In September 2011, Amnesty International and IDEO launched an open innovation challenge to identify and define ways in which technology can be used to support those held in secret, without contact with the outside world and/or without prospect of a fair trial. We want to know how we might collectively design digital tools that decrease the risk of such forms of imprisonment and increase the number of detainees who receive fair trials.
In countries all over the world, governments invoke national security or the need to counter terrorism to justify holding people without contact with their families and without basic safeguards such as fair trial or access to an independent lawyer or doctor. Under International Law, this is known as unlawful detention. Isolation from the outside world facilitates torture and can in itself constitute a form of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Relatives may be left not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or dead. Those on the ground who want to help frequently face harassment and threats from the authorities.
International law prohibits arbitrary arrest or detention. Detainees need to be told why they have been held, be able to challenge the lawfulness of their detention with the assistance of an independent lawyer, have their families informed of their whereabouts and to communicate and receive visits from them; they should receive a prompt and fair trial if they are not released.
How can technology best support those held unlawfully, their families and the people who work on the ground to uphold human rights to achieve these aims?
The Brief
Through the OpenIDEO challenge, we received over 320 individual ideas, which have now been reviewed by an expert panel and reduced to eight winning concepts that can be seen at openideo.com. Here are some examples that you might be inspired by, or may wish to develop further:
Concept 1: No Ping = Alert On!
This concept provides an individual with the means to alert a pre-defined network in the event of being detained. However, instead of relying upon the individual to manually send a message, the alert is triggered by the individual failing to check-in at a designated time or place, which in turn tells their network that things are not as normal. See http://bit.ly/taMtQJ for more info.
In terms of digital assets and information that might be distributed at the point the alert is triggered, consider the following:-
- At-source or pre-recorded audio or video recording
- At-source or pre-recorded image capture
- E-mails or status updates to a pre-defined list of individuals/social networks
- Location information via GPS or nearest cell
- Battery status
Existing technologies for inspration:-
- Personal safety app can send SOS alert with GPS location
- ‘I’m Getting Arrested’ app for Android
- ‘Wisedame’ app for iOS
- Nuntium open source messaging solution from InSTEDD
Concept 2: Creating Connections
For the family members of the unlawfully detained, one of the hardest parts of detainment is the loss of a confidante. In a bid to use technology to develop an emotional network of support for them, one of the finalists proposed a location-based matching service that would connect the families and friends of detainees with each other. People in this situation sometimes need others to talk to, who will not only sympathize with their situation, but will understand it. Who better to fill this role than other people experiencing the same thing?
A simple website could enable individuals to submit some basic information such as their age, relation to the person detained, ages and number of children and where they live, in addition to contact information such as a telephone number. In turn, an algorithm would select the match closest in location and those who have the most in common as well as other demographics. Once a match is made, the individuals would provided with each other's contact information and they would be left to develop their own relationship. See http://bit.ly/vB2OIX for more info.
Existing technologies for inspration:-
- Dating sites
- Craigslist
Concept 3: Take Action on Google
This concept utilizes the Google Maps API to create an interactive platform, bringing victims, supporters and the general public together into an online visual environment. The platform’s primary function is to raise awareness of the plight of those who have been unlawfully detained by allowing victims to share their stories. Victims, friends, or family members can upload the victim’s story and share his/her experience in a variety of formats such as simple text, artwork, video, or interviews with a place mark on the customized google-map.
The secondary function of the platform is to provide opportunities for action. If an individual wishes to help the cause of the unlawfully detained in general, or the case of a specific victim in particular, they will be encouraged to do so through sharing, learning or offering support. See http://bit.ly/uzXkuD for more info.
Existing technologies for inspration:-
Please feel free to develop the ideas outlined above or simply to use them for inspiration for your own idea. See http://bit.ly/taMtQJ for more information on all shortlisted concepts.
- Technological Viability: Consider if and how your product could be developed using existing platforms and technologies and maintained at a relatively low cost. Will it work in countries and regions with a limited technology infrastructure? Ideally, the product should not be native to one device in particular, but should work across a variety of devices, but this is not a absolute deal-breaker if it can be demonstrated that the device is intrinsic to the best technological solution.
- Scalability: Whilst unlawful detentions all bear a number of similarities, such as the actors involved, each instance can differ greatly on grounds of the country in which it takes place and their human rights record, the nature of the alleged crime as well as the specific circumstances of the detention itself. By virtue of this, the concept will need to be practically applicable across multiple regions without extensive adaptation and pertinent to a wide group of people affected by diverse issues.
- Usability: Due to the fact this product will be utilised by individuals in vastly differing nations, it should be user-friendly to a diverse range of people, including those with limited literacy and technological skills.
- Security: Whilst technology offers individuals unparalleled opportunities to record and distribute information, they can also present a risk in that they store data (e.g. location, names, communications) that could place the individual or their associates in danger if accessed by the wrong parties. Developers should consider how such a system could capture and distribute the most relevant information, albeit without leaving an incriminating data trail on the device in question or on a third-party database that could, itself, be hacked into.
- Guilt or innocence: Certain individuals held in unlawful or abusive detention may, in fact, be responsible for human rights abuses. However, such individuals' human rights must equally be respected, irrespective of guilt or innocence, in that they should be brought to justice in fair criminal trials.
