Article by Federica D’Alessandra in the Journal of International Criminal Justice reviewing the revolution in the way documentation of international crimes by civil society (for example NGOs) has been used in international criminal justice. Evidence of crimes taken by NGOs on the ground has moved from the margins of judicial proceedings to the very heart of accountability for international crimes.
It is written from a personal perspective by virtue of Federica's involvement in a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening civil society’s documentation efforts (that is, documenting human rights abuses and other crimes on the ground as they occur). She writes: "It has been truly amazing to see materials generated by NGOs appear directly in trial proceedings to form the basis for ICC arrest warrants, support guilty plea convictions at the ICC, and lead to convictions pursuant to domestic proceedings (including some on the basis of universal jurisdiction) in places such as Germany, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just to name a few."
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