Impact case study database

Impact 1: Cameroonian military release detainees from extrajudicial detention

According to a researcher working with Amnesty International in 2017;

‘FA’s work on the Salak case led to aspects of military aid from the US to Cameroon being suspended, while a number of detainees held extrajudicially in the Salak facility were released into the Cameroonian judicial system.’ Following their release from extrajudicial detention, these individuals were no longer subject to torture or illegal incarceration [5.1].

Impact 2: US Africa Command launch internal inquiry

In July 2017, the month after FA’s research was published, US Africa Command launched an inquiry into the allegations, including whether US personnel had knowledge of torture and extrajudicial killings as described by our investigation, and whether Africa Command and US personnel could have been aware of such activity. As such, FA’s research tangibly impacted the processes of internal US government practices and monitoring [5.2].

Impact 3: US suspend military aid to Cameroon

According to the notes of a meeting between Amnesty International and the investigating officer within US Africa Command, support directed to the Cameroonian military under ‘Title 10’ of the United States Code was paused for an indeterminate period as a result of FA’s investigation. This has had a demonstrable impact on the operational capacity of the Cameroonian military, an institution whose disregard for human rights and civil liberties during and since the period of our investigation is widely demonstrated [5.2].

Impact 4: Media discussion raises public awareness in US

Following FA’s research, a former State Department analyst asked in the editorial pages of the Washington Post whether the US is ‘turning a blind eye’ to human rights abuses by its allies’ security forces. Our investigation was specifically cited as ‘impressive’. Regarding the presence of US personnel at the Salak military base, the article concluded: ‘it is hard to believe that our eagle-eyed special operators could have been oblivious’.

Our research thereby impacted ongoing discussion internationally, tangibly impacting the conditions of debate around a topic of significant public interest, and better equipping international publics to act democratically upon the issues raised [5.4].

Impact 5: NGOs and journalism adopt ‘OSINT’ methodology

‘FA’s work on the case demonstrated the potential for open source research methods... for human rights cases’ [5.1].

This case was a seminal example of our ‘open source investigation’ research practice, contributing to the development of ‘OSINT’ (‘open source intelligence’) as a new frontier in investigative reporting. In a recent interview with the Global Investigative Journalism Network, Malachy Browne, who leads the New York Times visual investigations unit, cited FA directly as ‘pioneers’ of the approach [5.7].

Organisations such as Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, and media organisations such as the New York Times and the BBC, have in recent years adopted techniques of open source investigation which were pioneered by agencies such as ourselves, Bellingcat, Airwars, and others. Those partners and adopting agencies testify to the impact of FA’s practice on the field [5.8] [5.9].

The success of open source investigative techniques has created new avenues for accountability, and FA’s place at the forefront of that development led to the appointment of our Director and Deputy Director as members of the Technology Advisory Board at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Recent years have seen the first examples of charges brought by the ICC based entirely on open source evidence, charging a Libyan militia commander of killing prisoners of war [5.5].