For Woman, Life, Freedom: Iran Digital Archive Coalition
The Promise Institute for Human Rights, the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Litigation Project, and the Iran Digital Archive Coalition invite you to a hybrid event on Friday, September 20, 2024 from 2:00 – 5:30 PM PT at The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles, California.
Two years after the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini and the emergence of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, victims and survivors have yet to see justice for the atrocity crimes and human rights violations committed against them. In response to this accountability gap, a coalition of open source investigation experts and human rights groups came together to preserve, verify, and analyze vulnerable digital artifacts recording serious human rights violations committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran against protesters.
The work of the Iran Digital Archive Coalition has contributed to the preservation of over two million pieces of content housed at Mnemonic, has submitted material to the investigation and findings of the UN’s International Fact Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, and has published reports verifying digital content indicating the commission of several different violations, including enforced disappearance and gender persecution.
In light of this work, the Iran Digital Archive Coalition will be hosting an event to discuss ongoing efforts and the pathway forward to achieve accountability for human rights violations carried out during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. The event will begin with a brief introduction to the Iran Digital Archive Coalition, followed by a conversation with Afsoon Najafi, sister of Hadis Najafi who was shot and killed by Islamic Republic of Iran security forces during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. Representatives of the Iran Digital Archive Coalition will then participate on a panel to present the findings of each of their organization’s reports on recent human rights abuses. Following a short break, we will be joined by Elahe Tavakolian, who took to the streets during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests and was shot and blinded by Islamic Republic security forces. Finally, the event will conclude with a conversation between Sara Hossain, Chair of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran and Actor and Activist, Nazanin Boniadi.