UMAM D&R works to uncover, preserve, and explore neglected narratives. Archival or community stories that have been omitted or obscured throughout history that shed light on previously unknown or ignored dynamics that inform our understanding of the past, present, and future.

The countries UMAM D&R focuses on are heavily impacted by legacies of conflict, spanning from structural to acute violence. Therefore, UMAM D&R pays special attention to the lasting legacy of violence in its various forms, experiences, and temporalities.

Prison and carceral dynamics are a key focus of UMAM D&R’s work, in part due to their centrality in the countries on which UMAM D&R focuses and in part due to the need to bring together the different facets of work engaging on these dynamics.

At the intersection of UMAM D&R’s areas of work is a focus on justice and accountability, taking shape through democratic access and sharing of information, protection of human rights, and promotion of civic engagement with and against structure and acts of violence.