WITNESS recognizes the great risks that environmental defenders take to stand up to power, and understand that the collection of visual evidence is only one strategy communities use to protect their environmental human rights. It wants to support this movement by sharing information and good practices to help community-based documenters collect visual documentation of environmental human rights crimes and violations so that it can be effectively used in advocacy and accountability processes. This Guide is primarily for community members who:
Live where industries that mine, extract oil and gas, build dams, cut timber, clear land for agri-business developments, grab land for high-end real-estate development, and do so in a way that violates the environmental human rights of communities
Want to—and can—safely document these violations with phones, cameras, and drones
Want to—and can—safely use the documentation to protect human rights
Would like to help train others to safely collect relevant and reliable visual documentation for human rights advocacy and accountability.
It wil take only 3 minutes to watch this well-done animated film “We Have Rights When Documenting ICE Arrests” which Witnessco-created for the We Have Rights Campaign.
is organizing a hands-on workshop to learn how to produce film portraits and testimonies on human rights and humanitarian issues.
28 March 2017 (14h00 to 17h00) & 29 March (09h00 to 17h00) at CAGI, Route de Ferney 106, Genève 1202. By the end of the 1.5 day course you should be able to film and direct your own interviews. Cost 350CHF. For more information, contact Jo Maxwell Scott: jo[at]trueheroesfilms.org
Bukeni Waruzi – just back from a field trip to Kenya – posted an excellent piece on “Witness‘ blog on 23 February under the title “Can Cell Phones Save Kenya’s Elections?. Here some excerpts:
The December 2007 elections were marred by unprecedented violence: killings, rapes, lootings, attacks on civilians, and massive displacement. Historically peaceful, Kenya devolved into violence that caught many unprepared—including human rights activists who were unable to use video to document the magnitude of what was happening.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 