eyeWitness to Atrocities (eyeWitness) is proud to announce that we have been shortlisted in the ‘tech for good’ category of the 2024 UK tech awards sponsored by Heidrick & Struggles, with JP Morgan as the overall sponsor of the awards. This recognition celebrates eyeWitness’ groundbreaking use of technology to support justice for war crimes and human rights violations.

We are honoured to be nominated alongside other innovative organisations, including Arenko, Cera, KareHero, Raspberry Pi, Unmind, and ZOE. The UK tech awards highlights the best and brightest in the UK’s fast-moving tech sector, with the ‘tech for good award’ specifically recognising technology initiatives that deliver positive social, cultural, or environmental outcomes.

"We are honoured to be shortlisted for the tech for good award”, said Carrie Bowker, Director of eyeWitness. “This recognition highlights the critical role of eyeWitness’ technology in capturing authenticated audiovisual evidence of atrocity crimes. The success of eyeWitness is a powerful reminder that technology has the potential to break down barriers, even in the most challenging environments, and make a tangible impact in the pursuit of justice".

Created as an initiative of the International Bar Association in 2015, eyeWitness to Atrocities has been at the forefront of providing human rights defenders, journalists, and activists with cutting-edge technology to document atrocity crimes. eyeWitness to Atrocities offers the only system – the free eyeWitness to Atrocities app and secure database – specifically designed by legal professionals for human rights defenders to collect, verify, and safeguard digital evidence of atrocity crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. All footage is stored and protected by LexisNexis Legal & Professional.

"We are honoured that eyeWitness has been shortlisted alongside fellow nominees that are doing such great work in the category of “tech for good”. The overriding mission of eyeWitness is to contribute to the pursuit of accountability for the gravest crimes in international law including war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. This award category raises awareness of technology being used for good by assisting in the gathering of potential evidence to bring to justice perpetrators of international crimes", commented Mark Ellis, IBA Executive Director.

Ian McDougall, President of LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation said:"The eyeWitness to Atrocities app is an innovative technological solution to a crucial Rule of Law issue; the provision of access to remedy is a key element of a prosperous and stable society. LexisNexis is proud to be a technology partner to the IBA to help to deliver this groundbreaking app".

Winner of the 2016 GCSP Prize for Innovation in Global Security, the eyeWitness app complies with international guidelines for evidence collection and has become a pivotal tool in the fight for justice. Over the past nine years, eyeWitness has empowered individuals in high-risk zones to capture and preserve over 70,000 authenticated photos and videos, which are critical for holding perpetrators accountable.

All the shortlisted categories are available on the UK tech awards 2024 website. The winners will be announced at the Hotel InterContinental in London, United Kingdom on 14 November 2024.

Related links:

• eyeWitness shortlisted at 2022 UK tech awards
• Making public interest technology safer for human rights defenders
• Andriy Kostin, Prosecutor General of Ukraine, endorses eyeWitness to Atrocities app