6.1 The philosophy behind

According to Basil Fernando, Executive Director of the AHRC, any form of action to change society must use the communication technologies available during that particular period of time; and the communication technology existing in a country at the time may either limit or enhance the capacity to make that desired change. In the 1970s and 1980s -- before the revolution in communications -- information was disseminated via the post or publication of magazines. Preparing and sending letters was cumbersome, expensive, and time consuming. Printing and publishing a magazine was a costly business, financial affordable to those not really interested in social issues. Then came the revolution in information technology in the 1990s and the advent of the Internet enabled people to share information globally with millions of others, and to generate social changes without incurring unbearable costs.

A main objective of the AHRC was to develop a speedy communication system using modern communication techniques to enhance the efficiency of actions to protect human rights, redress wrongs and prevent violations in future. 34 Initial inspiration to utilise available technology in the Commissions work was brought about by the frustrations some staff members had experienced in their previous work whilst trying to bring about social change. Social changes they initiated had failed, it was observed, because, though many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) spent large amounts of effort and money conducting endless discussions or circulating their published material among a limited and often similar minded audiences, these initiations failed to make the desired impact.  But outside their circle of acquaintances, they were unable to generate an nterest or discussion based on the material they produced. When results were not forthcoming many blamed the system and gave up in frustration. 35

Another drawback within the HR community, according to Basil Fernando, was that changes in the mind (attitudes) came much slower than technological innovations, as a result there was a certain reluctant of many in the human rights community to step in and reap the benefits of the communication revolution. There was also a kind of irrational psychological fear of sharing information with a large audience that further prevented many in the human rights movement to utilise IT innovations in their work. Hence even when a rapid change in information communication technology (ICT) was taking place between 1999-2000, unlike private enterprises such as banks, many NGOs were slow to benefit from the revolution. But with computers becoming more affordable, together with mobile communication, e-mail and Internet access being made more available, NGOs were compelled to join in or risk being left behind. Earlier, taking advantage of ICT advances may have been a choice for NGOs. It is no longer a choice, it is now an essential way of life.36

So again to the question what can be done, when nothing can be done? In answer, from around 1995 onwards, there arose a conscious decision within the AHRC to reach a large and diverse audience as quickly as possible in order to protect, redress and prevent human rights violations in Asia.37 Towards this end, a deliberate attempt was made to modify work habits and benefit from the global IT revolution.

Advent into the age of information technology was made easy by the interest and deep faith in ICT displayed by the executive director, says AHRC IT specialist, Sanjeewa Liyanage, "From the 1970s Basil was in the constant habit of learning about and using whatever technology that was available at the time and since joining the AHRC one of his major concerns was how to combine new technologies with HR work. Thus, psychologically he was geared for the communications revolution and I supplied the practical knowledge." At the time, Sanjeewa Liyanage too had completed his degree in IT and a course in freelance desktop publishing. Therefore the practical knowledge of one person and the conviction of another were combined to create the impact required. Another reason for utilising available IT for their work according to Mr. Liyanage, was that Basil Fernando disliked delay and constantly came up with ideas he wanted to implement quickly. But in 1994, there were only 2 staff members working in a small office that included one computer, one typewriter, a few bookracks and no photocopy machine. One method to overcome the problem of limited staff and resources but still make an impact by reaching out to a wider audience was to use the advances in communication techniques.

6.2 Evolving technologically

Around 1996/97, with the introduction of the Urgent Appeals programme, for the first time e-mail was used to send UAs to the limited network that existed at the time. Then in 1998, the AHRC joined with several other Asian human rights NGOs to bring together a large number of e-mail communication networks in Asia and the world, into one single network. The AHRC as well as other NGOs such as OMCT, AI & HR Watch now use this network. This is a very large network --  a network of networks -- that contains about 200 subscribers, 10-20 different networks and an outreach of about 200,000 recipients. For instance almost 30% of the UAs forwarded by one subscriber OMCT  -- whose e-mail list reaches about 90, 000 recipients -- originated from the AHRC. In fact only a rough estimation of the total outreach is possible because information is passed on from network to network until it reaches an almost limitless number of recipients. Explains Sanjeewa Liyanage, "Sometimes a UA is picked up by someone far down the network, who utilises the information contained therein to create their own story. They then circulate the story among their network of contacts and this is sometimes relayed back to us. Then we are happy that someone else has used our UA to create their own story". Thus today, the e-mail network has expanded tremendously since its inception in the late 1990s.

Currently the AHRC has also created mailing lists for each regional country. For instance the mailing list of Sri Lanka includes about 500 e-mail addresses of media personnel, interested individuals and HR organisations. UAs pertaining to a particular issue in one country are disseminated via the mailing list of that country. The intention of creating country based mailing lists was to (a) disseminate information widely both locally and internationally, (b) for recipients to share the information with their network of contacts (c) to provide information to the local media who can use the material provided to create and publish their own stories. This way, internal governments and other institutions can also be pressurised via local media intervention.

6.3 Finally, a website!

In 1996 the AHRC also established its first website and at the time, it was probably the first regional NGO to do so. The website was of basic design but an attempt was made to include most of AHRC documentation on the website. Subsequently, three more websites were created viz. the disappearance website, the cyberspace graveyard and the HR school website. All these sites started on a very small scale and then gradually expanded to include country-based websites, and several e-newsletters. One of the first e-newsletter was on religious perspective on human rights and was an attempt to generate interest among religious groups to work on HR issues. The second e-newsletter was Janasammathaya (People's
Consensus), which focused on HR issues in Sri Lanka. Now there are several country based and theme based e-newsletters. An important feature of these newsletters was it regular publication (as opposed to periodic publication) based on the belief that regular intervention indicated a seriousness to address an issue. This motto of regularity as opposed to periodic intervention had been consistently adhered to with all AHRC publications. In future the number of e-newsletters is expected to increase along different themes and different country focuses.

Today the AHRC and ALRC run 26 websites (general, thematic, country and individual based), 7 weekly and fortnightly e-newsletters and a number of emailing lists.38 These websites mostly contains firsthand information and has become a valuable source for human rights research. The volume of information contained therein is increasing rapidly. Many activists and human rights groups today rely on AHRC information sources on the Internet. 39

Earlier due to inadequate computer and IT infrastructure, the AHRC had to depend on an outside provider for website facilities. But in 2004, a substantial sum was spent to obtain internal servers and a computer network. The AHRC website has been given a new layout now to increase accessibility and userfriendliness. Also, since 1999 a full time IT specialist was employed to take care of the technical aspects of IT at the AHRC while Sanjeewa Liyanage continues to handle the structure of the website and the layouts. Furthermore, the AHRC websites are all database driven websites, which automatically documents all materials included on the site. It also allows users to conduct advance searches based on issues or countries. Thus by including all materials produced by the organisation into their websites the AHRC maintains its transparency as well as being a valuable source of information. This way, AHRC publications are available to interested governments, intelligence agencies, and other HR organisations as well as to the public at large.

And according to Mr. Liyanage, "All our work is geared towards cooperation with the HR community at large and disseminating information as far and wide as possible to generate an output and make a substantial impact. I think this is what NGOs should be doing. They should maximise their resources and use the best technologies available. They should work persistently and consistently on issues and use every opportunity to further the HR movement." 40

Today the system that has evolved is technically uncomplicated and userfriendly. The advantages of this system are that anyone with even a basic knowledge of computers and the Internet is able to use the system -- most operations do not need sophisticated website knowledge. Also the user-friendly system enables the staff and local partners to upload information on to the website from anywhere in the world, and without the need for special software. This feature of the website was demonstrated at a training programme conducted for school principals and teachers in Banglore, India, much to the participants' amazement. 41 Free software available on the Internet is used with AHRC staff and local partners trained to use this software.

The AHRC has also conducted several internship programmes on the use of Information Technology in HR work. Participants from several countries including Cambodia, Thailand and Sri Lanka have benefited from these programmes. The objective behind these internship programmes was to encourage interns to return to their countries and operate their own country-based websites. But now such programmes are becoming redundant because the technological expertise in website creation, designs and maintenance are available locally. And though it is often thought that many Asian countries are too technologically backward to benefit from the current global revolution in communications, there are many local activists who are eagerly using the technological know how provided by the AHRC.

Currently to improve accessibility by local HR activists and the public who might not be familiar with English, the AHRC is in the process of developing websites in several local languages. In Sri Lanka the website is in the Sinhala language and concentrates mainly on the issue of disappearances, once completed it will be conducted by Kalape Api [We, in the (Free-Trade) Zone] or the Right to Life Centre (local grassroots groups).