Humanitarian actors have long used the Sphere Handbook and its minimum standards to guide operational practice. The new revision attempts to...
Human Security & Technology
Signal works to advance the safe, ethical, and effective use of information technologies by communities of practice during humanitarian and human rights emergencies.
WHAT WE DO
Remote Sensing & Digital Forensics
Featured work: Remote forensics in Syria
“Present in the imagery from March 1st and March 4th of the prison, there are dark elongated objects, similar to each other, measuring approximately five to six feet in length,” said Isaac Baker, imagery analysis manager at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s Signal Program on Human Security and Technology. “While analysis and available data does not prove, it does corroborate, and is consistent with, eyewitness accounts of mass executions at this facility.” Read the entire article here.
Our Featured Paper
As a documentation tool, satellites have the potential to collect important real-time evidence for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Other Notable Papers
WHAT WE DO
Standards & Ethics
UAViators Code of Conduct
The UAViators Code of Conduct is the gold standard for how to effectively, securely, and respectfully operate drones in the humanitarian sector. We're excited to be working more closely with the UAViators and WeRobotics to steward this latest round of updates. More at uaviators.org
Our Featured Paper
Identifying, defining, articulating, and translating existing international human rights standards into the context of HIAs and the use of information, data, and ICTs in humanitarian contexts.
Other Notable Papers
WHAT WE DO
Early Warning & Atrocity Prevention
Our Work
The Early Warning team conducts sector-leading development of the theory, methodologies, operational protocols, and case-based learning in near-term tactical decision support for civilian protection worldwide. Already at the core of United Nations’ peacekeeping operations learning and operational development, the Early Warning team is working to systematically re-configure the humanitarian sector’s wide-lens, long-range approach to tactical early warning and mass atrocity prevention, bringing it into focus with analysis protocols designed for real-time change detection and decision support.
Our Featured Paper
The aim of this article is to highlight potential methods applicable to a standard forensic approach for the analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery that may contain evidence of alleged mass atrocities.
Other Notable Papers
Team
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Imagery Analysis Manager, Signal Program on Human Security and Technology |
Graduate Student Researcher, Signal Program on Human Security and Technology |
Researcher, Signal Program on Human Security and Technology |
Director, Signal Program on Human Security and Technology |
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Research Assistant, Signal Program on Human Security and Technology |
Principal Investigator: Michael VanRooyen, MD, MPH