By Amy Dickens
Each week the Human Rights, Big Data & Technology Project, based at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre, prepares an overview of related news stories from the week. This summary contains news articles from 21 to 28 April 2017.
You can follow the HRBDT Project on twitter: @hrbdtNews.
By Alan Msosa
In recent years growing global advocacy calling for the repeal of anti-gay laws has faced fierce resistance especially in Africa. Proponents argue that decriminalisation of same-sex acts is necessary to end discrimination and facilitate protection of LGBTIQ persons’ human rights.
Same-sex sexual acts are illegal in 74 countries globally, that is 39% of United Nations’ member states. 93% of Commonwealth citizens live in jurisdictions where same-sex acts are a criminal offence. In Africa, such acts are criminal in 34 states, or approximately 62% of African Union member states.
In Malawi, same sex acts are criminalised under sections 137A, 153, 156 of the penal code on unnatural offences, indecent practices between males, and indecent practices between women respectively. In addition, the Marriages, Divorce and Family Relations Act makes it illegal to claim a gender identity other than that assigned at birth. Continue reading
By Luiza Drummond Veado and Cecilia Grillo
Each week students at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre prepare an overview of the past week’s human rights related news stories from around the world
108 million people in food crisis countries face severe acute food insecurity – situation worsening – FAO
Unity within Security Council vital to prevent mass atrocities – UN chief Guterres – UN News Centre
By Vivian Ng
‘Man Vs. Machine’. ‘How algorithms rule the world’. ‘How algorithms rule our working lives’. ‘How Machines Learn to be Racist’. ‘Is an algorithm any less racist than a human?’ ‘Machine Bias’. ‘Weapons of Math Destruction’. ‘Code-Dependent’. These are some of the recent headlines about the age of artificial intelligence, that seem to foreshadow a not-so-promising future for the human race in its rapid advancement. One thing is clear, algorithms have become increasingly prominent in our everyday lives. What is less clear is what we can do about that and deal with both the opportunities and risks it brings.
Algorithmic accountability is currently a topical issue in the space where discourse about technology and human rights intersect. As part of its work on the analysis of the challenges and opportunities presented by the use of big data and associated technologies, the Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project is looking into the human rights implications of algorithmic decision-making. We contributed written evidence to the UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee inquiry on ‘Algorithms in decision-making’. The submission outlined when and how discrimination may be introduced or amplified in algorithmic decision-making, and how the various stages in the algorithmic decision-making process offer opportunities for the regulation of algorithms to prevent and/or address potential discrimination. We were also at RightsCon 2017, discussing these precise issues. We followed the track on Algorithmic Accountability and Transparency, and also organised a panel discussion on ‘(How) can algorithms be human rights-compliant?’ We gained new insight and ideas from the experts who joined us. This post sets out some of our preliminary thinking, the issues we are working through from an inter-disciplinary perspective, and some critical questions to be addressed.
By Amy Dickens
Each week the Human Rights, Big Data & Technology Project, based at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre, prepares an overview of related news stories from the week. This summary contains news articles from 14 to 21 April 2017.
You can follow the HRBDT Project on twitter: @hrbdtNews.
Each week students at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre prepare an overview of the past week’s human rights related news stories from around the world.
Developing nations’ demands for better life must be met, says World Bank head – The Guardian
WFP ‘outraged and heartbroken’ by killing of three workers in South Sudan city – UN News Centre
Ivory Coast conflict: Gbagbo ally jailed over Novotel hotel murders – BBC
Congo arrests two suspected of killing U.N. experts; one escapes -Reuters
97 missing after asylum seeker boat sinks off Libya – Aljazeera
Nigeria thwarts Boko Haram plan to attack US, UK embassies – The Washington Post
Ethiopia Supreme Court says two Zone 9 bloggers should face incitement charges – CPJ
By Amy Dickens
Each week the Human Rights, Big Data & Technology Project, based at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre, prepares an overview of related news stories from the week. This summary contains news articles from 7 to 14 April 2017.
You can follow the HRBDT Project on twitter: @hrbdtNews.
By Ajay Sandhu
In part 1 of this blog, I suggested that raising the police’s data visibility may improve opportunities to analyse and predict fatal force incidents. In doing so, data visibility may offer a solution to problems related to high numbers of fatal force incidents in the US. However, data visibility is not without limitations. Problems including the (un)willingness of data scientists and police organisations to cooperate and the (un)willingness of police organisations to institute changes based on the findings of data scientists’ work must be considered before optimistically declaring data visibility a solution to problems related to fatal force. In this blog, I discuss two addition limitations of data visibility, including low-quality data and low-quality responses to early intervention programs. Both are problems related to the prediction and intervention stages of using data to reduce fatal force incidents. Future blogs can discuss issues related to the earlier stages of using data to reduce fatal force incidents such as collection and storage of data about police work.
By Ajay Sandhu
Editors note: This is the first of a two-part blog post examining the potential impact of data visibility on law enforcement.
The Counted, Fatal Force, and Mapping Police Violence websites each collect, store, and display data about people killed by police in the United States. These websites are just a few of the emerging platforms designed to address the significant gap in information left by US police organisations’ failure to create, maintain, and publically disclose data about “fatal force” incidents. When visiting any of the three websites mentioned above, visitors can access in-depth statistics, charts, graphs, and maps, which provide details about the number of fatal force incidents that have occurred, their locations, the identity of officers involved, and the demographics of victims. The availability of this information has solicited questions about if and how digital data can address persistent problems related to a lack of transparency and accountability in policing, and the lack of information about fatal force incidents:
This two-part blog focuses on the last question by considering the opportunities and limitations of using digital data to monitor police work, document fatal force incidents, and create intervention programs designed to reduce fatal force incidents.
By Luiza Drummond Veado and Cecilia Grillo
Each week students at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre prepare an overview of the past week’s human rights related news stories from around the world
International Court Says Violence in Congo May Amount to War Crimes – The New York Times
ECOWAS election observation mission urges peaceful parliamentary vote in the Gambia – ECOWAS
Mali ratifies amendment to Montreal Protocol, first country vowing to slash HFCs – OHCHR
The low-down: South Africa before ICC over al-Bashir non-arrest – Coalition for the ICC
Ethiopia: No Justice in Somali Region Killings – Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch Testimony at Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on African Affairs and Global Health Policy on Dodd-Frank Section 1502 – Human Rights Watch
Africa Rights Court to Visit Egypt and Tunisia – AllAfrica
Egypt’s Coptic churches hit by deadly blasts on Palm Sunday – BBC News
