco Chronicle. Ball, who is director of HRDAG and Benetech's Human Rights Program, was invited to speak by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) which hosted the conference at Stanford University.

Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Holds Hearings

Palo Alto, CA, January 14, 2008 — The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which is partnering with Benetech's Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG), has launched a series of high profile public hearings to investigate human rights violations. The hearings come at a time when former Liberian president Charles Taylor is on trial at The Hague for war crimes committed in Sierra Leone.

Established by the 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended fourteen years of civil war in Liberia, the TRC is investigating widespread human rights violations and infringements of humanitarian law during the Liberian conflict. This initiative will help clarify Liberia's violent history and hold perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable for their actions. The TRC has requested Benetech's assistance to develop a data collection and analysis process that addresses key questions about the nature of the conflict and violations that occurred. The HRDAG web site includes a new case study detailing our multi-year project with the TRC.

HRDAG Releases Report on the Missing In Colombia

Palo Alto, CA, December 6, 2007 — Benetech's Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) has released a report which provides a scientific estimation of the number of missing people in the Colombian department or state of Casanare, including those who have never been documented. The report will help guide further investigations of homicides and missing persons across Colombia where data collection efforts are vital to understanding the magnitude, trends and patterns of this phenomenon.

The report, "Missing People In Casanare" estimates that the total number of missing persons in Casanare from 1986-2007 is 2,553 compared to the 1,544 persons reported missing during this period. This analysis suggests that between thirty and forty percent of missing persons in Casanare were unreported during this period. While the rate of undocumented missing persons in Casanare does not represent the rate that could be found in all of Colombia's 32 departments, the report argues that additional data should be gathered throughout the country and made available for rigorous analysis by statisticians and social scientists. More information on the report can be found on Colombia project page of the HRDAG web site.

HRDAG Supports Liberia Truth Commission

November 9, 2007 &mdash The Benetech Human Rights Program (HRP) has embarked on a multi-year project with the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to help the TRC establish a data collection and analysis process to address key questions about the nature of the conflict and human rights violations.. HRP Program Manager Kristen Cibelli has recently returned from Liberia where she helped staff members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission implement HRP's Analyzer software to collect and manage human rights information from victim and witness statements in preparation for statistical analysis. The results of this analysis will play an essential role in the TRC's inquiry into past violence, ability to address core elements of its mandate, and to support its findings and recommendations. In an effort to document the project, Benetech has initiated a partnership program between technologists and artists. The Liberian data analysis project will be documented by filmmaker Theo Lipfert of the University of Montana who will travel to Monrovia, Liberia early next year.

Critical Report Analyzes Sri Lanka's Disappeared

October 27, 2007 — Romesh Silva, a statistician for Benetech's Human Rights Data Analysis Group, has co-authored a report that synthesizes the voices of 633 families and relatives of disappearance victims throughout Sri Lanka using descriptive statistical analysis. The report, "Clarifying the Past and Commemorating Sri Lanka's Disappeared: A Descriptive Analysis of Enforced Disappearances Documented by Families of the Disappeared" was written in collaboration with the non-governmental human rights organization, Families of the Disappeared (FoD) and the International Center for Transitional Justice.

The report is part of an ongoing initiative to create a massive, objective and undeniable statistical record of past and present human rights violations in Sri Lanka. This project aims to augment human rights monitoring and reporting by non-governmental groups in order to positively influence the Sri Lankan peace process. By ensuring that arguments about the total magnitude, pattern and levels of responsibility associated with mass violations are informed by science, human rights debates about truth and accountability will be enriched.

HRDAG Statistician Advisors Speak In Guatemala City

August 7, 2007 — Statisticians Paul Zador and Gary Shapiro, who have provided pro bono technical assistance to Benetech's Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG), gave a presentation today in Guatemala City entitled "The Application of Statistics to Human Rights Violation Research." They were joined by HRDAG statistician Daniel Guzmán who also spoke.

Zador and Shapiro, who are members of the American Statistical Association, have consulted to HRDAG on the scientific sampling method used at the National Police Archive project. The estimated 80 million records in the archive contain critical information about police procedures during Guatemala's 36 years of armed internal conflict that resulted in 200,000 deaths and disappearances. The archive is the largest single cache of documents made available to human rights investigators in Latin America.

The event was hosted by the United Nations Development Program and the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman which is overseeing the archive project.

The Human Rights Data Analysis Group Analyzes the Guatemalan National Police Archive

June 4, 2007 — Benetech's Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) is analyzing the first collected data from the Guatemalan National Police Archive, the largest single cache of documents that has been made available to human rights investigators in Latin America. The estimated 80 million records in the archive contain critical information about police procedures during Guatemala's 36 years of internal armed conflict that resulted in 200,000 deaths and disappearances. HRDAG director, Dr. Patrick Ball, developed a plan to collect a multi-stage random sample of the documents and secure the data with Benetech's Martus information management tool. Benetech has created a photo essay about the project and its historical significance. More background material on HRDAG's past work in Guatemala can be found here.

Benetech's Dr. Patrick Ball Testifies in Kosovo Human Rights Case

March 21, 2007 — The Director of the Benetech Human Rights Program, Dr. Patrick Ball, provided testimony last month for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in its case against six former Serb military and government leaders who are charged with crimes against humanity.

The defendants were indicted together with former Serb and Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic in May of 1999 in connection with the deaths and displacement of thousands of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo province during the spring of 1999. Dr. Ball originally testified for the ICTY in the trial of Milosevic in March of 2002. Read the press release here.

South African Webzine Features Martus and Analyzer

March 21, 2007, South Africa — Independent Online Technology, a South African webzine, features Benetech technologies Martus and Analyzer in its article, "Open Source Used in Fight for Human Rights."

San Francisco Chronicle Covers Guatemala Police Archive Project

March 3, 2007, San Francisco, CA — The San Francisco Chronicle has published a feature article highlighting HRDAG's role in providing technology tools to collect, organize and back up data from the ongoing Guatemalan National Police Archive project. The story, "Guatemala Struggles To Find War Crimes Justice," notes that the recovered police records could provide critical information about the estimated 200,000 people dead or missing during Guatemala's 36-year civil war and help bring perpetrators to justice.

Article Highlights Martus Project in Guatemala

February 7, 2007 — The IDG News Service interviewed Jorge Villagrán of the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman Office, which is using Martus to manage and encrypt information from the Guatemalan National Police Archives. The Archives contain an estimated 80 million pages of official documents detailing the activities of the National Police during Guatemala’s 36-year internal conflict. The story, Digging for the Truth, discusses the historical significance of their work and the ways the Ombudsman Office is employing Martus technology to secure the information in the Archives for future analysis and dissemination.

Benetech HRDAG Analyzes Key Data for Bangladesh Human Rights Report

December 14, 2006, New York, NY — A report issued by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented abuses committed by Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite anti-crime force that has been implicated in alleged torture and unlawful killings of people in custody.

The statistical analysis presented in the report, "Judge, Jury, and Death: Torture and Executions by Bangladesh’s Elite Security Force,” was conducted by Romesh Silva, a statistician with the Benetech Human Rights Program. The report concludes that between June 2004 and October 2006, the RAB killed at least 367 people in Bangladesh and tortured hundreds more.

Benetech's statistical analysis helped HRW explain the statistical patterns of the killings over time and with respect to the specific units with the RAB that were most responsible for the violence.

Timorese Truth Commission Report Officially Released in Australia

November 12, 2006, Sydney, Australia — The 2,500-page official report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR, by its Portuguese acronym) was publically released today in Sydney. Benetech congratulates the CAVR and the Timorese people on this historic achievement. The report is a detailed account of past human rights abuses in Timor-Leste during the internal party conflict and Indonesian occupation of the territory.

It brings together more than 3-years of meticulous analysis by historians, statisticians, demographers, lawyers, anthropologists and sociologists. Benetech is proud to have provided long-term technical assistance to the CAVR in its data collection and statistical analysis. Read the press release here.

MacArthur Award Attracts Press

October 16, 2006, Palo Alto, CA — Since Benetech CEO Jim Fruchterman was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship last month, both he and Benetech have been the focus of increasing media coverage. Profiles of Jim have appeared in the San Jose Mercury News which published a news story, a column and a business section feature story which describes Martus. Forbes also wrote about Jim noting that he is "one of a handful of people at the forefront of starting not-for-profit technology companies."

Benetech Reaps Benefits From Free Software

October 6, 2006, Palo Alto, CA — Patrick Ball, Benetech CTO and Human Rights Program Director, was interviewed by NewsForge about Benetech's use of free software. The story, High-tech Social Enterprise Reaps Free Software's Benefits notes Benetech's use of Ubuntu and other well-designed free software tools. NewsForge is the online newspaper for the Linux and Open Source community.

Benetech CEO Jim Fruchterman Receives 2006 MacArthur Fellowship

September 18, 2006, Palo Alto, CA — Jim Fruchterman, CEO of The Benetech Initiative, has been awarded a 2006 MacArthur Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Each of this year’s 25 MacArthur Fellows learned this week that they will receive $500,000 in “no strings attached” funding over the next five years.  Read press release here.

Benetech Releases Martus Client 3.0

Palo Alto, CA (11 Sept 2006) The Benetech Initiative today announced the much anticipated release of Martus Client 3.0. The Martus secure information management tool allows users to create a searchable and encrypted database and back up this data remotely to their choice of publicly available servers. The Martus software is used by organizations around the world to protect sensitive information and shield the identity of victims or witnesses who provide testimony on human rights abuses.

The Martus Client 3.0 release includes a new reporting feature and gives users more options for customization. The 3.0 release also provides enhanced speed, import and search features. The full release notes and download of the new release are available for download. Martus 3.0 is available in English and Spanish, with "Language Packs" for other languages placed on the documentation page as they become available.

HRDAG Work at Guatemalan National Police Archive Profiled On NPR

August 28, 2006, Washington, D.C. — National Public Radio's Morning Edition program broadcast an extensive feature story on HRDAG's work at the Guatemala National Police Archive project. HRDAG helped the Guatemalan government and local NGOs develop a plan to analyze the archive's 80 million documents which document murders and disappearances during Guatemala's 30-year civil war. The story featured HRDAG director Patrick Ball who noted that the archive contains..."by far, the largest single cache of documents that's been made available to a human rights process in history." A transcript and audio file of the story entitled, Guatemala Police Archive Yields Clues to 'Dirty War' by NPR's John Burnettt is available here.

HRDAG Publishes Essay on Human Rights in China

July 5, 2006, Palo Alto, CA — The China Rights Forum published an essay in their July issue written by Patrick Ball, the director of Benetech's Human Rights Program and Ann Harrison, Benetech's Communications Director. The essay, entitled Asking and Answering Hard Questions: Technology in the Service of Human Rights noted that human rights analysts can use tools adopted from computer science, mathematics, statistics and demography to transform human rights arguments from political polemic to a scientific debate. The authors assert that the job of human rights investigators is to gather all data that can possibly be relevant and store it in a way that is accessible to colleagues, secure from perpetrators and difficult to destroy. The China Rights Forum is the Journal of the international Chinese non-governmental organization, Human Rights In China, which promotes universally recognized human rights and advances the institutional protection of these rights in the People's Republic of China.

Benetech Publishes Op-Ed on Violence in Timor-Leste

July 31, 2006, Palo Alto, CA — The Benetech Initiative today released an Op-Ed thanking the Australian military for defending the offices of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) during the recent violence in Dili and urging the United Nations not to squander the opportunity for accountability in Timor-Leste.

In 2005, the CAVR compiled a definitive report entitled "Chega!" ("Enough!") detailing human rights abuses during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor from 1975-1999. Benetech has now released a PDF of its statistical report which contributed to the CAVR's findings by establishing that at least 102,800 (+/- 11,000) Timorese died as a result of human rights violations in Timor-Leste from 1974-1999. Read the new FAQ which answers questions about this study and coverage by Wired Magazine.

Martus In Africa

February, 2006, Palo Alto, CA — The Digest of the Open Society Initiative for South Africa has posted an extensive story about Martus use in Southern Africa. The story, Information Communications Technology For Human Rights in Southern Africa, points to a recent survey that assessed the use of Martus in Southern Africa by human rights organizations, particularly women's NGOs.

Wired Publishes Story on HRDAG Analysis in East Timor

February 9, 2006, San Francisco, CA — The citizens of East Timor who perished during Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation of their island nation might have died unaccounted for, but a group of determined programmers and statisticians refused to let that happen. Read Wired Magazine's story about how HRDAG analysts documented over 102,000 civilian deaths in the former Portuguese colony.

HRDAG Works With Iranian Foundation for Human Rights

January 20, 2006, Washington, D.C. — The Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation (ABF) for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy in Iran has released their on-line memorial, Omid. Omid honors over nine thousand victims killed by the Islamic Republic of Iran since the revolution in 1979. Click here for more on HRDAG's collaboration with ABF.

ACM Honors Dr. Patrick Ball

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) presented the 2003 Lawler Award for humanitarian contributions to Dr. Patrick Ball for his leadership in the creation of Analyzer and Martus, the open source technologies that enable non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to document and analyze human rights violations around the world.

Read the press release here.

Timorese Truth Commission Publishes Findings

January 4, 2006, Timor-Leste — Numerous press reports about the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR) have been published based on a leaked version of the report. Today the CAVR clarified the key statistical findings in a press release. Read more...

HRDAG Publishes Data on Violations in Sierra Leone

December 21, 2005, Sierra Leone — We are pleased to announce the publication of the data and the accompanying data dictionary from the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The statistical dataset is available on the Internet.

All of the personal information about victims and statement-givers has been removed from the published dataset, but the dataset offers a rich resource for continuing analysis of statistical patterns of human rights violations in Sierra Leone documented by the TRC.

The variable definitions are available in English and in Spanish. The data were prepared for publication by Daniel Guzmán, Tamy Guberek, Kristen Cibelli, Romesh Silva, Richard Conibere, Rafe Kaplan, Scott Weikart, Jana Dudukovic and Patrick Ball.

Timorese Truth Commission Publishes Final Report

November 30, 2005, Timor-Leste — The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR), presented their final report entitled "Chega!" (Portuguese for 'no more, that's enough') to the President of Timor-Leste on 31 October 2005. The report was presented by Mr. Aniceto Guterres-Lopes, Chairperson of the CAVR. As part of Timor-Leste's 30th anniversary celebrations of its Proclamation of Independence, His Excellency Xanana Gusmaô, President of Timor-Leste presented the CAVR final report to the National Parliament on 28 November 2005. These events culminate more than two years of multi-disciplinary research, spanning legal reasoning, history, demography, statistics, anthropology and sociology. Benetech's Human Rights Data Analysis Group is honored to have contributed empirically-based statistical and demographic findings to CAVR's final report. We extend our congratulations to the commissioners, staff and partners of the CAVR and especially to the people of Timor-Leste.

As per CAVR's mandate, codified in UNTAET Regulation UNTAET/REG/2001/10, the President of Timor-Leste will hand over the CAVR Final Report to the Secretary General of the United Nations in early December 2005. When the CAVR final report is made public, HRDAG has agreed to co-publish the "Profile of Human Rights Violations in Timor-Leste, 1974-1999" chapter. Furthermore, Benetech will publish anonymized versions of the data from the CAVR interviews, the gravesite census, and the retrospective mortality survey conducted by the CAVR. These data will promote further research on past violations in Timor-Leste. For more information about HRDAG's work with CAVR in Timor-Leste, please refer to HRDAG Timor-Leste Project.

Hissène Habré Indicted

September 2005 — Belgium has issued an international arrest warrant for former Chad-dictator, Hissène Habré, charging him with atrocities during his 1982-90 rule. Benetech's Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) helped make the case against Habré with its analysis of files belonging to his secret police discovered by Human Rights Watch.

More on the case against Habré at Human Rights Watch's website.

Click here for more on HRDAG's collaboration with Human Rights Watch.

Wall Street Journal Online Quotes HRDAG's Patrick Ball

August 5, 2005, Palo Alto, CA — An article by Carl Bialik entitled, "Counting the Civilian Dead in Iraq", features quotes from HRDAG director Patrick Ball. The writer notes that accurate death counts of civilians are often a casualty of war. "Those best positioned to collect the numbers — governments and military forces — often have an interest in manipulating civilian casualty counts, and any numbers they report would be questioned because of bias. As Patrick Ball, who has studied civilian deaths in Peru, Guatemala and Kosovo, told me in an email, "It turns out that the people who commit mass political violence are not generally in favor of careful, post-hoc documentation and statistical analysis."

MacArthur Foundation Newsletter Highlights Benetech Human Rights Programs

Summer 2005, Palo Alto, CA — The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Newsletter has highlighted Benetech's Human Rights Program and the impact it is having throughout the world. Read the MacArthur Foundation newsletter here.

Patrick Ball Receives 2005 EFF’s Pioneer Award

April 13, 2005 — The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) presented Dr. Patrick Ball with a Pioneer Award at their 14th Annual Pioneer Awards presentation in Seattle, Washington.

LA Times Covers HRDAG Work in Kosovo

March 14, 2002, Los Angeles, CA — The Los Angeles Times has highlighted the work of HRDAG director Patrick Ball in Kosovo. The story entitled "Doing a Number on Violators" documents Ball's efforts to systematically cull data on civilian deaths from refugee reports, exhumations and witness accounts. The statistical portrait of the displaced, missing and killed reveals the timing and ferocity of fatal blows that fell across an entire province.

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The Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) applies information technology solutions and statistical techniques to help human rights advocates build evidence-based arguments.