Evidence Preservation

OJAH's team of documenters and filed investigators gather and archive evidence though conducting interviews with survivors and witnesses of serious violations of international law, including sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), arbitrary detention, and extrajudicial killings. The team further gathers and archives materials such as photographs, videos, and other forms of electronic evidence. OJAH is expanding its capacities for open-source investigations with the assistance of partner organizations. In all instances, OJAH adheres to documentation best practices including the principle of 'Do No Harm', obtaining informed consent from witnesses and survivors, documenting the provenance of gathered materials, and maintaining a chain of custody. 

OJAH is working with expert partners to innovate systems for scanning, archiving, preserving, and managing materials that are collected from the field and open-source investigations. These materials will be preserved to international standards and made available to justice actors for use in prosecutions and investigations.