- Human rights defenders are not terrorists, and their content is not propaganda Counter-terrorism is not a field that is known for its respect of human rights. The word terrorism, though it does not have any commonly agreed upon legal or societal definition, has often led to the implementation of repressive measures, not only in authoritarian regimes, but also in countries recognized as democracies. The United Nations Office […]
- Promoting and Defending the Right to Record Secrecy breeds impunity. But the ability to record the police and military can expose human rights abuses to the world. International human rights law confirms the right of everyone, not just the press, to record military and law enforcement without fear of arrest, violence, or other retaliation. But unfortunately, the reality is that right isn’t […]
- Fighting impunity for attacks at women’s marches From Ukraine to Malaysia, demonstrators at International Women's Day marches continue to face attacks without accountability. This is Last Month in Video, March 2018 edition—with updates from the Alton Sterling police shooting, police collusion in Sri Lanka, and border patrol abuse in California.
- New Year’s Reflections on Operating Outside of Crisis-Mode Our Executive Director Yvette Alberdingk-Thijm reflects on the lessons learned last year, our global team retreat, and how WITNESS will move forward in 2018.
- Video Evidence and the Case for the Rohingya How eyewitness video and digital evidence verification work together to corroborate violence and destruction in Burma.
- Set your phone to ProofMode Why Proof? You see a wide pink sky and bushes in a relatively nondescript landscape. You hear an explosion in the background. The camera shakes as a man repeats, strangely calm, “Allahu akhbar.” A few seconds later, an explosion rocks the ground in front of the person filming, and the camera falls, sideways, to the […]
- Watching Western Sahara: Six Months of Eyewitness Videos A look at human rights in Western Sahara through six months of footage from the ground.
- How to Film the Police in the U.S. A new tipsheet prepares you to act as an eyewitness to police violence. Good witnessing can de-escalate a situation, help someone confronted by police, and provide valuable documentation for advocacy and justice.
- Ethical Wednesdays: Archives and Our Ethical Guidelines for Using Eyewitness Videos As archives start to collect, provide access to, and present social media collections, many ethical issues arise that need to be addressed.
- What WITNESS Learned in 3 Years Curating Human Rights Videos on YouTube The policies, practices, and technology that allow human rights videos by citizens to expose abuse are constantly evolving and our strategies must keep up.
- Does Filming Police Violence Make a Difference? A Survey of Recent Cases From Los Angeles to Rio de Janeiro, the West Bank, and Kingston, violent interactions between security forces and civilians are caught on camera. But many factors are at play when it comes to if, when, and how this footage is used in efforts for justice and accountability.
- Interactive Documentary “Points of View” Showcases Citizen Video in Gaza and the West Bank POINTS OF VIEW uses an interactive documentary format to showcase citizen video shot by Palestinians working as part of the Camera Distribution Project, an initiative organized by B’Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories).
- This Week on the Human Rights Channel – ICYMI Edition From the results of Kashmir’s election to an interview with Aleppo’s Free Syrian Army fighters, and calls for peace and security in Pakistan following the deadly school attack last month, this posts features some of the citizen reports that came out at the end of 2014.
- Video Evidence from Sri Lanka’s No Fire Zones Spurs UN Investigation Filmmaker Callum Macrae discusses his documentary looking into and calling for a UN investigation of human rights abuses committed toward the end of Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war.
- Will the Syrian Hero Boy Make Us Question Everything We See? (and why don’t we do that already?) A video described as showing Syrian kids attacked by snipers was revealed to be the work of filmmakers and actors in Malta. It’s only the latest example of online video shared with misleading context.
