Citation

Marx A, Goward S. Geogr. Rev. 2013; 103(1): 100-111.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, American Geographical Society)

DOI

10.1111/j.1931-0846.2013.00188.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The crimes committed against humanity during World War II shocked the global community into action. As the world continued to uncover the full extent of the Holocaust, international leaders in the newly formed United Nations (UN) drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and established a mandate to protect human rights and prevent atrocities. However, certain situations increase the likelihood of human-rights violations and therefore the need for human-rights monitoring of conflicts (Edwards and Koettl 2011). Because of ongoing abuses, the un, along with other governmental and nongovernmental organizations (ngos), conducts widespread and intensive human-rights monitoring campaigns. Broadly described by the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights as the "active collection, verification and immediate use of information to address human rights problems" (OHCHR 2001, 3), human-rights monitoring documents any violations that include governmental and nonstate transgressions of human rights and the failures of the state to protect those rights.

Remote sensing is a tool that improves detection of and potentially provides a deterrent to human-rights violations. Remote-sensing platforms include helicopters and fixed-wing or unmanned aerial vehicles. However, these platforms are limited in several aspects, including limited range and the need for basing facilities near conflict areas, which are often in very remote locations. These platforms also require overflight permission from the host government, which is often the alleged transgressor. For these reasons, organizations that monitor human rights have increasingly turned to space-based imagery to identify and document conflict.

Language: en