Making the case for open human rights data - Sunlight Foundation Blog

"Within issue areas where impact is easily quantifiable, the case for open data is clear. It's possible to measure how much money is saved by governments when contract data is open, and to use these results as evidence for opening up data on government services. However, as citizens across the world demand better government data on police brutality and corruption, we are reminded that the task of government is more than service delivery, but also the protection and enhancement of human rights for its citizens. Although it's clear that data-driven human rights monitoring efforts would be enhanced by more or better datasets that can be used to make conclusions about human rights violations or the overall human rights landscape in a particular context, the question of how open data can positively impact human rights monitoring is a much more sensitive area that has not been fully explored. Throughout this post, we will seek to identify where the nexus between human rights and open data lies. We will outline where to find data for monitoring human rights and arguments for how opening up these and other relevant datasets can strengthen human rights monitoring ..."