Launching the Digital Rights Dashboard
This week, we launched the Digital Rights Dashboard, a tool that reviews how countries are set up to protect human rights in the digital space. What began for me as "can you quickly help with this while a team member is leaving?" has turned into one of my favourite projects at UNDP.
At first, I was mostly excited about working on the methodology and data sources. The debates about the objectivity (or rather, subjectivity) of certain databases, and what indicators should or shouldn't be included. The calculations. But the human rights angle initially felt a bit too high-level. I tended to view human rights as somewhat abstract, something others invoked when pointing out wrongdoing.
Luckily, it didn't take long to realise that all the topics I found really important were actually about human rights in the digital domain. Algorithmic transparency? That's the right to non-discrimination. Content moderation policies? The right to free expression. Blocking online platforms, especially social media? The right to freedom of assembly and free expression. Privacy? It's a human right, too. And we weren’t setting out to look for what’s wrong, but rather to take a step back, understand what’s happening, and think about what can help countries make progress in rights-based digital transformation.
Another aspect I love about this project is that we are actively inviting input and feedback, whether by email on the public database we compiled for this project or through the typeform on the DDC. We see this as a living tool and a strong foundation that can grow and improve with contributions from researchers, practitioners, and other experts in the community.
This work wouldn't have been possible without Yolanda Jinxin Ma, who supported the funding process with the Republic of Korea; Gayan Peiris, for enabling me to dedicate time to it; and of course the core team: Arindrajit Basu, Roqaya Dhaif, and Agnes Huller, under Sarah Rattray's great leadership. And I also want to thank Manasa Jagadeesh and Kisal Wijesooriya, who supported this project while interning with our team. I have learned so much.
I'm excited about what we've achieved and even more about what comes next. Understanding the role of AI across all dimensions of this work, supporting more countries with DRD contextualisation, and deepening the gender component all offer significant opportunities. I'm looking forward to seeing how this work evolves.
Here is the report: https://lnkd.in/gJ7_Xt42
Here is our blog post: https://lnkd.in/g73xzsWk
Explore the DRD on our Digital Development Compass website: https://lnkd.in/gGJkDrX2
Here is the launch video: https://lnkd.in/gCMREC54
And here is our database: https://lnkd.in/geA4wMY5