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FUTURES OF
DEMOCRACY, TECH & HUMAN RIGHTS LAB

The Futures of Democracy, Tech & Human Rights Lab is a collaboration with students making

real-world interventions in the areas of government, human rights, technology, economic policy, international law, social justice, international relations, and beyond.

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FUTURES LAB BY THE NUMBERS

OUR GRADUATES CREATE THE FUTURE

ANEISA BABKIR

American University Graduate

University of Cambridge, PhD Candidate

Aneisa Babkir's research explores the agency and sociopolitical organizing of displaced communities in the context of Sudan.

I had the privilege of taking Professor Crock’s International Human Rights Law class, where I explored my various sub-interests within international human rights and engaged in in-depth research. The class, along with Professor Crock’s guidance, played a crucial role in shaping my academic development and research skills, leading to my first publication in
Oxford Human Rights Hub.
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The Futures of Democracy, Tech & Human Rights Lab is a collaboration with students making real-world interventions in the areas of peace, justice, and human rights.

REAL-WORLD INTERVENTIONS

208 of my students have published their research as part of my engaged pedagogy, publishing in leading fora including Harvard Law School's Harvard Human Rights Journal Online, Wilson CenterUniversity of Oxford Faculty of Law's Oxford Human Rights HubOxford University Politics BlogE-International Relations, Intersect: The Stanford Journal of Science, Technology, and Society, Devex's Inside Development, UNICEF's Voices of Youth, and The Washington Times, among others.

7 human rights reports have been authored by my students making real-world interventions. The reports have been cited by the UN Human Rights Council and Australian Human Rights Commission.

  1. Report on democratic control of AI cited 5 times by the Australian Human Rights Commission in its report on human rights and technology.

  2. Report on AI and privacy cited 3 times in UN Human Rights Council report (A/HRC/46/37).

  3. Report on right to housing cited 2 times in UN Human Rights Council report (A/HRC/56/61/Add.3).

  4. Report on the human right to reparations submitted to the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent for their report to the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council on "Provisions and Pathways to Reparatory Justice for Africans and People of African Descent."

  5. Report on digital technologies in the administration of justice submitted to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to inform the UN Secretary-General's report to the UN General Assembly  (UNGA), pursuant to UNGA resolution A/RES/77/219.

  6. Report on the centrality of care and support for ongoing COVID-19 impacts submitted to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to inform the UN expert workshop and UN High Commissioner's report to the Human Rights Council (HRC), pursuant to HRC resolution 54/6.

  7. Report on violence against women submitted to UN special rapporteur on violence against women.

  8. Forthcoming: Ending Disinformation in Election Campaigns, a report to the UN Human Rights Council on how innovations in democratic practices can help stop the rapid growth of disinformation in election campaigns.

  9. Forthcoming: Report for the UN General Assembly on the role of tech in fomenting conflict mineral violence.

REPORTS

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Submitted to the Australian Human Rights Commission in response to their call for submissions regarding the Commission's "Human Rights and Technology: Discussion Paper" (December 2019).

CITED 5 TIMES in the Australian Human Rights Commission's Human Rights and Technology Final Report (2021) (https://tech.humanrights.gov.au/downloads).

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RIGHT TO REPARATIONS AND
REPARATORY JUSTICE

Prof. Jonathan Crock's Futures of Democracy, Tech & Human Rights Lab is working with students on the human right to reparations. Our work will be submitted for publication and to the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent for their report to the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council on "Provisions and Pathways to Reparatory Justice for Africans and People of African Descent."

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Report to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy.

CITED 3 TIMES in UN Human Rights Council report (A/HRC/46/37).

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Submitted to the UN special rapporteurs on the right to adequate housing and extreme poverty and human rights.

CITED 2 TIMES in UN Human Rights Council report (A/HRC/56/61/Add.3).

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Submitted to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to inform the UN Secretary-General's report to the UN General Assembly (UNGA), pursuant to UNGA resolution A/RES/77/219.

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Submitted to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to inform the UN expert workshop and UN High Commissioner's report to the Human Rights Council (HRC), pursuant to HRC resolution 54/6.

PUBLICATIONS

PUBLICATIONS

Futures Lab empowers student voice through innovative research and publications. Below is a selection of student research that has been featured in leading journals and policy platforms.

REFUGEES & MIGRATION

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