In the News Archives - Page 3 of 10

The ICC Renders Its First Sentence: Is Justice Served for Congolese Child Soldiers? The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rendered it’s first ever sentence in the case of Mr. Thomas Lubanga, a Congolese warlord and leader of UPC (Union Patriotique Congolais). Lubanga was convicted, as co-perpetrator, on three counts of war crimes including enlisting and conscripting of children under the age of 15 and using them to participate actively in hostilities in the Ituri region, in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between September 2002 and June 2003. WITNESS September 25, 2012
Personal Reflection on Human Rights Values and the Anti-Muslim Video I'd like to share my views on the recent events as a human rights advocate who has used/is using video for human rights change - particularly recently in North Africa and the Middle East; as an African; and as a Christian. WITNESS September 19, 2012
Transforming Human Rights Reporting: Merging Mainstream News and Citizen Content Human rights issues were never easily portrayed or understood in conventional news paradigms. Few news agencies can allocate sufficient resources to effectively depict these ongoing complex issues. Even with substantial budgets and protection, journalists often face life-threatening risks while reporting these stories. WITNESS September 5, 2012
You Are Being Watched: What Faceprints Mean for Generation Y On July 18, YouTube launched a new tool that would enable users to blur the faces in the videos they uploaded, thereby protecting the identities of people featured in them. The platform explicitly identified the human rights threat as a primary motivator for this online technological development. WITNESS August 21, 2012
The (Virtual) Bystander Effect: Witnessing Human Rights Abuse Online When a video goes viral, millions of people become witnesses. Whether it is a clumsy kitten, an adorable child, or a gruesome protest, we as viewers are transported to that moment. We see everything. We hear everything. But we change nothing. WITNESS July 20, 2012
Osama Bin Laden is Dead but the “War on Terror” Lives On This week marked the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. President Obama marked the event by making an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to sign a treaty with President Karzai establishing post-war relationship. Matisse Bustos Hawkes May 3, 2012
What Facebook’s Acquisition of Instagram Could Mean for Activists “Conclusion: Occupy Facebook!” A recent analysis of Occupy Wall Street web analytics found that because Facebook users are an engaged community, those who come to www.occupywallst.org from Facebook spend more time on the website and interact with it more. WITNESS April 13, 2012
A Small Step for Democracy in Burma but More Attention Needed For Ethnic Minorities Burma held parliamentary by-elections for a portion of the entire parliament body yesterday. By most accounts, the polling went relatively smoothly with some incidents of irregularities being reported. Matisse Bustos Hawkes April 2, 2012
Kony 2012: Juggling Advocacy, Audience and Agency When Using #Video4Change "Kony 2012" is now the most rapidly disseminated human rights video ever. In six days it reached an aggregate 100 million views – faster than other pop culture phenomena like Susan Boyle (9 days), Rebecca Black (45 days) and ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ (445 days). Sam Gregory March 17, 2012
Lubanga Verdict Brings Justice To Child Soldiers in DRC – Tomorrow The Work Continues Bukeni Waruzi, Program Manager for Africa and the Middle East at WITNESS, and a long-time advocate for children's rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reacted with relief and hope to the guilty verdict of former rebel leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo announced at the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier today. Matisse Bustos Hawkes March 14, 2012
Will the Lubanga Verdict at the ICC Bring Justice for Child Soldiers? Tomorrow the first trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) will come to an official close with the rendering of a verdict in the case against former rebel leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Matisse Bustos Hawkes March 13, 2012
Understanding #Kony2012 as #Video4Change Over the past several days, there’s been a flurry of activity and online discussion around “Kony 2012” the now-ubiquitous video on Joseph Kony created by the U.S.-based group Invisible Children. WITNESS March 9, 2012
Videos Critique (Un)Democratic Election and Educate Voters in Yemen Earlier this month, I spent some time in Yemen's capital, Sana'a. Last year I spent four months covering the pro-democracy movement that has forced the three decade old despot, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to hand over power to his deputy and current vice president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Raja Althaibani February 27, 2012
WITNESS Is LIVEstreaming From Tahrir Square In Egypt Today marks the one year anniversary of Egypt’s awakening. People all over Cairo are preparing to celebrate a year of great accomplishment. A year ago today, a massive movement demanding change exploded throughout the country. Raja Althaibani January 25, 2012
10 Years of Guantanamo Bay: A Human Rights Nightmare Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of the first detainees being brought to Guantánamo Bay in the Bush administration's "war on terror." Amnesty International is organizing a day of action to call for the detention center's closing. Matisse Bustos Hawkes January 10, 2012