WITNESS Media Archive's Content

Interview with Kudakwashe Chitsike

WITNESS Media Archive — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:52:48 -0800

Kudakwashe Chitsike, program manager for Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU), a WITNESS partner, discusses how their video, Hear Us: Women Affected by Political Violence in Zimbabwe Speak Out, has impacted their campaign work.

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EVERY WOMAN HAS A STORY, EVERY STORY CAN CREATE CHANGE

WITNESS Media Archive — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:49:51 -0800

2009 WITNESS Focus for Change Video. Highlighting WITNESS' use of video to end violence against women

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It's Still Going On: Reproductive Rights Violations in Mexico

WITNESS Media Archive — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:00:47 -0700

Running Time: 11:20 min.

"It's Still Going On: Reproductive Rights Violations in Mexico" was produced by the Center for Women's Rights - Naaxwiin (previously part of the Women's Commission at UCIZONI, Union de Comunidades Indigenas de la Zona Norte del Istmo, Comision de la Mujer), focusing on the advancement and protection of the reproductive rights of women in health care institutions in Oaxaca, Mexico. Although rich in some of Mexico's most diverse indigenous populations, Oaxaca remains one of the poorest states in the country. The video demonstrates, through testimonies, the constant violation of indigenous women's rights, particularly in Oaxaca's government-run health centers. Women tell stories of being pressured into accepting contraceptive measures, such as intra-uterine devices, and sometimes being coerced into sterilization.

Naaxwiin, now a member of the WITNESS Partner Network, originally began working with WITNESS in 1999, when the organization still formed part of UCIZONI as the Women's Commission. Its last film, "Now is the Hardest Time," was jointly produced with WITNESS in 2000, and addresses the impact that public policy for economic development has had on indigenous communities. Specifically, this video demonstrates how the "Puebla Panama Plan" threatens the economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous women in Oaxaca.

Kosovo and Beyond

WITNESS Media Archive — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:57:15 -0700

Running Time: 9:30 min.

The footage you see in "Kosovo and Beyond" details gruesome evidence of Serbian torture and killing of ethnic Albanians. In June 1999, WITNESS' Executive Director Gillian Caldwell and Technology Consultant Eric Leland flew to Albania to train and equip five Kosovar Albanian journalists with digital cameras, who returned to Kosovo to document human rights abuses there. Facing severe risks, these journalists captured evidence of some of the worst violations of human rights in history. Visiting massacre-sites, mass-graves and speaking to survivors and family members of victims, they gathered powerful visual evidence of the range of atrocities committed in Kosovo in violation of international law. Testimonies featured in "Kosovo and Beyond," such as that of Isa Gashi, describe in excruciating detail instances of looting, torture (including burning and mutilation) and killing of civilians. For detailed descriptions of the WITNESS Kosovo Project and information about the contents of these videos, visit the Media Archive and read the descriptions of the tapes. Graham Blewit, Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yusgoslavia (ICTY) in an interview with WITNESS staff, described the importance of the video: "Video evidence is vital and is going to be a very significant, and necessary, form of evidence."

As the massacres of thousands of Kosovars stand testimony, attempts to persecute and exterminate entire populations simply because of race, ethnicity, religion or other social status are all too common in recent times. Similar violence in Sierra Leone, Rwanda and East Timor underscores the fact that no place is immune from grave human rights violations. Watch "Kosovo and Beyond" and read more about the importance of an effective International Criminal Court, the first ever permanent court established to promote the rule of law and ensure that the gravest international crimes do not go unpunished.

Fueling Abuse

WITNESS Media Archive — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:45:54 -0700

Running Time: 6:56 min.

"Fueling Abuse" exposes the oppression of Karen ethnic minority
civilians in Eastern Burma, and draws attention to the dire situation
in Burma, where the military junta is systematically uprooting
villages and brutalizing the civilian population. Foreign development
of natural resources by companies such as U.S. based Unocal allows for
opportunities for the Burmese army, employed as a security unit for the
company, to intensify their already abusive patterns.

Ecuador's Black Plague

WITNESS Media Archive — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:28:48 -0700

Running Time: 4:24 min

In 1993, Ecuadorian plaintiffs representing 30,000 indigenous people and farmers filed a class-action lawsuit against Texaco in U.S. Court, Maria Aguinda vs. Texaco. The case was the first environmental lawsuit ever filed in the U.S. by foreign plaintiffs alleging that a U.S. oil corporation violated the law of nations by causing pollution abroad. WITNESS partner, Amazon Watch, produced the documentary "Ecuador's Black Plague" in an effort to educate the public about Texaco's toxic legacy in the Ecuadorian Amazon and to gain more support in pressuring ChevronTexaco to clean up the mess it left in the Amazon.

Amazon Watch works with indigenous and environmental organizations in the Amazon Basin to defend the environment and advance indigenous peoples' rights in the face of large-scale industrial development-oil and gas pipelines, power lines, roads, and other mega-projects.

The Death of Tyson: the Life and Times of a Zambian Street Kid

WITNESS Media Archive — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:59:54 -0700

Running Time: 28:30 min.

Patrick Nkandu, a child orphaned by AIDS, grew up and died on the streets of Lusaka, Zambia. The short documentary video THE DEATH OF TYSON tells his story. We share the experience of the hundreds of thousands AIDS orphans in southern Africa who are homeless and done constant violence. Yet the story is not one of victimage, but of extraordinary love and courage. We hear of young street kids forming their own little families and the work of heroic volunteers who support them, even as we hear the lies and denials of government officials. THE DEATH OF TYSON is a window into the crisis of street kids in Africa in all its complexity.

Witness to Truth (Excerpts)

WITNESS Media Archive — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:52:18 -0700

Running Time: 7 min.

A Video Report and Recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Sierra Leone

In a groundbreaking use of video documentation, WITNESS was invited by the Sierra Leonean Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to produce the first video accompaniment to an official TRC report. "Witness to Truth" summarizes the key findings and recommendations of the TRC's report -- highlighting the key causes and consequences of the war, raising public awareness of the TRC's peace-building efforts throughout the country, and encouraging civil society in Sierra Leone and beyond to hold the government accountable for implementing the binding recommendations that will be issued by the TRC.

WITNESS and Angelina Jolie Secure Unprecedented Committment to the TRC Process by President Kabbah

May 2005

Academy-award winning actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie traveled to Sierra Leone in mid May 2005 with WITNESS executive director Gillian Caldwell to urge President Kabbah to accept and implement the final recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. To read Gillian's ongoing Blog, visit: http://witness.typepad.com/gillian_in_salone/.

President Kabbah made an unprecedented statement of public commitment to the TRC process, by promising that his Government would release a detailed policy paper on plans to implement the recommendations within a maximum of two weeks of receipt of the final written version of the TRC report, which the TRC has assured us will be on his desk by the end of May. The President also extended an invitation to local civil society groups, several of whom we with us in the meeting, to take an active role in shaping the so-called 'TRC White Paper' by submitting proposals and comments directly to the Attorney General.

At the press conference following the meeting, Angelina Jolie promised that once the White Paper is issued and the process of implementing changes is in progress, she would urge support from the international community to make fresh funds available to Sierra Leone. And because of Angelina's visit, the world took notice of what was happening in Sierra Leone --- news of her trip and accomplishment circulated in broadcasts, newspapers and magazines around the world, reaching millions of people.

Enchaines par Promesses: L'Esclavage Contemporain Dans Les Campagnes du Bresil (Extraits)

WITNESS Media Archive — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:36:51 -0800

Running Time: 03:51 min.

The video above contains excerpts from "Bound by Promises."
Every year, more than 25,000 workers are enslaved by landowners in rural Brazil, mostly in the Amazon region. “Bound by Promises” tells the story of men who set out in search of work and are taken to isolated ranches in the Amazon, only to find that they have been lured into debt bondage. Forced to do backbreaking work and live in overcrowded shacks with no running water, armed guards remind the workers that those who try to run away may be killed. With no way out, they toil in the hope of buying back their freedom.
Despite the fact that Brazil pledged to eradicate slave labor by the end of 2006, there is still a long way to go. Current inspections barely cover half the complaints received from runaway slaves, and although 4,000 workers are released each year, no landowner has ever been imprisoned for the crime of slavery. The few criminal charges ever pressed remain at a standstill, languishing in the judicial system because of a debate over whether they should be tried in state or federal courts. Rampant impunity combined with a lack of economic opportunities continues to force tens of thousands of men to enter the cycle of slavery each year.

TAKE ACTION TO END SLAVE LABOR IN RURAL BRAZIL NOW.

Shoot on Sight

WITNESS Media Archive — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:16:41 -0800

Watch "Shoot on Sight" and contact Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon to demand UN Security Council action on Eastern Burma and to exert immediate pressure on the military junta in Burma to stop violence and enter dialogue throughout the country.

Beginning August 19, 2007 there was a series of peaceful protests across Burma as monks, activists and ordinary citizens challenge misrule and repression. On September 26, the Burmese military government responded with violence. Thousands of protestors were seized and taken away, hundreds have disappeared, and the military has clamped down on all dissent.

Meanwhile, in eastern Burma, a 45-year catastrophe has reached one of its worst moments, as the country's military junta escalates its attacks against the area's ethnic minorities. The government's efforts to assert control over ethnic border areas have emptied over 3,000 villages in a decade, an average of almost one village each day over the past ten years. The forces of Burma's military junta, the State Peace & Development Council (SPDC), are mortaring villages, looting and burning homes to the ground, and destroying crops in an effort to obliterate the livelihoods of rural communities. Burmese soldiers are ordered to shoot civilians on sight.

Act Now to demand change for the people of Burma!

Over 500,000 displaced people live in constant insecurity in eastern Burma, and over 30,000 more have been displaced because of this most recent offensive. Those who are captured by the Burmese army face forced labor, conscription, torture, rape and even execution. The rest are unable to return to their homes for fear of stepping on landmines laid after their escape. Instead, the displaced live in makeshift camps in the jungle, enduring some of the worst health conditions in any world crisis today.

As this crisis escalates, it threatens to destabilize not only Burma but the region at large. The increasing refugee exodus places a burden on neighboring states, and regional politicians are concerned that epidemics of HIV/AIDS and other diseases will spill over into their own communities.

Only broader international consensus and diplomatic pressure will bring an end to these human rights abuses, allow entry of adequate amounts of humanitarian aid, and provide a political solution and a transition to democracy for ethnic minorities and the broader population in Burma.