When the government told residents of Temacapulín in Mexico that—as a result of dam construction—they had to leave their homes or they would drown, the community immediately reached out to human rights lawyers. But where could they turn for help understanding the engineering plans and the environmental impact assessments? How could they develop alternative proposals in their negotiations with the government?
Almost every human rights concern has a connection to at least one scientific field. The threat posed by the Zapotillo dam in Mexico is just one example of the many situations where research, advice, and analysis by scientists, engineers, and health professionals can strengthen human rights practice. Almost every human rights concern has a connection to at least one scientific field: physicians and psychologists document trauma for asylum petitions; forensic anthropologists identify remains in mass graves; geographers use remote sensing to analyze impacts of oil spills on communities; statisticians monitor social and economic rights. And yet, while a multitude of organizations provide legal assistance to address human rights violations, resources for scientific and technical expertise are not as readily accessible.
Recognizing this need, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) created On-call Scientists, a pro bono referral service for human rights. Since its launch in 2008, nearly 1,000 scientists, engineers and health professionals have signed up to volunteer their time and expertise with human rights organizations. These volunteers have worked with organizations around the world on more than 140 projects. Examples of the collaborations include consulting on survey design and research methods, analyzing soil samples for contamination, reviewing existing government data to develop human rights indicators, researching the economic impacts of proposed policy reforms on vulnerable communities, and training human rights practitioners on forensic analysis of digital images.
