New IPS Article: ‘The Promise and Challenges of New Actors and New Technologies in International Justice’

Building on work on the Anchoring Accountability for Mass Atrocities project, IPS Executive Director Federica D’Alessandra and IPS Visiting Fellow of Practice Kirsty Sutherland have published new research into ‘The Promise and Challenges of New Actors and New Technologies in International Justice’. In the article, which was published in a Special Symposium of OUP’s Journal of International Criminal Justice dedicated new technologies and investigations of international crimes, the authors (I) contextualize some preliminary findings from our research on the ‘accountability-turn’, by situating them against what they define as a ‘third wave’ of institutional developments in international justice (ie. the UN novel investigative mechanisms for Syria, Myanmar, and Deash); (II) discuss — using real-world examples — both the opportunities and challenges arising from the use of digital and new documentation technologies in the field; (III) discuss the role (and unique challenges) of UN mandates affected by the ‘accountability-turn’ vis a vis digital technologies; and (iv) discuss the need to develop better international guidance and best practices to maximize the effective use of new technologies and digital evidence in international justice processes.