WITNESS
Human rights nonprofit that equips people to use video and related technology to document abuses and pursue accountability.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
WITNESS is a United States-based human rights nonprofit focused on the use of video and other digital technologies to document abuses, support advocacy, inform public debate, and strengthen efforts to obtain justice. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the organization works with people and civil-society groups close to the communities affected by violence, discrimination, repression, and other violations. Rather than functioning as a conventional media outlet, WITNESS generally acts as a partner, trainer, technical adviser, and campaign organization, helping activists create material that is compelling while also being safe, ethical, verifiable, and useful in legal or policy settings. The organization emerged from musician and activist Peter Gabriel’s experience during Amnesty International’s 1988 Human Rights Now! Tour. Gabriel saw how a portable consumer camcorder could record and transmit personal testimony, and the 1991 videotaped police beating of Rodney King reinforced his view that visual evidence could make otherwise ignored abuses impossible to dismiss. WITNESS was established in 1992 with assistance from the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, now Human Rights First, and a $1 million seed grant from the Reebok Human Rights Foundation. It became an independent nonprofit in 2001. Over time, WITNESS expanded from distributing cameras and producing films into a broader field commonly described as video for change. Its work has included training kits and an online resource library, partnerships with local human rights groups, support for documentation and advocacy campaigns, and projects designed to protect both the people recording material and the integrity of the recordings. The organization has worked on gender-based violence, child soldier recruitment, human trafficking, elder abuse, discrimination, police accountability, political transitions, and climate-related harms. Its partnerships have reached more than 300 human rights organizations in over 80 countries. WITNESS has also developed or supported digital infrastructure for human rights documentation. The Hub, launched in 2007, was created as a dedicated place to upload human rights videos that might not be accepted or discoverable on mainstream platforms; it later became an archive of material uploaded there. In collaboration with the Guardian Project, the Cameras Everywhere initiative explored tools for secure capture, privacy protection, and authenticity. Projects associated with this work included face-obscuring technology, encrypted metadata, and methods for recording contextual information such as location and nearby wireless signals. The organization has used online distribution and social media as part of its outreach since the late 1990s and particularly intensified that work from 2009 onward. In 2012, it joined Storyful and YouTube in launching the Human Rights Channel. WITNESS has additionally convened public events, including the Focus for Change benefit dinner and concert, and has participated in international campaigns and policy discussions. Its work is aimed not simply at producing images, but at ensuring that visual testimony contributes to public engagement, institutional reform, survivor-centered advocacy, and accountability.
History
WITNESS was founded in 1992 by musician and activist Peter Gabriel with support from the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, now known as Human Rights First, and its founding executive director Michael Posner. Gabriel’s interest in visual documentation developed through his participation in Amnesty International’s 1988 Human Rights Now! Tour, where he encountered firsthand accounts of abuses and recognized the potential of newly available portable camcorders. The videotaped 1991 police beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles became a further catalyst: the recording demonstrated how a single bystander video could shape public understanding of alleged abuse and force institutional scrutiny. The new organization received a $1 million seed grant from the Reebok Human Rights Foundation. Its initial model centered on placing video equipment and production capacity in the hands of local human rights groups, enabling them to document abuses and communicate directly with audiences, policymakers, and international institutions. WITNESS subsequently developed training materials and advocacy methods intended to connect filming with concrete campaigns rather than treat video as an end in itself. In 1999, the organization was using streaming video as part of its mission and was recognized as a finalist for a RealNetworks Streamers Progressive Award in the nonprofit streaming-media category. In 2001, WITNESS became an independent nonprofit. It introduced the Focus for Change benefit dinner and concert in 2004, and launched the Hub in 2007 as a specialized destination for human rights video. The Hub responded to the difficulty activists sometimes faced when distributing material through commercial platforms; after the wider online ecosystem changed, it shifted toward preserving an archive of previously uploaded content. The organization’s subject areas broadened over the following decade. Projects addressed child soldier recruitment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, modern slavery in Brazil, sex trafficking in the United States, elder abuse, gender-based violence in Mexico and Yemen, and the effects of climate change on young people. WITNESS partnered with local and international organizations to produce films, train activists, support campaigns, and bring visual testimony into legislative, diplomatic, media, and judicial settings. From 2009, WITNESS placed greater emphasis on social media and on the wider concept of video for change. It also addressed the risks created by the rapid spread of mobile recording. With the Guardian Project, WITNESS developed the Cameras Everywhere initiative, exploring tools to protect documenters, obscure the identities of vulnerable people, and preserve the provenance of recordings. Associated concepts included SecureSmartCam, ObscureCam, and InformaCam, which were intended respectively to support secure capture, face blurring, and encrypted contextual metadata. In 2011, WITNESS created a program connected to democratic transitions in the Middle East and North Africa. The program included cooperation with the Egyptian Democratic Academy, regional convening, translation and dissemination of tactics, and exploration of new human rights applications. In 2012, WITNESS partnered with Storyful and YouTube on the Human Rights Channel. Across its history, the organization has reported partnerships with more than 300 groups in over 80 countries. Its continuing role is to help communities use visual evidence responsibly for public engagement, policy change, protection, and justice.
- 2012
Human Rights Channel launches
[1]WITNESS collaborates with Storyful and YouTube on an online human rights video channel.
- 2011
Middle East and North Africa transitions program begins
[1]WITNESS launches support for documentation, civic participation, and digital advocacy amid regional political transitions.
- 2009
Social-media strategy expands
[1]WITNESS makes social media a focused part of its video-for-change outreach.
- 2007
The Hub launches
[1]WITNESS introduces a dedicated platform for human rights video, later converting it into an archive.
- 2004
Focus for Change begins
[1]WITNESS starts its Focus for Change benefit dinner and concert series.
- 2001
Becomes an independent nonprofit
[1]WITNESS separates from its original institutional partnership and operates as an independent nonprofit organization.
- 1999
Early streaming-video work gains recognition
[1]WITNESS uses streaming video in its human rights mission and becomes a finalist for a nonprofit streaming-media award.
- 1992
WITNESS is founded
[1]Peter Gabriel, Human Rights First’s predecessor organization, and Michael Posner establish WITNESS with a $1 million seed grant from the Reebok Human Rights Foundation.
Products and positioning
A global human rights technology and advocacy nonprofit specializing in ethical visual documentation, community partnership, public engagement, and accountability.
Education and advocacy resources
Training kits and online library
WITNESS develops practical materials to help activists, documenters, and videographers plan recordings, protect participants, preserve context, and connect visual evidence to advocacy objectives. The materials are distributed through an online library and support the organization’s partnership-based training model.
Human rights video archive · 2007
The Hub
The Hub was launched in 2007 as a specialized destination where users could upload human rights videos that might not be easily distributed through other services. As online video infrastructure evolved, its role shifted toward preserving and providing access to material previously uploaded to the platform.
Digital documentation initiative · 2012
Cameras Everywhere
Developed with the Guardian Project, Cameras Everywhere addressed the safety, privacy, and authenticity challenges created by mobile human rights documentation. Associated tools and concepts included face obscuring, encrypted contextual information, and secure recording workflows intended to protect activists and strengthen evidentiary value.
Online video channel · 2012
Human Rights Channel
Created with Storyful and YouTube, the Human Rights Channel was designed to increase the visibility and accessibility of human rights video online. It formed part of WITNESS’s broader effort to connect community documentation with global audiences and advocacy networks.
Marketing campaigns
- 2012What I Have Been Through Is Not Who I Am
United States
WITNESS co-produced this short advocacy documentary with ECPAT-USA. It presents the experience of a child trafficking survivor and challenges the reduction of survivors to the abuse they endured.
Outcome. The film was used for public education and anti-trafficking advocacy.
- 2011Middle East and North Africa transitions program
Middle East and North Africa
WITNESS supported civil-society groups during post-Arab Spring political transitions through partnerships, regional convening, translated resources, and technology development.
Outcome. The program expanded access to documentation and advocacy tools; no single final outcome is specified in the reference material.
- 2009Breaking the Silence
Yemen
WITNESS partnered with the Sisters Arab Forum on a documentary about discrimination and abuse affecting Akhdam women in Yemen.
Outcome. The film was banned in Yemen; WITNESS and its partner sought to have the ban lifted.
- 2009An Age for Justice
United States
WITNESS and the National Council on Aging produced a film addressing financial, emotional, and physical abuse of older Americans.
Outcome. The film served as an advocacy and awareness resource; the available reference does not specify a discrete policy result.
- 2007A Duty to Protect
Democratic Republic of the Congo · International
WITNESS worked with AJEDI-Ka/PES to produce a film opposing the recruitment and use of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The film was connected to advocacy concerning accountability for crimes associated with the conflict.
Outcome. A Duty to Protect was screened at a high-level panel at United Nations headquarters, with a companion curriculum developed with Amnesty International.
- 2007Bound by Promises
Brazil
WITNESS supported a documentary on modern-day slavery in rural Brazil, using testimony and visual documentation to bring the issue into public and governmental debate.
Outcome. The film was screened before Brazil’s Congressional Human Rights Commission.
- 2006Dual Injustice and the Ciudad Juárez feminicide campaign
Mexico · International
WITNESS and the Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos used the story of Neyra Cervantes and the imprisonment of her cousin David Meza to campaign against feminicide and torture-tainted convictions in Mexico. The campaign included the film Dual Injustice and sought renewed investigation and accountability.
Outcome. A later meeting involving Mexican officials and advocates produced commitments to review the cases and consider policies addressing feminicide; the available reference does not establish a final legal outcome.
- iMatter Trust Campaign
United States
WITNESS joined Our Children’s Trust, the iMatter Campaign, and student filmmakers in producing videos about climate change, youth experience, and government inaction.
Outcome. The videos supported youth-centered climate advocacy; a specific campaign outcome is not stated in the reference.
Brand decisions
2012
Launch of the Human Rights ChannelProduct launchBackground
Human rights video needed stronger discovery and distribution across mainstream online services.
Action taken
WITNESS partnered with Storyful and YouTube to launch a dedicated Human Rights Channel.
Aftermath
The partnership extended WITNESS’s distribution and public-engagement model onto a major video platform.
2009
Greater emphasis on social mediaStrategyBackground
The spread of online video and social networking created new ways to distribute human rights evidence and mobilize audiences.
Action taken
WITNESS made social media a focused element of its outreach and performance reporting.
Aftermath
The organization increasingly positioned its work within the broader video-for-change field.
2007
Launch of The HubProduct launchBackground
Human rights documenters often faced limitations when distributing sensitive videos through general-purpose platforms.
Action taken
WITNESS created a dedicated upload and distribution platform for human rights video.
Aftermath
The platform later became an archive as other online distribution channels developed.
2001
Transition to independent nonprofit statusStrategyBackground
WITNESS had originally been established with assistance from the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.
Action taken
The organization became independent, allowing it to operate as a standalone human rights nonprofit.
Aftermath
WITNESS continued expanding its partnerships, training, technology, and advocacy programs.
Recent events
- 2015
The New York Times highlights WITNESS-linked video evidence work in Brazil[2]
Other
A New York Times feature discussed WITNESS-supported media activists in Brazilian favelas and their use of video as evidence.
- 2012
WITNESS, Storyful, and YouTube launch the Human Rights Channel[1]
Product launch
The partnership created a channel intended to make human rights video more visible and accessible online.
- 2011
WITNESS supports documentation during Middle East and North Africa transitions[1]
Campaign
WITNESS launched a program supporting human rights documentation, civic engagement, and digital tactics during political transitions following the Arab Spring.
- 2009
WITNESS expands social-media outreach for video for change[1]
Other
The organization made social media a more deliberate part of its outreach and began tracking related activity in its performance reporting.
- 2007
WITNESS launches the Hub for human rights video[1]
Product launch
WITNESS created the Hub as a dedicated platform for uploading and sharing human rights video that could be difficult to place on general-purpose services. The platform later became an archive.
Sources2 sources
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