Revisionist history is one of many threats to protecting human rights and punishing violators. To preserve interviews conducted with members of the International Criminal Tribunal, which recently convicted leaders responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide, computer researchers from the University [...]
HUMAN RIGHTS
AAAS Science and Human Rights Program Director Mona Younis talks with Rick Weiss about how scientists have protected the rights of their colleagues, helped bring Balkan war criminals to justice, and safeguarded vulnerable populations in Darfur. The program’s new initiatives aim to spur a pro-bono movement within the research community to support human rights work, just as exists within legal circles.
Rick Weiss wrote Monday about scientific work in genetics, forensics, and satellite imaging that has helped nongovernmental organizations combat genocide and human rights abuses and bring war criminals to justice. This week also brings news from the tech sphere about an initiative to ensure the human rights to freedom of expression and privacy. Read the rest of this post >
WEISS'S NOTEBOOK
There are a growing number of cases in which technologies developed for routine scientific and medical uses are finding unexpected application in the shrouded world of genocide, torture, and political oppression.
INTERNET
If the Internet is a force for democracy, then is there a moral imperative to bring the World Wide Web to citizens living under repressive regimes?
Brazilian ethanol produced from sugar cane is a promising renewable energy technology. But land is finite and using it for energy means not using it for other human needs. Nowhere is this clearer than in the history of the Brazilian sugar cane industry.
Science Progress and American Progress's Doing What Works project teamed up to produce a set of policy proposals that the Obama administration and Congress can adopt to reinvest in the building blocks of American science, innovation, and economic competitiveness. Read the overview of the five reports.
Science Progress proceeds from the propositions that scientific inquiry is among the finest expressions of human excellence, that it is a crucial source of human flourishing, a critical engine of economic growth, and must be dedicated to the common good. Scientific inquiry entails global responsibilities. It should lead to a more equitable, safer, and healthier future for all of humankind.