23 June 2009
Updated 23 May 2013
Contact:
Stephen M. Apatow
Founder, Director of Research & Development
Humanitarian Resource Institute
Humanitarian University Consortium Graduate Studies
Center for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine & Law
Phone: 203-668-0282
Email: s.m.apatow@humanitarian.net
Internet: www.humanitarian.net
United Nations
Arts Initiative
Arts Integration Into Education
Internet: www.unarts.org
H-II: Human Rights Reporting - Evidence Collection -
Witness Protection
International Community Collaborates and Protects
The Golden Rule: Contemplate the victim, place yourself
in their shoes, then act in accordance to what you would have wanted
done to you. -- The Ultimate Objective: Humanitarian Resource Institute.
[1]
The International Bar Association (IBA) [2] Human Rights Institute [3]
and International Criminal Court (ICC) Monitoring and Outreach
Programme
[4] represent two programs that are contributing to a new standard for
international
law in the context of human rights, genocide and crimes against
humanity.
Today, the International Bar Association has a membership of
more
than 40,000 individual lawyers and 197 bar associations and law
societies
spanning all continents.
A critical mechanism for engagement of the international community is
consensus building through the presentation of court presentable
documentation, photo and video evidence of atrocities through mass
communications to the leadership in every UN member country, UN
organizations, non-governmental organizations and the media.
Frames from a YouTube video of Neda Agha-Soltan's
death (Wickpedia). [5] Opposition web sites and television channels
have repeatedly aired the video, which shows blood gushing from her
body as she dies.
It was hot in the car, so the young woman and her
singing instructor got out for a breath of fresh air on a quiet side
street not
far from the antigovernment protests they had ventured out to attend. A
gunshot rang out, and the woman, Neda Agha-Soltan, fell to the ground.
“It
burned me,” she said before she died. -- In a Death Seen
Around
the World, a Symbol of Iranian Protests: New York Times, 22 June 2009.
[6]
Citizen Journalism: Non Lethal Special Forces Operations
"Citizen journalism is a very powerful, very powerful
tool," Barnett says. Jane Kirtley, director of the Silha Center for the
Study of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota, says the
role of the citizen journalist in Iran is critical right now. --
Citizen
journalists play critical role in Iran: KARE-11, 22 June
2009.
Resources:
Witness Protection
All individuals assisting with reporting associated with a human rights
violation, must be protected at all costs with intensive engagement of
the international community (Leaders, UN agencies, UNESCO:
college/unversity system, NGO's and media networks, 192 UN member
countries).
Expanding dialogue associated with successful prosecution of organized
crime groups and terrorists to human rights violations is now a focus
point. Please note comments made by INTERPOL Secretary General
Ronald K. Noble, at the 3rd International Witness Protection Symposium:
Witness Protection/Security a Key Partner in the Judicial Process,
Lyon, (France) 30 October 2008:
[7]
The
theme for this third symposium “Witness Security/Protection, a Key
Partner in
the Judicial Process”, adequately reflects the increasing importance of
this
particularly demanding aspect of law enforcement work – and the need
for
judicial authorities and law enforcement to work closely together in
this
area.
Of
equal importance is the opportunity for those directly involved in
witness protection, whether they are police, prosecutors or judges, to
meet with their counterparts from other countries to learn from each
other, address common issues, and compare and improve upon best
practices with regard to witness protection.
Indeed,
all of us here today know that successful prosecution of crime cases,
particularly against organized crime groups and terrorists, greatly
depends on credible witnesses being able to provide their testimonies
without fear of retribution. Ensuring, therefore, the safety and
welfare of witnesses sends a strong
message to our citizens that the justice system is effective, and
demonstrates
the commitment to bring criminals into the folds of the law. This is
true
for all of INTERPOL’s 187 member countries.
See also: Witness protection experts convene at INTERPOL General
Secretariat: Interpol, 05 September 2007. [8]
Framing
a Legal Case including filing a complaint to the UN human
Rights Council
Research
The new
international standard for reporting human rights violations includes
evidence collection, photo, video documentation, collaboration and
verification:
International
Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC),
governed by the Rome Statute, is the first permanent, treaty based,
international criminal court established to help end impunity for the
perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international
community.
The ICC is an independent international
organisation, and is not part of the United Nations system. Its seat is
at The Hague in the Netherlands. Although the Court’s expenses are
funded primarily by States Parties, it also receives voluntary
contributions from governments, international organisations,
individuals, corporations and other entities.
Url: www.icc-cpi.int
To
submit information about alleged crimes, please write to:
International
Criminal Court
Office of the Prosecutor
Communications
Post Office Box 19519
2500 CM The Hague
The Netherlands.
Or
email: otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int,
Or
send information by facsimile to: +31 70 515 8555
References:
1. The Ultimate Objective: Humanitarian Resource Institute. Url: http://www.humanitarian.net/interfaith/studycenter/Omnia_vincit_amor
2. International Bar Association: Url: http://www.ibanet.org
3. International Bar Association Human Rights Institute: Url: http://www.ibanet.org/IBAHRI.aspx
4. International Bar Association International Criminal Court (ICC)
Monitoring and Outreach Programme: Url: http://www.ibanet.org/Human_Rights_Institute/ICC_Outreach_Monitoring/ICC_monitoring_and_outreach_project.aspx
5. Neda Agha-Soltan's death (Wickpedia): Url: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neda_Soltani
6. In a Death Seen Around the World, a Symbol of Iranian
Protests: New York Times, 22 June 2009. Url: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/world/middleeast/23neda.html?ref=middleeast
7. Witness Protection/Security a Key Partner in the Judicial Process,
Lyon, (France) 30 October 2008. Url: http://www.interpol.int/public/icpo/speeches/2008/SGUSMarshals20081030.asp
8. Witness protection experts convene at INTERPOL General Secretariat:
Interpol, 05 September 2007. Url: http://www.interpol.int/public/News/2007/WitnessProtection20070905.asp
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