PILPG is a global pro bono law firm providing legal assistance to parties involved in peace negotiations, drafting post-conflict constitutions, war crimes prosecution, and transitional justice. PILPG is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

PILPG has trained atrocity crime investigators around the globe, and has conducted atrocity crime investigations in Iraq, South Sudan, and Myanmar (Rohingya).

The purpose of this initiative is to collect evidence that will be admissible in future trials, seeking to prosecute Russian forces for atrocity crimes.

Yes, everyone who has experienced, witnessed, or even only heard about the commission of crimes in Ukraine from friends and relatives, during the current war, is welcomed to contact PILPG to share their story.

The interview will be conducted by professional documenters, investigators, or lawyers from elite global law firms. If necessary, an independent interpreter might be present as well.

The interview can be conducted in English, Ukrainian, or Russian, according to the preference of the person being interviewed. An interpreter may be used if thre is a need for interpretation in Ukrainian or Russian.

Personal information, such as name and contact details, are kept in a secure storage location. To increase the level of security, all personal information will be kept separately from witnesses’ statements. Only a small number of staff will be able to access witnesses’personal information in order to schedule the interview.

PILPG will protect all information that a witness may share.

First, PILPG will separate the witness’s personal information from their story and store them in two separate secure locations. The witness’s personal information will be stored in a secure storage location, accessible only to a small number of staff, in order to schedule the interview. The witness’s story will be kept on a separate secure database. By separating them in this way, PILPG ensures the witness’s story cannot be matched with their personal information.

Second, PILPG interviewers and interpreters are bound by a confidentiality agreement. They will not disclose what is shared during the interview with anyone else, unless the witness has consented to their story being shared with international or Ukrainian accountability mechanisms.

PILPG would like to record the interview to be able to preserve everything that witnesses have chosen to share in the most accurate and faithful way.

If a witness has agreed to share their story, the recording of their interview will be made available for international and / or Ukrainian accountability mechanisms, to facilitate the work of prosecutors. However, witnesses can decide not to be recorded, or to be recorded but not to share the recording with anyone. In this case, the interviewer will take notes of the witness’ statements.

Yes. Anyone who wishes to be interviewed and to share information has the right to remain anonymous and PILPG will not disclose their name or any other information about the individual.

If the witness chooses to remain anonymous, they will have to tick a box in a consent form, noting that they consent to being interviewed but wish to remain anonymous. They will provide a pseudonym when filling out another form that will ask for the witness’s details. The form will provide further details on what boxes to fill out if the witness wishes to remain anonymous.

Each interview is organized according to an automatically generated ID number, which means that the names of witnesses do not appear anywhere. When conducting the interview, the witness will orally consent to being interviewed without providing their name.

A witness may choose not to share their identity. They may decide not to give a first, patronymic, or any name, instead giving a pseudonym, and/or refuse to share any other personal information. This would not prevent PILPG from conducting the interview, or make PILPG less interested in hearing their story. But, if the witness chooses to not share their identity, the information may not be admissible for judicial proceedings and accountability.

If a witness consents to sharing their story for investigative or prosecutorial purposes, the information will be shared with relevant accountability mechanisms, national, regional, or international courts or tribunals that have, or may in future have, jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in Ukraine.

An interviewer from the Ukraine Accountability Initiative will conduct the interview remotely over Zoom. The interview will be recorded, unless the witness would not like it to be recorded. The interviewer will ask about the witness’s experiences in Ukraine following the Russian invasion, including whether the witness witnessed or experienced any events which may constitute atrocity crimes.

PILPG will ask the witness to find a safe, secure, and private place for the interview. The interview will occur at a date and time that is convenient for the witness.

Participation in the interview is completely voluntary. The witness may choose: not to be recorded; not to share their identity; not to have their information shared with Ukrainian and international accountability mechanisms; choose to skip questions; or stop the interview at any time. PILPG and pro bono partners understand that circumstances beyond their control may require that the interview be rescheduled.

The length of the interview can vary, depending on what the witness can or chooses to share. The average duration is approximately one hour.

Yes. At the beginning of the interview, the interviewer will explain to the witness what the purpose of the interview is, how their data will be used and stored, and offer the witness to ask any clarifying questions. Then, the witness can choose to authorize PILPG to share the given information with current and future international and domestic tribunals, seeking to prosecute Russian forces for atrocity crimes.

After the end of the interview, the witness will be asked again to confirm consent. If they have changed their mind and no longer want to share their story or name, the recording will be immediately destroyed.

No. It is not general practice to compensate witnesses for the involvement in this process.

Yes, PILPG follows the rules established by the European data protection regulation (General Data Protection Regulation). One of the core principles of this regulation is that anyone has the right to request that their personal information is erased. If requested, PILPG will erase this information from its database.

Yes, PILPG follows the highest data protection standards as set out in data protection regulations, including the European General Data Protection Regulation. Personal information shared with PILPG will be kept confidential and secure, and will not be disclosed without consent. PILPG will provide a consent form for the individual’s review to familiarize with all the rights that they have and ways PILPG protects their information.