Goal:

To develop a guide to assist human rights organizations monitor and track how well a government is meeting its obligations under Article 15.  

Activities:

Conduct research concerning current evaluation techniques relevant to economic, social, and cultural rights; coordinate with the Service to the Scientific Community working group to select several indicators, of different types, to focus on “how” to evaluate progress towards compliance with Article 15; investigate available data sources and develop potential measures; demonstrate application of metrics with reference to select indicators.

Outputs:

List of indicators by which to measure implementation of Article 15; analysis of data sources and data needs to effectively apply indicators; identification of barriers to collecting data relevant to applying indicators; analysis of US progress towards realizing Article 15 with reference to select indicators.

Goal:

To produce a set of guidelines to facilitate and promote cooperation between scientists and human rights organizations.

Activities:

Work in conjunction with members of the human rights community and “On-Call” Scientists to develop a guide to facilitate the collaboration between scientists and human rights organizations, and promote greater involvement of scientists with human rights work. Drawing on prior experience of collaborating scientists and human rights organizations, the document will address the unique role science and scientists can play in human rights work and set out how to build a strong working relationship and manage expectations of both parties.

Outputs:

The final 15-20 page Guidelines will be made available via the Coalition website and directly publicized through human rights clinics (see below) and AAAS’s “On-Call” Scientists program.

Goal:

To engage scientists and human rights organizations in a constructive dialogue aimed at identifying specific opportunities for scientists to contribute to the organizations’ work and facilitating partnerships between scientists and the organizations.

Activities:

Engage human rights organizations in an informal process to identify those organizations that may benefit from the contribution of a scientist.  Invite each organization to take part in a 1-2 hour discussion (Clinic) with an interdisciplinary team of 2 or 3 scientists to develop specific recommendations for how scientific assistance may benefit the human rights organization’s work.  In collaboration with AAAS’s “On-call” Scientists program, facilitate the development of partnerships between the human rights organizations and scientists.  Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Clinics as a mechanism for facilitating the application of scientific techniques and methodologies to human rights work.

Outputs:

The first Clinic was held in September, 2010, and subsequent clinics occur every 2-3 months.  To view successful pairings and pending requests from Clinics and other "On-Call" Scientist projects, visit the “On-Call” Scientists webpage. Opportunities for publishing the impact of the Clinics, including within widely circulated human rights publications, will be pursued.

Goal:

Resources permitting, to research and develop a short questionnaire to assist human rights organizations in assessing their scientific needs.

Activities:

Conduct a feasibility assessment, through work with Clinic participants.  If it is agreed that a survey is feasible and beneficial, develop a survey to assist human rights groups in determining whether and how a scientific expert may be able to contribute to their work.  The survey will be based on preliminary research of Clinic participants, as well as Clinic discussions and feedback from both scientists and human rights organizations.  Modifications and additions to the survey are expected as the group receives more feedback from Clinic participants.

Outputs:

The survey will be made available online via the Coalition webpage, and may be sent to potential clinic participants to solicit preliminary information. The survey will also be provided to AAAS for distribution to a global network of human rights organization, to encourage greater participation by human rights organizations in the “On-call” Scientists program.

Goal:

Resources permitting, to research and develop a guide for scientists publishing in human rights journals.  The guide would be accompanied by an informational handout or article encouraging such publications.

Activities:

Conduct a feasibility assessment, through dialogue with scientists who have already published in human rights journals and/or have worked on human rights projects.  Elicit feedback on the process of publishing in human rights journals or, if such publications have not been attempted, the reasons for which scientists are reluctant to publish in human rights journals.  If it is agreed that a guide is feasible and would encourage and facilitate scientific publications in human rights journals, a guide will be developed based on input from scientists, science editors, human rights publishers and human rights practitioners. 

Outputs:

A short online guide for scientists interested in publishing in human rights journals will be available online and will be circulated via Coalition members and “On-Call” Scientists.