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![Example of completed format
101 Event Record Number 000001
102 Event Title Desacula et al Arrest
111 Geographical Term Philippines
112 Local Geographical Area National Capital Region [00040101000]
113 Initial Date 18 November 1987
114 Final Date
115 Event Description Edgar Desacula was arrested together with Ramon Aguilar by members of the
Pasay City Police Force at Roxas Boulevard at about 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon of 18 November 1987.
When brought to the police headquarters, they were passed to the Intelligence and Special Operations
Group (ISOG.) which conducted tactical interrogation and subjected Desacula to torture.
116 Impact of Event 2 victims
150 Remarks
151 Violation Status Confirmed
152 Violation Index Arbitrary / unlawful action
153 Rights Affected Liberty / Freedom from torture
154 HURIDOCS Index Detention / Torture
155 Local Index
160 Date Received 19871119](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/eventsmethodologymarchwebinar-190311200741/85/Events-methodology-25-320.jpg)
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Events methodology
The document discusses an events-based methodology for documenting human rights violations, emphasizing the importance of accurately recording instances of abuse such as killings, detentions, and torture. It details the evolution of this methodology, which has been refined since the late 1980s, and highlights common pitfalls in documentation practices. The aim is to provide a structured approach that improves the quality of human rights data and advocacy efforts.
Events methodology
- 1. Harnessing the powerof human rights information
- 2. March 2019 Bert Verstappen HURIDOCS info@huridocs.org EventsMethodology for documenting human rights violations
- 3. Events-based methodology “A singlecase of killing is one too many” ● Has been used by human rights groups and NGOs for decades for visible types of violations, such as: killings, abductions, torture and detention. ● Involves investigating events and determining which acts within the event may be or lead up to violations.
- 4. History 1988 HURIDOCS’ TaskForce created + Task Force Detainees of the Philippines + Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace of Zimbabwe + CODEHUCA of Costa Rica + APRODEH of Peru + CELS of Argentina + Amnesty International + World Organisation against Torture + International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
- 5. History 1993 The TaskForce produced the first edition of the Events Standard Formats in 1993. 1998 The first software was launched (EvSys) that supports this data model, followed by WinEvSys, then OpenEvSys. 2001 The second edition was published
- 6. “Of course, humanrights work is about much more than methodology. It is about right and wrong framed in the legal and moral dimensions of international human rights instruments. But by doing the technical work right, we can greatly strengthen our ability to make claims about human rights, and ultimately, to advocate for a more respectful world.” Patrick Ball
- 7. Why do weneed a method for documenting human rights violations? 1. Lead information 10. Additional information 2. Testimonies and similar information 4. Findings 5. Data entered into standard formats 6. Narrative & similar reports 8. Information for internal analysis 9. Materials for dissemination 7. Storage & retrieval system 3. Physical and documentary evidence Adapted from Guzman, M. 1997, Getting the facts down: Documenting Human Rights Violations, Asia Forum of Human Rights. Thailand. p. 4 (wwww.huridocs.org/tools/getfacts.pdf - 5.2mb)
- 8. Familiar Documentation Scenariosand Pitfalls
- 9. Hypothetical Example: Event “Silvaet al arrest” On November 25th, 2008 four members of a womens collective were detained at Veracruz International Day for the Elimination of Violence protest; and presented ten hours later to the municipality. One suffered sexual assault, and another suffered torture while in detention.
- 10. Pitfall: that eachvictim is thought of to suffer one and only one violation Victim’s Last Name Victim’s First Name Violation Perpetrator Place Date Silva Patricia Arrest Man in police uniform 1 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Rodriguez Roma Arrest Man in police uniform 1 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Ali Geraldine Arrest Man in police uniform 2 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Perez Carla Arrest Man in police uniform 3 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008
- 11. Solution: allow formore than one violation Victim Violation Perpetrator Place Date Last name First name Arrest Sexual assault Torture Silva Patricia x x Man in police uniform 1 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Rodriguez Roma x Man in police uniform 1 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Ali Geraldine x Man in police uniform 2 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Perez Carla x x Man in police uniform 3 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008
- 12. Pitfall: that eachvictim is connected to one perpetrator. Victim Violation Perpetrator Place Date Last name First name Arrest Sexual assault Torture Silva Patricia x x Man in police uniform 1 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Rodriguez Roma x Man in police uniform 1 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Ali Geraldine x Man in police uniform 2 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Perez Carla x x Man in police uniform 3 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008
- 13. Solution: perpetrator 1and perpetrator 2 Victim Violation Perpetrator Place Date Last name First name Arrest Sexual assault Torture Perp 1 Perp 2 Silva Patricia x x Man in police uniform 1 Man in police uniform 2 Municipali ty Park Nov 25, 2008 Rodrigue z Roma x Man in police uniform 1 Municipali ty Park Nov 25, 2008 Ali Geraldin e x Man in police uniform 2 Municipali ty Park Nov 25, 2008 Perez Carla x x Man in police uniform 3 Man in police uniform 2 Municipali ty Park Nov 25, 2008
- 14. Victim Violation PerpetratorPlace Date Last name First name Arrest Sexual assault Torture Perp 1 Perp 2 Silva Patricia x x Man in police uniform 1 Man in police uniform 2 Municipali ty Park Nov 25, 2008 Rodrigue z Roma x Man in police uniform 1 Municipali ty Park Nov 25, 2008 Ali Geraldin e x Man in police uniform 2 Municipali ty Park Nov 25, 2008 Perez Carla x x Man in police uniform 3 Man in police uniform 2 Municipali ty Park Nov 25, 2008 Pitfall: which perpetrator did what violation?
- 15. Solution: each violationconnects to perpetrator Victim Violation Perpetrator Place Date Last name First name Arrest Sexual assault Torture Silva Patricia x Man in police uniform 1 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Silva Patricia x Man in police uniform 2 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Rodrigue z Roma x Man in police uniform 1 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Ali Geraldine x Man in police uniform 2 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Perez Carla x Man in police uniform 3 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Perez Carla x Man in police uniform 2 Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008
- 16. The events-based approachenables complex scenarios to be documented in a straightforward manner, while representing the relationships between the cases of individual victims involved in each event.
- 17. Arrest Municipality Park Nov 25,2008 Sexual assault Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Torture Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 1. An “act”
- 18. Arrest Municipality Park Nov 25,2008 Patricia Silva Man in police uniform 1 Roma Rodriguez Geraldine Ali Carla Perez Sexual assault Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Man in police uniform 2 Man in police uniform 3 Torture Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 2. Victim and Perpetrator
- 19. Arrest Municipality Park Nov 25,2008 Patricia Silva Man in police uniform 1 Roma Rodriguez Geraldine Ali Carla Perez Sexual assault Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Man in police uniform 2 Man in police uniform 3 Torture Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 P P P P P V V V V Roles
- 20. Arrest Municipality Park Nov 25,2008 Patricia Silva Man in police uniform 1 Roma Rodriguez Geraldine Ali Carla Perez Sexual assault Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Man in police uniform 2 Man in police uniform 3 Torture Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 P P P P P V V V V W One person can have several roles
- 21. Who is thevictim? An act of surveillance can subject a whole Organisation to victimisation An act reducing the budget for education victimises the youth The act of imposing a curfew victimises the whole population An act of beating victimises an individual
- 22. Arrest Municipality Park Nov 25,2008 Patricia Silva Man in police uniform 1 Roma Rodriguez Geraldine Ali Carla Perez Sexual assault Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Man in police uniform 2 Man in police uniform 3 Event Torture Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 3. Event
- 23. Arrest Municipality Park Nov 25,2008 Patricia Silva Man in police uniform 1 Roma Rodriguez Geraldine Ali Carla Perez Sexual assault Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 Man in police uniform 2 Man in police uniform 3 Torture Municipality Park Nov 25, 2008 What is the events methodology for documenting human rights violations?
- 24. The events methodstandard formats Event format Person format Act format Involvement format Information format Intervention format Chain of event format Biographic details format Additional details format EVENT FORMAT 101 Event record number 102 Event title 111 Geographical term 112 Local geographical area 113 Initial date 114 Final date 115 Event description 116 Impact of event 150 Remarks 151 Violations status 152 Violation index 153 Rights affected 154 HURIDOCS index 155 Local index 160 Date received 161 Date of entry 162 Entered by 163 Project title 164 Confidentiality 165 Comments 166 Supporting documents 167 Files 168 Record grouping 170 Date updated 171 Updated by 172 Monitoring status
- 25. Example of completedformat 101 Event Record Number 000001 102 Event Title Desacula et al Arrest 111 Geographical Term Philippines 112 Local Geographical Area National Capital Region [00040101000] 113 Initial Date 18 November 1987 114 Final Date 115 Event Description Edgar Desacula was arrested together with Ramon Aguilar by members of the Pasay City Police Force at Roxas Boulevard at about 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon of 18 November 1987. When brought to the police headquarters, they were passed to the Intelligence and Special Operations Group (ISOG.) which conducted tactical interrogation and subjected Desacula to torture. 116 Impact of Event 2 victims 150 Remarks 151 Violation Status Confirmed 152 Violation Index Arbitrary / unlawful action 153 Rights Affected Liberty / Freedom from torture 154 HURIDOCS Index Detention / Torture 155 Local Index 160 Date Received 19871119
- 26. Sources of errorwhen entering data into standard formats ● Source 1: spelling mistakes or multiple spellings ● Source 2: indiscriminate use of synonyms, overlapping or related concepts ● Result: unreliable retrieval and searching ● How to eliminate errors? By using controlled vocabularies, or micro-thesauri ● HURIDOCS produced 48 micro-thesauri relevant for human rights work
- 27. The vocabularies TYPES OFACTS ● 01 Violations of the right to life ● 0101 Deliberate killings of specific individuals ● 010101 Summary execution ● 010102 Extra-judicial execution outside any legal proceedings ● 010103 Legal execution (capital punishment) ● 010104 Politically-motivated killing by non-state agent(s) ● 010105 Murder (deliberate killing which ought to be seen as a common criminal act) ● 01010501 Dowry death ● 01010502 Bride burning ● 01010503 Death as part of a ritual ● 01010504 Rape-slay ● 01010505 Death in snuff films
- 28. Structured vs freetext Structured Text Free Text Easy to search, compare, count, identify patterns and trends, count, make statistics Good for when you cannot translate everything into fields and labels. Possible import into a database People relate well to narrative accounts, structured data is cold. Easy to input data, writing skills not important skills With free text you can convey the cumulative effects of several violations on a person
- 29. Analysis There are fourbasic kinds of analysis that can performed on this kind of information: ● lists, ● case summaries, ● ad-hoc query results, and ● counts
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- 35. Customisation What we havepresented is a general framework for documenting human rights violations. Each organisation should adapt this based on various factors, such as: ● The objectives of the monitoring and documentation work (provide support to victims, bring perpetrators to justice, get a better understanding of characteristics of victims and perpetrators and trends over time ● The types of violations to be monitored ● The outputs that you would like to produce, which can be collaboration on individual cases; input for reports; trends, graphs and statistics ● The human, financial and other resources available ● Who is responsible for and participating in the different stages of monitoring and documentation
- 36. For your documentationproject to be successful, the most important recommendation that we can give is that you and your colleagues take sufficient time to develop the data model, formats, fields and thesauri that are most useful to you on the long term. It helps to draft an initial system and try it out with a limited number of typical cases. You then review them on basis of the experiences gained. A main challenge is to have a system that delivers all the outputs that you require in a smooth way and that at the same time can be easily maintained by those collecting, recording and analysing information. Monitoring and documentation of violations should serve your organisation and not become an administrative, bureaucratic burden.
- 37. Share with usyour thoughts & questions!
- 38.