Dear friend of HRMI,

We’ve been heartened by the many conversations, collaborations, and connections already shaping 2026.

Across our global network, people are using human rights data to tell powerful stories, hold governments accountable, and support communities facing real challenges — and we’re honoured to be part of that work with you. In a year when human rights defenders continue to navigate shrinking civic space and rising risks, we are inspired by the determination we see every day — from partners using data to strengthen their advocacy, to volunteers helping us expand our reach into new regions.  

This newsletter edition comes at an exciting moment for HRMI. Our 2026 annual expert survey has expanded to several new countries including Argentina, Burkina Faso, North Korea, the Philippines, the Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Zambia, marking one of our largest growth years yet. This expansion reflects both the demand for trustworthy human rights data and the dedication of our ambassadors, partners, and engagement leads around the world. We have just launched the survey and we look forward to sharing the new data with you later this year. 

We’re also delighted to highlight a series of events, workshops, and publications that show how HRMI’s data is being used in practice — from strengthening advocacy in Africa and Asia, to shaping conversations at regional and international fora. Our team has been active across regions and sectors, helping human rights defenders, researchers, and policymakers put evidence to work. 

You’ll also find updates on new team members, recent media coverage, and the growing impact of HRMI’s data in research and public debate. Each story reflects the same truth: reliable human rights data can open doors, shift narratives, and support those working for justice. 

We’re grateful to be on this journey with you. Your support, partnership, and belief in the importance of independent human rights measurement make this work possible. 

With warm wishes and solidarity, 

Melissa, Thalia, and the HRMI team 

HRMI's 2026 annual human rights survey expands further!

This year, HRMI has expanded our annual survey of human rights experts to several new countries including Argentina, Burkina Faso, North Korea, the Philippines, the Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Zambia. Our team has been working hard behind the scenes to broaden our reach and deepen our impact in providing vital civil and political rights data.  

We warmly invite human rights experts based in all the 60+ countries we now offer the survey in to share their knowledge and experience by contributing to the survey and helping strengthen the global evidence base for accountability and change.  

HRMI’s 2026 survey was launched last week. Visit our website to learn more and watch this space for our data launch later in the year. 

Check out our upcoming events

Transforming Lives - Human Rights in Aotearoa and the World

On March 24, our Co-Executive Director, Thalia Kehoe Rowden, will be part of a panel featuring human rights experts, advocates and practitioners reflecting on international human rights in the context of Te Ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, for diverse communities in Aotearoa and in the wider global context. Register HERE for the event.  

RightsCon 2026

We’re thrilled to announce that HRMI will be leading several sessions at RightsCon in Zambia this May! Our sessions will cover a range of important topics, including internet shutdowns, co-leadership, women in prison, disability rights, and a live demonstration of our Rights Tracker.  

 
If you’ll be attending the convention, we’d love you to join us, take part in the conversation, and connect with our team. Stay tuned for more details and be sure to follow us on social media for updates! 

HRMI data in action

Our impact is resonating worldwide. We’re excited to share some recent highlights where our data has played a key role in advancing advocacy efforts for fairer and more equitable policies and practices: 

HRMI in the news

Take a look below at some of the ways our data have started important conversations in the media over the past few months: 

• Daily Mirror quoted our Sri Lanka Engagement Lead, Damith, in a feature on conflict and communal violence in Sri Lanka in, ‘Early warning-early response mitigates conflicts’. 

• Premium Times Nigeria posted an article on activist protests that referenced our data in, ‘Activists protest, demand reinstatement of dismissed LASU lecturers‘. 

• The Middle East Eye referenced our data in ‘Riyadh Metro construction rife with migrant labour abuses, says Amnesty‘ 

• Borkena referenced HRMI’s data on Ethiopia in their opinion piece, ‘The Fractured Legacy: Unraveling the Threads of Dysfunction in Post-Monarchical Ethiopia—A Synopsis‘ 

• Bulatlat interviewed our Southeast Asia Engagement Lead, Keshia, at ICSW2025 on how HRMI’s Rights Tracker measures the compliance of governments in their international human rights obligations. The article can be found at, ‘Measuring government’s human rights compliance via Rights Tracker‘ 

Check out our Data in the media page for more information and many more examples. 

We're officially on Instagram!

We’re also happy to share that HRMI is now on Instagram! Follow us at @rightstracker for more updates, reels, and news.

More HRMI-related events and publications

• In October 2025, our Co‑Executive Director, Melissa del Aguila, led an interactive workshop in Washington, DC with human rights defenders from Chapter Four Uganda on using data to strengthen monitoring of civil liberties violations. 

• In November 2025, members of our engagement team, Aditi P. (Global Engagement Lead), Damith Chandimal (Sri Lanka Engagement Lead), and Keshia Mahmood (Southeast Asia Engagement Lead), attended International Civil Society Week (ICSW) 2025 in Bangkok, where they connected with civil society partners and peers from around the world.

• In December 2025, Melissa attended the inaugural RightsX Summit in Geneva organised by the UN Human Rights Innovation & Analytics Hub which brought together governments, the UN system, civil society, the private sector, innovators and the broader human rights ecosystem to explore how technology, data, foresight, and partnerships can advance human rights in the digital age. 

• In December 2025, HRMI’s co-founder K. Chad Clay presented early research at Victoria University of Wellington, in Aotearoa New Zealand, on the connection between a country’s wealth and its ability to respect human rights.

• In February 2026, our Digital Rights Lead, Meridith LaVelle, as part of her work with Digihub Africa, moderated a panel on misinformation, propaganda, and the search for truth in the Sudanese conflict.  

• In February, our East and Southern Africa Engagement Lead, Nkosi Sibanda, was named one of the winners of the 2026 Investing in African Mining Indaba Community Voices Video Competition. Nkosi was also at the Mining Indaba Conference in Cape Town in February, to ensure that communities directly affected by mining are not only heard but meaningfully included in the conversations that shape the sector’s future.
  
  
• In February, our Co-Executive Director, Thalia, met with human rights advocate and former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, Professor Kenneth Roth during his visit to Wellington along with other New Zealand human rights activists. 

• On March 14, HRMI, in partnership with IFLRY Asia, hosted an interactive webinar, 'Measuring What Matters: Understanding Human Rights Data and Indicators', on how HRMI’s human rights data and indicators are developed, what they tell us about real-world conditions, and why evidence-based analysis is essential for accountability, advocacy, and policy-making. Thank you to all who participated!

Team updates

A warm welcome to the staff who’ve joined us recently. Say hello to our new team members and head over to our Team Page to read more about them: 

• Jennifer Barnes, Methodology, Research, and Design Team
• Joey Ong, Project Coordinator
• Thalía Vega Grimaldo, Fundraising Lead 

We’ve also had some new wonderful interns join us. We are very happy to be working with Heidi Avery, Yasmine Weston, and Jett Zenthoefer. 

Finally, we are incredibly excited to welcome Ana McAllister to our Board. Ana brings exceptional skill in translating complex technical and policy issues into clear, actionable insights. She is also a recognised expert in internet governance, with a strong track record of making digital rights and governance debates accessible to diverse audiences. 

Support our work

HRMI is doing impactful work with very limited resources, and we are delighted to see the global coverage, recognition, and use that our data is getting. Building on our people power and expertise, HRMI is poised to scale its global and thematic reach.  

Our aim is to measure every country’s performance of every human right in international law.  

But we cannot do this alone. We need sustained operational funding to increase our resiliency and strengthen our capacity to ensure the continuity of the Rights Tracker, HRMI’s ground-breaking digital public good.    

 
If you can help with suggestions of potential funders or by making a small donation to HRMI yourself, please get in touch by replying to this email or visiting our donations page.