Human Rights Center

Join a workshop to inform the course of California’s Fifth Climate Assessment! The workshop will include breakout discussions on housing, health, labor, and education, which will be featured in the statewide topical reports.

🗓️ August 7
🕰️ 1–2:30 p.m.
📍 Zoom: opr-ca.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Tracking Change through OSINT: Building a Policy Timeline for the Military Community Until this year, my only connection to the U.S. military was learning to drive on the empty grid surrounding Fort Ord — an abandoned Army…

Our Investigations Lab student Ana Z. Franklin, along with a larger team, worked with @thewarhorsenews.bsky.social to track the Trump administration's policy impacts on veteran and military communities. She reflected on the experience in a beautifully-written blog:
medium.com/humanrightsc...

🚨LAST CHANCE 🚨 Apply by this Monday, July 28 to join us and @instituteici.bsky.social in September at The Hague for our foundational #OSINT training. Investigators, lawyers, journalists, and researchers, this one's for you!
🗓️ September 22–26
📍The Netherlands
iici.global/courses/open...

“My Body Is Burning”: Extreme Heat and Labor Rights in Bangladesh Summers in Dhaka are unforgiving. Smog and dust cloud the sky, veiling the city in a muted haze. Hot air radiates off a canopy of tightly packed metal rooftops. The humidity is suffocating. Water, gas...

📢 HRC student fellow alum Cara Schulte, now a PhD candidate @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social led a powerful new report with @climaterights.bsky.social on how extreme heat and labor abuses are endangering workers across Bangladesh.

Read the full report: cri.org/reports/my-b...

Opinion: Canada must come off the sidelines of international justice We are shying away from our historic support of the ICC, heralding a dark turn in our foreign policy

Canada must join the 50 other states supporting the International Criminal Court in the face of attacks and sanctions by the United States, write HRC Research Fellow @amandaghahremani.com and @alexneve.bsky.social for @theglobeandmail.com: www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Symposium on PMSCs: Who is Responsible? When Private Military Companies Aren’t Completely Private [Lindsay Freeman is the director of the Technology, Law & Policy program at the Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law. She led the drafting of the United Nations’ Berkeley Pr…

Between private military + security companies and state clients, who bears legal responsibility for violence? @lindsaysfreeman.bsky.social + @amandaghahremani.com offer reflections based on HRC's investigation into the Wagner Group in Mali / @opiniojuris.bsky.social:
opiniojuris.org/2025/07/17/s...

Students in the Digital Verifications Corps combed through social media and verified multiple instances of mosques being targeted and destroyed by Israeli forces, as well as bakeries, fisheries, and other places offering sustenance. Read the full report:
www.amnesty.org/en/documents...

Our Investigations Lab students contributed to @amnesty.org's report “‘You feel like you are subhuman:’ Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza” through digital open source research documenting specific attacks on civilian locales:
www.amnesty.org/en/documents...

🚨 🚨Are you an investigator, lawyer, journalist, or researcher interested in skilling up your #OSINT skills to investigate violations of human rights? Train with us and @instituteici.bsky.social September at The Hague 🚨🚨
🗓️ Sept. 22–26
📍The Netherlands
🖊️Apply by July 28:
iici.global/courses/open...

For True Peace, Ceasefires Must Address Digital Warfare, Too | TechPolicy.Press From Gaza and Israel to Russia and Ukraine, any meaningful ceasefire must confront digitally enabled operations, Brett Solomon and Betsy Popken write.

We think of wars as fought with ballistic missiles, defense systems, and bunker bombs — but battlefields are increasingly staged in the digital domain. Peace deals must catch up. @brettsolomon.bsky.social & @betsypopken.bsky.social / @techpolicypress.bsky.social:
www.techpolicy.press/for-true-pea...

Now that a Canadian has died in U.S. immigration custody, Canada can no longer justify U.S. exceptionalism At a time when Canada should be distinguishing itself from the U.S. and reaffirming our values, which include human rights, dignity and equality for all, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s administration

At a time when #Canada should be distinguishing itself from the #US and reaffirming values of human rights, dignity + equality for all, PM Carney‘s administration is doing the opposite through the Strong Borders Act. I explain the dangers in @thestar.com #Cdnpoli

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

🚨Apply Now!🚨Calling investigators, lawyers, journalists, and researchers: Join us alongside @instituteici.bsky.social in September at The Hague for our foundational #OSINT training.
🗓️ September 22–26
📍The Netherlands
🖊️Apply by July 28
iici.global/courses/open...

Don't miss my conversation w/ @lindsaysfreeman.bsky.social on today's @lawfaremedia.org podcast about @hrcberkeley.bsky.social's investigation into the Wagner Group's "war influencers" and their ICC submission advocating for prosecution of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Mali

Lawfare Daily: Prosecuting the Sahel's War Influencers with Lindsay Freeman Podcast Episode · The Lawfare Podcast · 07/01/2025 · 44m

Tech, Law & Policy Director @lindsaysfreeman.bsky.social spoke with @tylermcbrien.com for @lawfaremedia.org about our investigation into the Wagner Group's crimes in Mali and our ICC submission urging prosecution of Wagner commanders & Mali junta leadership:

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

"This devolution of civilization and show of savagery is no longer just the stuff of overwrought fiction. It exists today as a real-world horror — broadcast on the open internet for the world to witness." @lindsaysfreeman.bsky.social for @lawfaremedia.org:
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/war-...

Opinion: As our allies abandon the Ottawa Convention against landmines, Canada must publicly defend it The NATO summit is the ideal place to push back on five allies’ efforts to withdraw from our namesake treaty, which bans the use of explosives that typically kill civilians

As our allies abandon the Ottawa Convention against landmines, Canada must publicly defend it, writes HRC Researcher @amandaghahremani.com:
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

"In West Africa...there is a new band of online influencers: war influencers" @lindsaysfreeman.bsky.social @hrcberkeley.bsky.social details how the Wagner group + other PMCs use Telegram to terrorize - and details 1st steps to accountability www.lawfaremedia.org/article/war-...

A confidential brief urges the ICC to investigate Wagner's promotion of atrocities in West Africa The International Criminal Court is reviewing a confidential legal report arguing that the Russia-linked Wagner group has committed war crimes by spreading images of apparent atrocities in West Africa...

“Wagner has deftly leveraged information and communications technologies to cultivate and promote its global brand as ruthless mercenaries,” said Lindsay Freeman, director of the Technology, Law & Policy program at the Human Rights Center (@hrcberkeley.bsky.social): apnews.com/article/wagn...

A confidential brief urges the ICC to investigate Wagner's promotion of atrocities in West Africa The International Criminal Court is reviewing a confidential legal report arguing that the Russia-linked Wagner group has committed war crimes by spreading images of apparent atrocities in West Africa...

As the impact of this investigation continues to unfold, we strongly call for intervention by the ICC and other justice mechanisms that can hold Wagner and other perpetrators accountable for their atrocities against civilians in Mali:
apnews.com/article/wagn...

From Incels to Mercenaries: When Online Hate Becomes Real-World Violence | TechPolicy.Press The internet functions as a nauseating funhouse mirror to hate, normalizing violence towards women and vulnerable populations, writes Ceren Fitoz.

This theme is explored further by HRC investigator Ceren Fitoz, who wrote about the need for on and offline action to disrupt abuse against women and vulnerable groups and pursue justice, for @techpolicypress.bsky.social:
www.techpolicy.press/from-incels-...

Terror, Chaos, and Shame: When Information Operations Constitute War Crimes - Lieber Institute West Point The harmful consequences of information operations have led to considerations of when they may qualify as an international crime.

"The Wagner Group’s use of Telegram + ICTs broadcasts their crimes to every country in the world, making their localized violence a global issue," wrote @lindsaysfreeman.bsky.social / @articlesofwar.bsky.social on emerging tech amplifying the impact of violence: lieber.westpoint.edu/terror-chaos...

"This devolution of civilization & show of savagery is no longer just the stuff of overwrought fiction. It exists today as a real-world horror—broadcast on the open internet for the world to witness," wrote @lindsaysfreeman.bsky.social / @lawfaremedia.org today:
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/war-...

Takeaways from AP report on Wagner allegedly committing war crimes by promoting atrocities The International Criminal Court has been asked to review a confidential legal report arguing that the Russia-linked Wagner group has committed war crimes by spreading images of apparent atrocities in...

Led by @lindsaysfreeman.bsky.social, our Technology, Law & Policy team investigated the Wagner Group’s exploitation of its Telegram network where members post & circulate content of horrific acts of violence that may constitute war crimes; @washingtonpost.com:
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

After more than 2 years of investigation (before US sanctioned personnel of the International Criminal Court), we submitted an Article 15 communication advocating for the investigation/prosecution of Wagner commanders & Malian junta leadership for alleged war crimes+crimes against humanity in Mali.

A confidential brief urges the ICC to investigate Wagner's promotion of atrocities in West Africa The International Criminal Court is reviewing a confidential legal report arguing that the Russia-linked Wagner group has committed war crimes by spreading images of apparent atrocities in West Africa...

"As the world largely focuses on wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, the Sahel has become the deadliest place on earth for extremism," —@monikapronczuk.bsky.social + @smednick.bsky.social / @apnews.com highlighting our ICC submission re. the Wagner Group’s atrocities in Mali: apnews.com/article/wagn...

Series on Gender and Protests in Iran

Check out all the pieces in our @justsecurity.org series, co-produced with our partners at @slpjustice.bsky.social, @law.ucla.edu, Mnemonic & more on our collaborative investigations into gender persecution and attacks on #WomanLifeFreedom protestors in Iran:
www.justsecurity.org/tag/series-o...

Koenig & Richardson also write about a new set of guidelines (open for review thru June 30), produced with @instituteici.bsky.social, to help open source investigators use minimum ethical standards when handling sensitive open source data related to sexual violence:
www.muradcode.com/open-source-...

Gender Persecution in the Islamic Republic of Iran - Berkeley Human Rights Center

This report, co-authored with @slpjustice.bsky.social, illustrates how open source information can help establish the elements of the international crime against humanity of gender persecution, for which there has yet to be a successful conviction:
humanrights.berkeley.edu/publications...

Open-Source Information Provides Powerful Evidence of Gender Crimes in Iran and Beyond Digital open source data can be ethically deployed to strengthen investigations and prosecutions on gender crimes in Iran and elsewhere.

The final in a special @justsecurity.org series, @alexakoenig.bsky.social and Andrea Richardson discuss how #OSINT can strengthen accountability for gender crimes through our report on attacks against #WomanLifeFreedom protestors:
www.justsecurity.org/112988/open-...

🚨LAST CHANCE: TWO DAYS TO APPLY!🚨 Calling investigators, lawyers, journalists, and researchers: Join us in August at @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social for our foundational #OSINT training held with @instituteici.bsky.social:
🗓️ August 4–8
📍Berkeley Law
🖊️ Apply by June 20
iici.global/courses/open...