Uwazi

Uwazi is a flexible database application designed for human rights defenders to capture and organise collections of information. This web-based platform, developed by HURIDOCS, can be customised for a variety of needs. The code is available on GitHub.


Human rights defenders can use Uwazi for:

  • Preserving and archiving evidence of ongoing human rights violations
  • Managing cases for strategic human rights litigation
  • Tracking complaints made to human rights institutions and advocacy organisations
  • Compiling libraries of human rights laws, recommendations and court decisions
  • Monitoring a human rights situation for the purposes of reporting
  • Assessing progress around the implementation of human rights-related policies
  • Building collective memories that support transitional justice and reconciliation
  • Cataloguing a collection of campaign or advocacy materials
Uwazi logo on a laptop screen

What can you do with Uwazi?

  • Add and edit information easily

    Uwazi allows you to upload pieces of information, PDFs, Word documents, photos, videos and more, one at a time or in bulk. Once added to your collection, you can easily change or delete them, or choose to import more.

  • Organise information precisely

    You can structure your collection to stay organised and generate reliable conclusions. Categorise information, cross-reference documents and define relationships between records — all in a user-friendly way.

  • Find information quickly

    Powerful search features allow you to look for information not only across the entire collection, but also within a specific record. Mix and match different filters to narrow down your results. View records, including documents, without having to download anything.

  • Work across multiple languages

    You can translate both the interface of Uwazi itself as well as all of the records within your collection into one or more languages, including right-to-left languages like Arabic. Once translated, it’s simple to switch between your different language collections.

  • Collaborate effectively

    Uwazi lets you assign different roles to different team members, as well as gather information from outside your team through submission forms. Set up your collection to be entirely private, open to the public, or configured somewhere in between.

  • Keep information safe

    Uwazi is open source, and we regularly audit the code for vulnerabilities. You can protect your collection with two-factor authentication and monitor any changes made through an activity log. You are free to host your collection on your own server, or you can choose a secure hosting plan with HURIDOCS.

How have human rights organisations used Uwazi?

HURIDOCS has helped dozens of organisations around the world make the most of Uwazi in their human rights work. Read about some of these projects below:

How much does Uwazi cost?

Uwazi is an open-source tool, and it is free for anyone to install on their own server. Check out the Uwazi guide to learn how to set it up. If you find Uwazi to be beneficial to your work, please consider a donation to HURIDOCS to support development.

If you require more assistance to set up or host Uwazi, or you are interested in a longer-term collaboration, HURIDOCS offers customised support to human rights groups:

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Uwazi