New Resource: Practical guide on when to use the eyeWitness to Atrocities app

A new practical guide for human rights defenders considering using a controlled capture app in their documentation efforts is now available from eyeWitness to Atrocities. The guide explains when to best use a controlled capture app (if at all) to collect and preserve information in a way that it can be admissible as evidence in court.

Smartphones have dramatically increased anyone's ability to expose global injustice digitally. Digital content can often be utilised for advocacy when injustice occurs. However, could your footage also be accepted as evidence in court?

Proving the provenance, authenticity, and integrity of footage – as well as ensuring that neither the footage nor metadata have been altered since captured – are essential when documenting for accountability. Controlled capture apps can assist you in collecting information that meets those standards. However, it is not always easy to decide when such a tool can support your work.

Our guide provides a simple framework for human rights defenders and civil society organisations to decide whether a controlled capture app is the right tool to support their documentation work for either advocacy or accountability.

IMPORTANT! Documenting atrocity crimes carries high security risks, so we recommend carefully considering the app adoption roadmap included in our guide before incorporating documentation technology into your documentation workflow.