Organization:Human Rights Data Analysis Group

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Human Rights Data Analysis Group
Founded1991
FounderPatrick Ball
TypeNon-profit
Location
  • San Francisco, California
OriginsAAAS Science and Human Rights Program
Region served
Global
ProductData analysis in the field of human rights
MethodAssisting human rights projects by conducting rigorous scientific and statistical analysis of large-scale human rights abuses
OwnerHuman Rights Data Analysis Group
Key people
Patrick Ball, Megan Price
Websitehrdag.org

The Human Rights Data Analysis Group is a nonprofit that applies rigorous science to the analysis of human rights violations around the world.

It was founded in 1991 by Patrick Ball. The organization has published findings on conflicts in Syria,[1][2] Colombia,[3] Chad,[4] Kosovo,[5] Guatemala,[6] Peru, East Timor,[7] India, Liberia,[citation needed] and Sierra Leone.{{Citation n ation provided testimony in the war crimes trials of Sl inović at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and in Guatemala's Supreme Court in the trial of General José Efraín Ríos Montt, the de facto president of Guatemala in 1982–1983. Gen. Ríos Montt was found guilty of genocide against indigenous people and crimes against humanity[8][9] and Ball, an expert witness, had to leave the country with other witnesses after facing threats.[10] The group has used capture-recapture methods to do their statistical analysis.[11]

Around 2016, the organization published statistics on police violence in the United States.[12][13] They have also worked with the Innocence Project in New Orleans to exonerate those who were wrongfully accused.[14] In 2017, the organization was helping to predict the location of mass graves in Mexico so families stood a better chance of finding their missing loved ones.[15] Ball's first experience being part of a journalistic investigation came around 2019 when he helped journalists document the killings associated with the war on drugs in the Philippines.[10]

In 2026, Cory Doctorow praised Ball and the organization for their work in helping expose human rights abuses, hold oppressive states to account and inform truth and reconciliation commissions.[14]

Organization

The Human Rights Data Analysis Group was founded in December 1991 by Patrick Ball as a part of the Science and Human Rights Program within the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[16] It moved to the non-profit umbrella company Benetech on November 3, 2003 that had just hired Ball to run their human rights program.[17][18] On February 1, 2013, HRDAG became an independent nonprofit organization, fiscally sponsored by Community Partners.[19]

References

  1. ↑ Price, Megan; Jeff Klingner; Patrick Ball (2013). Preliminary Statistical Analysis of Documentation of Killings in the Syrian Arab Republic. The Benetech Human Rights Program, commissioned by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). https://hrdag.org/publications/2013/Benetech-final-SY-report.pdf. 
  2. ↑ Newitz, Annalee (2013-06-14). "The demographic science behind the 92,901 reported deaths in Syria" (in en-US). https://gizmodo.com/the-demographic-science-behind-the-92-901-reported-kill-2-513287486. 
  3. ↑ Guzmán, Daniel; Tamy Guberek; Megan Price (2012). Unobserved Union Violence: Statistical Estimates of the Total Number of Trade Unionists Killed in Colombia, 1999-2008. The Benetech Human Rights Program. https://hrdag.org/publications/2012/uv-estimates-paper_2012-11.pdf. 
  4. ↑ Silva, Romesh; Jeff Klingner; Scott Weikart (2010). State Coordinated Violence in Chad under Hissène Habré: A Statistical Analysis of Reported Prison Mortality in Chad's DDS Prisons and Command Responsibility of Hissène Habré, 1982-1990. The Benetech Human Rights Program, for Human Rights Watch and the Chadian Association of Victims of Political Repression and Crimes. https://hrdag.org/publications/2010/State-Violence-in-Chad.pdf. 
  5. ↑ Ball, Patrick (1999). Policy or Panic? The Flight of Ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, March-May 1999. American Association for the Advancement of Science. http://shr.aaas.org/kosovo/policyorpanic/. 
  6. ↑ Davenport, Christian; Patrick Ball (2002). "Views to a Kill: Exploring the Implications of Source Selection in the Case of Guatemalan State Terror, 1977-1996". Journal of Conflict Resolution 46 (3): 427–450. doi:10.1177/0022002702046003005. 
  7. ↑ Harrison, Ann (2006-02-09). "Coders Bare Invasion Death Count". Wired Magazine. https://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/02/70196?currentPage=all. Retrieved 2009-12-08. 
  8. ↑ Malkin, Elisabeth (2013-05-10). "Former Leader of Guatemala Is Guilty of Genocide Against Mayan Group". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/11/world/americas/gen-efrain-rios-montt-of-guatemala-guilty-of-genocide.html. Retrieved 2013-05-15. 
  9. ↑ Borland, John (2013-12-29). "Data Mining on the Side of the Angels" (in en-US). Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/2013/12/data-mining-side-angels/. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Gurney, Kyra (2019-09-17). "Counting the dead: How statistics can find unreported killings" (in en-US). https://www.icij.org/inside-icij/2019/09/counting-the-dead-how-statistics-can-find-unreported-killings/. 
  11. ↑ "Gaza death toll 40% higher than official number, Lancet study finds" (in en-GB). The Guardian. 2025-01-10. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/10/gaza-death-toll-40-higher-than-official-number-lancet-study-finds. 
  12. ↑ Ball, Patrick (2016). "Violence in Blue". Granta 134 (4 March 2016). 
  13. ↑ Dixon, Andi; Isaac, William (2017-05-10). "Why big-data analysis of police activity is inherently biased" (in en-US). doi:10.64628/AAI.f9fn5dvpq. https://theconversation.com/why-big-data-analysis-of-police-activity-is-inherently-biased-72640. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Ouellette, Jennifer (2026-06-23). "How to burst the AI bubble: Strike at its roots" (in en). https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/how-to-burst-the-ai-bubble-strike-at-its-roots/. 
  15. ↑ Porup, J. M. (2017-04-17). "Hunting for Mexico’s mass graves with machine learning" (in en). https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/04/hunting-for-mexicos-mass-graves-with-machine-learning/. 
  16. ↑ Grillo, Christine (2016-12-10). "HRDAG – 25 Years and Counting" (in en-US). https://hrdag.org/2016/12/10/hrdag-25-years-and-counting/. 
  17. ↑ "AAAS Science and Human Rights Program - Human Rights Data Analysis Group". 2008-03-18. http://shr.aaas.org/hrdag/. Retrieved 2010-07-30. 
  18. ↑ Perry, Tekla S. (December 1, 2006). "Doing Well by Doing Good" (in en). https://spectrum.ieee.org/doing-well-by-doing-good. 
  19. ↑ Adams, Justin (2013-01-02). "Benetech Celebrates Milestone; Human Rights Data Analysis Group Transitioning into Independent Organization". https://www.benetech.org/about/press_releases/PR_2013-01-18_HRDAG.shtml. Retrieved 2013-02-22. 



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