Last week, I attended a talk at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, hosted by Frontline Defenders. Frontline is an amazing organisation which provides support to human rights defenders worldwide through advocacy and the provision of grants, training, support and respite.
Frontline are one of the few NGOs which focuses on human rights defenders (HRDs) and I'm always impressed at the speed with which they provide emergency support- often within 24 hours of a request being made. When a HRD is at serious risk - if they are issued a death threat for instance- Frontline has mechanisms in place to send emergency money allowing the HRD funds for extra security or to relocate, if necessary.
Basically, Frontline are straight up, no bullshit, helping those who help others, when they need it most.
Introduced by founding director Mary Lawlor, the speakers were Olga Sadovskaya of the Nizhny Novograd Committee against Torture in Russia and Farai Maguwu, Director of the Zimbabwe Centre for Research and Development. They spoke of the work their NGOs carry out and the associated dangers. Much of the talk focused on the importance of digital security.
Digital security for HRDs is an area I'm particularly interested in, given its importance to the safety of many of the women in Sudan I've worked with this past year. We are all aware of the important role social media can play in modern life- Arab Spring activists used it extremely effectively in some cases to promote and publicise their actions. In Sudan this summer, twitter was often the only medium through which information could be sent to the outside world as the regime in Khartoum arrested and deported many international journalists. Activists can send a quick tweet or text to say they are being arrested and where once they may simply have disappeared, now the world instantly knows where they are and the powers that be can set about trying to free them.
Social media has revolutionised human rights activism. But activists do not always take into account the dangers of using social media for their work. Twitter and facebook accounts can be easily hacked; phone calls can be monitored, texts and emails intercepted. NGOs researching sensitive issues, such as instances of torture in a certain country, may not always have the data they have collected stored securely.
There are many online tools which activists can now access. Frontline has produced one of the best; their Security in -a- box online toolkit is excellent. Global Voices Online has some good pointers on blogging anonymously and The Committee to Protect Journalists also provides some excellent tips on information security for journalists which are also relevant for HRDs.
All these resources are aimed at the non-technical user- i.e. your average computer dunce, like myself.
It was an excellent talk and I was impressed at some of the methods the speakers described using to improve the security of their staff- using GPS trackers when deploying lawyers to Chechnya on research trips for instance. Simple security measures like these really do save lives. If a HRD is apprehended, time is of the essence. If we know they have been taken, we can act to save them.
It doesn't have to be high tech either. I know some activists who have text messages saved in their draft folders with a code word or phrase, of which they have made their coworkers or family aware. If they find themselves in a dangerous situation, they simply send the message. It's not foolproof obviously as it makes the assumption they will have the time to send the text but as security measures go, it's a relatively simple one which all HRDs should employ.
Be creative with your codewords. Not necessarily for security reasons. Just for fun. My favourite one is 'London Calling,'. Which is simply an excuse for me to link to The Clash.
Stay safe
Frontline are one of the few NGOs which focuses on human rights defenders (HRDs) and I'm always impressed at the speed with which they provide emergency support- often within 24 hours of a request being made. When a HRD is at serious risk - if they are issued a death threat for instance- Frontline has mechanisms in place to send emergency money allowing the HRD funds for extra security or to relocate, if necessary.
Basically, Frontline are straight up, no bullshit, helping those who help others, when they need it most.
Introduced by founding director Mary Lawlor, the speakers were Olga Sadovskaya of the Nizhny Novograd Committee against Torture in Russia and Farai Maguwu, Director of the Zimbabwe Centre for Research and Development. They spoke of the work their NGOs carry out and the associated dangers. Much of the talk focused on the importance of digital security.
Digital security for HRDs is an area I'm particularly interested in, given its importance to the safety of many of the women in Sudan I've worked with this past year. We are all aware of the important role social media can play in modern life- Arab Spring activists used it extremely effectively in some cases to promote and publicise their actions. In Sudan this summer, twitter was often the only medium through which information could be sent to the outside world as the regime in Khartoum arrested and deported many international journalists. Activists can send a quick tweet or text to say they are being arrested and where once they may simply have disappeared, now the world instantly knows where they are and the powers that be can set about trying to free them.
Social media has revolutionised human rights activism. But activists do not always take into account the dangers of using social media for their work. Twitter and facebook accounts can be easily hacked; phone calls can be monitored, texts and emails intercepted. NGOs researching sensitive issues, such as instances of torture in a certain country, may not always have the data they have collected stored securely.
There are many online tools which activists can now access. Frontline has produced one of the best; their Security in -a- box online toolkit is excellent. Global Voices Online has some good pointers on blogging anonymously and The Committee to Protect Journalists also provides some excellent tips on information security for journalists which are also relevant for HRDs.
All these resources are aimed at the non-technical user- i.e. your average computer dunce, like myself.
It was an excellent talk and I was impressed at some of the methods the speakers described using to improve the security of their staff- using GPS trackers when deploying lawyers to Chechnya on research trips for instance. Simple security measures like these really do save lives. If a HRD is apprehended, time is of the essence. If we know they have been taken, we can act to save them.
It doesn't have to be high tech either. I know some activists who have text messages saved in their draft folders with a code word or phrase, of which they have made their coworkers or family aware. If they find themselves in a dangerous situation, they simply send the message. It's not foolproof obviously as it makes the assumption they will have the time to send the text but as security measures go, it's a relatively simple one which all HRDs should employ.
Be creative with your codewords. Not necessarily for security reasons. Just for fun. My favourite one is 'London Calling,'. Which is simply an excuse for me to link to The Clash.
Stay safe
