Author: WITNESS

22 May Protecting Anonymity on the Human Rights Channel

Success Stories | WITNESS

“Say hi to your mom. You will be an Internet celebrity.” With these words, a pack of Neo-Nazis publicly taunted and tortured a Russian teenager—outing him to the entire world in a country where it is illegal to be gay. The perpetrators intended to share this humiliating 20-minute video widely. They got their wish—but the dialogue they started would ultimately undermine their cruel intentions, instead creating a powerful impetus for change. The Russian activist group LGBT Guide asked WITNESS’ Human Rights Channel (HRC) to review the video, which revealed the victim’s identity. In response, WITNESS contacted the uploader—an LGBT activist who wanted to spread awareness about homophobic violence in Russia—and encouraged him to use YouTube’s Face Blur function to prevent further re-victimization. Our HRC Curator, Madeleine Bair, wrote a blog post about the importance of visual anonymity and reached out to media outlets that had embedded the original video on their site. After WITNESS staff contacted several media outlets, Gawker Media and the Huffington Post subsequently replaced the videos they had published with the newly anonymized version, which concealed the victim’s identity. Building off of this momentum, PBS’ MediaShift reposted the blog, and HuffPo Live aired a segment that included

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22 May A Warlord Behind Bars

Success Stories | WITNESS

In the long running civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), children as young as eight years old were used as soldiers. Congolese activist Bukeni Waruzi filmed the children’s stories, and with WITNESS’ support produced two videos. These videos were part of a 14-year struggle to ensure rights and rehabilitation of child soldiers in DRC. Together we pressured the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring charges against Thomas Lubanga, a well-known Congolese warlord. The videos co-produced by Bukeni and WITNESS were used to sensitize the court to the experiences of children recruited for warfare. On March 14, 2012, the ICC found Lubanga guilty of the war crime of using children in armed conflict. This was the first-ever ICC verdict. Video footage played a role at the trial. “We were unable to dispute the visual images or deny the sound,” said Honorable Mr. Justice Fulford, ICC Presiding Judge, “the evidences presented to us were credible and outstanding.” After partnering with WITNESS for several years, Bukeni spent seven years working for WITNESS leading our programs in Africa & the Middle East. He now serves as a member of our Advisory Board. Watch more of Bukeni’s story: Image: Still from A Duty to Protect: Justice for Child

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