The Rafto Prize 2021 awarded to Human Rights Data Analysis Group
The 36th Rafto Prize 2021 is awarded to the Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) for their work in uncovering large-scale human rights violations. By using statistics and data science, HRDAG document human rights violations that might otherwise go undetected. Their approach has enabled courts to bring perpetrators to justice and given closure to affected victims and their families
Bergen, 29.09.2021
Statisticians for Human Rights
HRDAG seek to uphold credible information as a foundation of human rights advocacy and justice and by doing so, they represent a new generation of human rights defenders that advances the enforcement of human rights globally.
HRDAG promotes accountability for human rights abuse. Evidence is crucial in demanding accountability and justice. Systematic documentation of human rights violations exposes the scope of transgressions. This is central to putting an end to impunity for perpetrators, and vital for the protection and empowerment of the courageous human rights activists at the frontline.
Everyone who has been murdered should be remembered
HRDAG’s rigorous methods and analyses also ensure that every death is counted, and a minimum standard of human dignity is respected.
The HRDAG team consists of a small group of dedicated experts in computer science, software development, mathematical and applied statistics, and demography. In their work, HRDAG partner with human rights defenders, experts, and organizations worldwide.
Holding perpetrators to account
Based on the idea that “truth leads to accountability”, HRDAG provides thorough documentation of torture, forced disappearances, kidnappings, war crimes and extrajudicial killings. Perpetrators of human rights abuses often do everything they can to hide their crimes from the public, while victims and their families seek answers and justice.
For example, in collaboration with Amnesty International, HRDAG has documented that 25 % of the deaths in Syrian prisons were unreported. Their researchers have been expert witnesses in the trial of General José Efraín Ríos Montt in Guatemala, who was convicted as the chief perpetrator of genocide against the Maya Ixil indigenous people. They have provided evidence of unusually high death tolls among political prisoners under the rule of former President Hissène Habré in Chad, as well as evidence of ethnic cleansing carried out by Serbian forces and former President Slobodan Milošević in Kosovo.
HRDAG has recently launched a project on underreporting police violence in the United States, where their analysis show that one third of all victims murdered by strangers, are killed by the police.
A new approach
The novelty of HRDAG’s approach lies in their efforts to invent and extend scientific methods from other fields, such as mathematical statistics, machine learning, software engineering, and computer science. They apply these methods to the area of human rights to detect patterns of violence and provide statistical estimates traditional approaches have not been able to deliver. They bring the power of quantitative analysis to the pursuit of justice and accountability. In doing so, they establish scientifically defensible historical records of human rights crimes.
Credible information is key
In an era of misinformation and polarization, credible information is more crucial than ever. The Rafto Prize 2021 aims to highlight the importance of HRDAG and other human right defenders’ work in seeking and upholding the truth as a foundation of human rights advocacy and justice.
The Rafto Prize 2021 is a recognition of HRDAG’s pioneering approach and dedicated commitment to detecting and deterring human rights violators by providing reliable scientific documentation.
The prize sends a firm message to human rights violators, both state and non-state perpetrators, that violations will not go unnoticed.
The Rafto Prize will be presented at 18.00 on Sunday 14 November 2021, at the Bergen National Theatre in Norway.
Files
PRESS PHOTOS CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE
Contact information
Spokespersons from Human Rights Data Analysis Group are available for comments on the 23rd of September. Contact details will be provided on request.
Contact: kristine.gabrielsen@rafto.no | tel: + 47 47756971
Spokespersons, The Rafto Foundation
- Line Alice Ytrehus, Head of the Rafto Prize Committee, Tel: +47 901 21 058 | E-mail: Linealice.Ytrehus@nla.no
- Jostein Hole Kobbeltvedt, Executive Director, The Rafto Foundation, Tel: + 47 920 66 025 | E-mail: Jostein.Hole.Kobbeltvedt@rafto.no
THE 2021 RAFTO PRIZE EVENTS
For more information about this year's events taking place in Bergen, go to this page
ABOUT THE RAFTO FOUNDATION
The Rafto Foundation for Human Rights is a non-profit organization dedicated to the global promotion of human rights. Annually we award the Rafto Prize to individuals or organizations working to promote human rights. We also support the work of the laureates and activists and offer human rights and democracy education in Norway. The foundation was established in 1987 in memory of Professor Thorolf Rafto (1922-1986), and has since awarded 35 prizes to human rights defenders worldwide. Last year, Egyptian Commitee for Rights and Freedoms received the Rafto Prize for bravely resisting Egypt´s state of fear.
Contact
Ronja Bell Breisnes
Communication Advisor| Means of contact | Contact details |
|---|---|
| Phone: | 91519253 |
| E-post: | ronja.breisnes@rafto.no |