EyeWitness to Atrocities as a Tool for Collecting Digital Evidence of Atrocity Crimes in Ukraine
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We invite you to participate in the event "EyeWitness to Atrocities as a Tool for Collecting Digital Evidence of International Crimes in Ukraine: The First Judicial Practice", organized jointly by the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA), the National School of Judges of Ukraine (NSJU), and the International Bar Association (IBA).
The event is ONLY for judges.
"eyeWitness to Atrocities" (“eyeWitness”) was created as an initiative of the IBA in 2015 for documenting photo and video evidence of war crimes and human rights violations. eyeWitness provides a free to use controlled capture camera app for Android phones. This novel technical solution automatically collects metadata confirming the authenticity of photo/video/audio recordings, and protects the information uploaded to the app from further editing.
Since February 2022, users in Ukraine have captured more than 50,000 items of footage using the eyeWitness app with regard to various crimes committed in Ukraine, including indiscriminate targeting of civilian infrastructure, destruction of healthcare facilities, and many others. "eyeWitness to Atrocities" has also been actively used for documenting atrocity crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Palestine, Nigeria, and other countries. See more about the app here.
Ukrainian courts have begun developing judicial practice in reviewing evidence collected through the eyeWitness app. The first relevant judgments were delivered by courts in Kharkiv Oblast in 2022, 2023, and 2024, in cases concerning property damage to enterprises.
Date: 7 May 2025, 15.30 (EEST/Kyiv time)
Format: online (ZOOM)
Languages: English/Ukrainian (with simultaneous interpretation)
THE AGENDA
Moderator – Representative of the National School of Judges of Ukraine
Welcoming remarks
- Representative of the National School of Judges of Ukraine
Presentation of EyeWitness to Atrocities
- Carrie Bowker, Director, EyeWitness to Atrocities
- Dmytro Hladkyi, Lawyer, Coordinator of EyeWitness to Atrocities in Ukraine
Q&A
- Each participant will have the opportunity to ask their questions
Questions to be discussed:
- How the app «EyeWitness to Atrocities» works?
- What happens to the footage once it is uploaded to the EyeWitness platform?
- How can collected evidence be used to support legal accountability and reporting efforts?
- What has it been like using the EyeWitness app in Ukraine: real cases
Prior registration is MANDATORY to participate.
All registered participants will be sent a link to join by the National School of Judges.
For additional information about the event, contact: +380 (97) 256-30-41, e-mail: gr@uba.ua. Contact person – Daria Lupiichuk.