July 11, 2023
Carrie Bowker, former lawyer at the International Criminal Court, has been appointed as the Director of eyeWitness to Atrocities.
Carrie Bowker | Source: eyeWitness to Atrocities
eyeWitness to Atrocities is pleased to announce the appointment of Carrie Bowker as our new director. Carrie brings to this role 15 years of legal experience, specialising in international criminal law and human rights, with a passion for the intersection of human rights, law, and technology.
In her former position at the International Criminal Court, Carrie advised judges on complex matters relating to charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Carrie joins us at a crucial point in our growth trajectory and she will be instrumental in continuing our efforts towards accountability and justice for victims.
I am honoured to be joining the eyeWitness team and contributing to its incredible work in supporting human rights defenders and seeking accountability for human rights violations and crimes under international law. As frontline documenters often face serious risks and challenges in documenting such crimes, it is thus crucial that the footage obtained maintains its evidentiary value, ensuring that it can be used to hold the perpetrators of crimes accountable.
eyeWitness has submitted more than 21,000 verifiable unique pieces of potential evidence of serious violations of international human rights from multiple regions to national, regional, or international accountability mechanisms. As the number of civil society organisations and individual app users undertaking documentation efforts has reached an unprecedented scale, it is our aim to ensure that the footage captured and preserved may ultimately be admitted as evidence in court. As such, we engage closely with users of the eyeWitness app on a regular basis to make sure that our system meets their needs, providing training and documentation techniques, while at the same time safeguarding the footage to ensure the reliability, authenticity, and evidentiary value of the information. The footage in turn contributes to investigations and analyses conducted by international, regional, and national accountability mechanisms. Through the strategic use of human rights documentation, individuals and communities can be empowered to seek redress for violations and hold perpetrators accountable
The eyeWitness team looks forward to building on this momentum, and we are excited to welcome a director who will move the organisation into its next stage of growth, as well as continue to work towards finding pathways for justice with our partners.