Documenting Human Rights Violations and Abuses

Documentation is the act of recording an event, incident or experience. It is something that is done each time you take a photograph, clip an interesting article from a newspaper or magazine, keep a diary or a notebook, or re-tell a story to someone who was not present at the time. Documentation is the first step towards seeking justice for human rights violations and abuses. Without proper and comprehensive documentation, Human Rights Defenders cannot begin to obtain redress or remedy for injustices. It is essential to keep a record of any incident, its victims and perpetrators.