The Martus Software: Using ICT to Improve Documentation and Data Gathering of Human Rights Violations

Last 27-28 February 2003, a national training workshop was held in Makati to launch the Martus Project. In an article by Nina Somera which was published by the Dept. of Science and Technology (DOTC), it was stated that the premise behind the introduction of the Martus Project in the Philippines is that adequate information is the main tool that both human rights advocates and victims need to present and pursue their cases in court.

The Martus Program involves the introduction of a computer software in Commission on Human Right Field Offices (CHR-FO). The software called the Martus, which is a system similar to the e-mail, was designed for the use of human rights organizations. It is a program which allows the documentation and sharing of reports involving human rights violations from the grassroots level to the regional level, until it finally reaches the national level. As described by the article of Somera, the Martus system is a “secure information management tool that allows users to create a searchable and encrypted database of human rights violations and back these data up remotely through publicly available servers.
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During the initial test phase of the Martus Program, the Commission on Human Rights became the central server of the system, receiving reports and documentation of human rights violations through a secure and encrypted system. In effect, the confidentiality and security of data are secured.

The Philippine experience with the Martus program has proved that ICT can be used not only in improving education, developing communication and commerce, and even improving access to health care information throughout the country. The Martus program has shown how ICT can also be useful in efforts to solve one of the oldest problems of society – human rights violations.

Given the situation at present when conflicts not only local but international as well, ranging from simple tribal clashes to unimaginable terrorist attacks are wide spread, incidents of human rights violations have even become a way of life in some countries. Indeed, reporting and proper documentation of human rights violations has become more important now than ever.