Rights Tracker one of only two New Zealand initiatives to be certified a Digital Public Good

We are thrilled that HRMI’s Rights Tracker is now certified as a ‘Digital Public Good’ alongside many other incredible open source projects working to achieve the United Nation’s sustainable development goals.

Read more about what that means in this press release:

A team from Aotearoa New Zealand is taking a global leadership role in human rights measurement by sharing its model and findings with the world. 

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative’s Rights Tracker has been added to the United Nations-endorsed Digital Public Goods Alliance DPG Registry and is one of only two NZ-based initiatives to receive certification. The Rights Tracker is a unique, free, online platform, tracking the human rights progress of nearly every country in the world. 

HRMI’s Rights Tracker makes it easy for anyone to see how well countries are treating their people. HRMI uses sophisticated, peer-reviewed methodologies to track each country’s human rights performance, and publishes the data on the Rights Tracker. All the information on the Rights Tracker is freely available for non-commercial use. 

The Rights Tracker helps all kinds of people and organisations — such as journalists, human rights defenders, investors, and governments — to access high-quality analysis to drive their work forward, and create a more equitable world. 

The goal of the DPGA and its registry is to promote digital public goods in order to create a more equitable world. Being recognised as a DPG increases the visibility, support for, and prominence of open projects like the Rights Tracker that have the potential to tackle global challenges. To become a digital public good, the Rights Tracker was required to meet the DPG Standard to ensure it truly encapsulates open source principles. 

HRMI’s co-founder and Executive Director Ms Anne-Marie Brook says the Rights Tracker is a good fit with DPG values. “The Rights Tracker makes it easy for everyone in the world to see how well their country is keeping people safe and allowing them to flourish — which is what human rights promote. Having this information freely accessible means people have an accurate, reliable resource they can draw on, to help suggest improvements in their countries.  Since the data allow for valid comparisons over time and across countries, it also means they can learn from other countries’ experiences.  The data on the Rights Tracker has always been open to the public, but receiving this certification is important because it provides an additional layer of assurance to users that the Rights Tracker meets open content standards.”

The Rights Tracker is the second project in Aotearoa New Zealand to be recognised as a Digital Public Good. The first was Eco-index, designed to help anybody make long-term decisions around biodiversity management, investment and restoration priorities. 

Eco-Index’s Mr Nathaniel Calhoun says DPG certification has been a significant step for the organisation. “It’s an unparalleled pathway to international collaboration. Gaining certification as a DPG is an optimal way to enter conversation with large multilateral organisations and governments around the world. These organisations are increasingly likely to have funding set aside specifically to develop the DPG ecosystem.”

Brook and Calhoun are both Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) Fellows. Brook first heard about the registry from Calhoun, when the Eco-index received DPG certification. “It was a no-brainer to seek certification ourselves since our work is a perfect fit with the goals of the DPGA to tackle global challenges and create a more equitable world.”

CEO of the Hillary Institute and EHF, Ms Rosalie Nelson, is proud that both of these ground-breaking projects are associated with EHF Fellows. «Making these important tools available for Aotearoa New Zealand and the world to use epitomises Fellows striving to address inequities and shifting systems. We know knowledge is powerful, and these initiatives put that power into the hands of the public by making important insights on biodiversity and human rights freely available. 

“Having Fellows behind the first two Digital Public Goods certified in Aotearoa New Zealand speaks to the strong value of service within the Fellowship, and how Fellows are creating global impact from New Zealand — for Kiwis and people all around the world.»

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For any enquiries on the Rights Tracker or HRMI’s work, please contact Thalia Kehoe Rowden at thalia.kehoerowden@hrmi.ngo. For more information on the Digital Public Goods Alliance please reach out to hello@digitalpublicgoods.net. 

The Digital Public Goods Alliance is a multi-stakeholder initiative endorsed by the United Nations Secretary-General, working to accelerate the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in low- and middle-income countries by facilitating the discovery, development, use of, and investment in digital public goods.