.
.
.

23 June 2009  Updated: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



###



Back to Humanitarian Intervention Initiative  (H-II)

Copyright © 1994-2010 Humanitarian Resource Institute.  All rights reserved
..