On 26 February 2025, Al-Haq's FAI Unit participated in RightsCon 2025 as part of a panel discussion titled "Attacks Against Healthcare", in collaboration with our partners at Eyewitness to Atrocities. This panel showcased our visual library prototype, an extensive digital archive documenting Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory. The database contains hundreds of closed-source videos captured by Al-Haq field researchers via the Eyewitness app since 2016.

Source: Al-Haq FAI Unit, a screenshot from the working prototype of the Palestinian Visual HR Archive.

Cross-Context Dialogue on Human Rights Documentation

The panel brought together experts in human rights documentation from Palestine, Ukraine, and Sudan, alongside the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center, to discuss the challenges of documenting atrocities across different conflict zones. The conversation highlighted the targeting of healthcare institutions, not only through direct attacks on hospitals but also through tactics that render them inoperative—such as cutting off electricity, water, and other essential resources.

Technology and Documentation Challenges

We explored the role of technology in human rights documentation, acknowledging both its potential and the barriers it presents, particularly for established organizations facing resource constraints. The discussion also addressed critical gaps in access to aerial imagery, which remains an essential tool in verifying and geolocating attacks.

Documenting Gendered Violence and Other Challenges

Panelists also examined the documentation of attacks on women and girls in conflict zones, emphasizing the need for specialized protocols. Additionally, the conversation covered broader challenges that human rights defenders face, including restricted access to crime scenes, funding limitations, and the increasing pace of human rights violations—all of which necessitate innovative approaches to documentation.

This panel reinforced the urgency of supporting human rights defenders with technological and financial resources to enhance their documentation efforts and ensure accountability for crimes committed in conflict settings.

For more information on the work of the unit, contact the following email: [email protected]