Panel discussion: Digital Evidence and Accountability

This panel will explore how open-source investigation techniques and secure documentation tools, such as the eyeWitness to Atrocities app, can enhance accountability for human rights violations. Combining legal, journalistic, and technological viewpoints, it will examine methods for investigating, safely capturing, and preserving evidence to meet court standards. The discussion will also feature insights from Manisha Ganguly regarding her work on The Guardian’s Gaza Project, which involved an investigation into the killing of journalists in Gaza.

Annie Kelly (chair) is an award-winning human rights journalist for the Guardian and Observer. She is editor of the Guardian's Rights and Freedom series.

Manisha Ganguly is an investigations correspondent and the open-source lead for the Guardian. She has the first PhD in open-source investigations from the University of Westminster.

Nadeshda Jayakody is a Legal Advisor at eyeWitness to Atrocities where she supports human rights defenders, journalists and others who are capturing photo and video evidence of international crimes and serious human rights violations to pursue justice and accountability. She is a lawyer specialising in international criminal law, human rights law and humanitarian law and has worked for NGOs and the UN in Iraq, Sri Lanka and New York. She has been recognised as a young woman to watch by Young Australians in International Affairs.

Nick Waters is an expert in open source investigation of audio-visual content from conflict areas. He is currently an Impact Fellow at the University of Swansea's School of Law and was previously the head of Justice and Accountability at Bellingcat, working to demonstrate the viability of open source information for accountability purposes. He holds an MA in Conflict, Security and Development from KCL and served in the British Army as an infantry officer.

Rawan Shaif is an investigator and analyst specializing in documenting atrocities and human rights violations using open- and closed-source evidence. She has worked with the U.N. and other leading organizations, focusing on conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Sudan, and Iraq.air)

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, London, United Kingdom