Regional Program: Africa

Nkem Agunwa

Program Manager

Loui Mainga

Communications Coordinator

Jacquelyne Jasper-Ikpendu

Program Assistant

Mercy Abiro

Program Intern

As more people continue to use their phones to expose violations of human rights, we have created this video resource to provide helpful guidance and tips on how you can effectively film human rights abuses so that justice and accountability can be achieved.

The move by the Nigerian government to place a ban on Twitter is not only unlawful and arbitrary, it also sets a terrible example for the rest of the African continent. We urge the Nigerian government to reinstate access to Twitter & respect human rights. #KeepItOn 

LISTEN: Eyes on Internet Shutdowns in Africa 

On this episode, we focus on how internet shutdowns in Africa violate several human rights and foster impunity. We also offer some tips for how activists can document human rights abuses during an internet shutdown.

LISTEN: How their videos created change

From Mexico to Nigeria, Syria to the United States, citizen journalists have bravely and strategically used video to expose human rights abuses and create change. In this episode, we go over some case studies and share tactics for documenting more trustworthy video evidence.

LISTEN: Role of video evidence during the #EndSARS protests

On this episode, we speak with Treasure Nduka, a Nigerian woman who was arrested for filming during the 2020 #EndSARS protests in Nigeria. Her arrest was caught on camera by a witness and that video was later used to secure Treasure’s release from police detention. Treasure’s story demonstrates the power of video evidence in achieving justice and the importance of civic engagement in the pursuit of accountability.

LISTEN: Countering misinformation in the era of Covid-19

WITNESS RELEASES REPORT ADVOCATING FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AFRICAN COMMISSION’S ENDOROIS DECISION

WITNESS together with a coalition of NGOs advocating for the full implementation of the Endorois decision by the African Commission on Human and People’s rights issued a report on April 4 2022 on the non-implementation of the decision twelve years after. The coalition which includes Center for Minorities Right Development (CEMIRIDE), Endorois Welfare Council (EWC) and Minorities Rights Group International (MRG) released the report which documents how the loss of the Endorois ancestral land has led to a vicious cycle of impoverishment and underdevelopment of the community. Read report here.

WITNESS CO-HOSTS THE VOICES AT RISK WORKSHOP

In partnership with High Commission of Canada to Nigeria we hosted the Voices At Risk workshop that brought together HRDs, community-based activists and journalists to develop effective strategies for how to stay safe (online and offline) while in the pursuit of justice, accountability and good governance. Click here to read the workshop report.

WITNESS HOSTS #ENDSARS MEMORIAL

In charting the path towards justice and accountability for victims of the 2020 #EndSARS protests, we organized a 1-year memorial event in Abuja tagged: From Capture to Justice on October 18 2021. The event featured a photo exhibition of images from the #EndSARS protests, captured by Benson Ibeabuchi – a photographer based in Lagos.

Considering that trustworthy video evidence will be integral to the pursuit of justice now and in the future, we launched the Bear Witness Kit which consists of a face cap and an accessories belt. Embedded in the face cap is a QR code which when scanned, will take the user to free resources that offer guidance on how to effectively use video to bear witness and expose injustice.

WITNESS HOSTS WEST AFRICAN CONVENING ON MIS/DISINFORMATION

From the 13-15th September 2021 we held a West African convening on mis/disinformation in Abuja, Nigeria. With the invaluable contributions of various stakeholders, we were able to successfully identify some specific solutions that would help combat the spread of mis/disinformation within our context.

Some of the key findings from the convening are the need to prioritise non-technological solutions; also, the need to build synergy between activists at the frontlines and media organisations with shared values. Furthermore, the need to implement targeted and coordinated media literacy campaigns that would prioritise grassroots communities was emphasised. Click here to read the convening report.