18 January 2011
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
Url: www.unarts.org
Twitter: unarts
Humanitarian Intervention Initiative (H-II)
Url: http://www.unarts.org/H-II
H-II: Human Rights Reporting - Evidence Collection - Witness
Protection
International Community Collaborates and Protects
H-II: Stephen Michael Apatow Sets New Standard for Human
Rights
Human Rights Reporting - Evidence Collection - Witness Protection
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:
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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