Changing Landscapes in Documentation Efforts: Civil Society Documentation of Serious Human Rights Violations

• Author: Brianne McGonigle Leyh
• Position: Associate Professor, Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, Utrecht University, NL; Senior Counsel, Public International Law & Policy Group (headquartered in US)
• Pages: 44-58

Brianne McGonigle Leyh, ‘Changing Landscapes in Documentation

Eorts: Civil Society Documentation of Serious Human Rights

Violations’ (2017) 33(84) Utrecht Journal of International and

European Law, pp. 44-58, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ujiel.365

UTRECHT JOURNAL OF

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ATIONAL AND EUROPEAN LA

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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Changing Landscapes in Documentation Eorts:

Civil Society Documentation of Serious Human

Rights Violations

Brianne McGonigle Leyh*

Wittingly or unwittingly, civil society actors have long been faced with the task of document-

ing serious human rights violations. Thirty years ago, such eorts were largely organised by

grassroots movements, often with little support or funding from international actors. Sharing

information and best practices was dicult. Today that situation has signicantly changed. The

purpose of this article is to explore the changing landscape of civil society documentation of

serious human rights violations, and what that means for standardising and professionalising

documentation eorts. Using the recent

Hisséne Habré

case as an example, this article begins

by looking at how civil society documentation can successfully inuence an accountability pro-

cess. Next, the article touches upon barriers that continue to impede greater documentation

eorts. The article examines the changing landscape of documentation, focusing on techno-

logical changes and the rise of citizen journalism and unocial investigations, using Syria as

an example, as well as on the increasing support for documentation eorts both in Syria and

worldwide. The changing landscape has resulted in the proliferation of international documenta-

tion initiatives aimed at providing local civil society actors guidelines and practical assistance

on how to recognise, collect, manage, store and use information about serious human rights

violations, as well as on how to minimise the risks associated with the documentation of human

rights violations. The recent initiatives undertaken by international civil society, including those

by the Public International Law & Policy Group, play an important role in helping to standardise

and professionalise documentation work and promote the foundational principles of documenta-

tion, namely the ‘do no harm’ principle, and the principles of informed consent and conden-

tiality. Recognising the drawback that greater professionalisation may bring, it nevertheless

concludes by applauding the initiatives undertaken thus far and calls for even more sustained

cooperation, dissemination and training for civil society where possible.

Keywords: Human rights; Documentation; Fact-nding; Civil society; Transitional justice

I. Introduction

In times of conflict or situations of systematic abuse, one of the most important roles taken on by civil soci-

ety actors relates to the documentation of serious human rights violations. Definitions vary, but civil society

actors can generally be defined as individuals and groups who ‘engage in forms of public participation and

action around shared interests, purposes or values that are compatible with the goals of the UN: the main-

tenance of peace and security, the realisation of development, and the promotion and respect of human

rights’.1 They include, amongst others, human rights defenders, NGOs, community-based groups, larger net-

works or coalitions, victim associations and individuals.2 The UN Human Rights Council has recognised the

* Associate Professor, Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, Utrecht University, NL; Senior Counsel, Public International Law &

Policy Group (headquartered in US).

1 UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Civil Society Space and the United Nations Human Rights System: A Practical

Guide for Civil Society (UN 2014) 3.

2 See Roberto Belloni, ‘Civil Society and Peace Building in Bosnia-Herzegovina’ (2001) 38 Journal of Peace Research 163; Habib

Zafarullah and Mohammad H Rahman, ‘Human Rights, Civil Society and Nongovernmental Organizations: The Nexus in

Bangladesh’ (2002) 24 Human Rights Quarterly 1011, 1015–1016.