For humans rights abuses to be tackled, it’s crucial that they are successfully documented.  This challenge has been made significantly easier by the development of new tools to support the process.  A recent report from The Engine Room examines some of the possibilities, and challenges, that the new technologies have opened up.

The report aims to shed light on the kind of technologies that are now available for human rights documentation, whilst also providing insight into the things that are, and are not, working in the area.

The paper highlights a number of key points.  First of all, it found that whilst digital tools can open up some new ways of working, we should not discard more traditional methods as the environment HRDs operate in hasn’t changed a great deal, despite the new technologies.

There are also concerns among the development community about the reliability of the new tools and technologies.  When the pressure is on, staff need to be confident that what they’re using is safe and sound.

As such, the tools can often be something of an afterthought rather than something that is properly integrated into operations.

Barriers to adoption

The report also highlighted a number of key barriers to overcome.  For instance, the community often lack the technical skills to utilize new technologies, so typically rely on external parties to provide support in their implementation and operation.

This can often result in projects failing, and these bad experiences then hamper future attempts to integrate technology into HRD processes.

What’s more, the pace of change in the community is typically slower than that of the industry.  Whereas there is a demand for sustainable solutions that endure, there is much less for the kind of continuous updates that the tech industry often provides.  Change fatigue is a serious issue to overcome.

This cultural difference can perhaps best be overcome by greater coordination between the tech companies and the HRD community.  It is they that know the context within which they work best, so greater communication would be invaluable in providing the kind of solutions they need.