Heroes
How can digital forensic methods ensure justice and accountability for victims and survivors of human and environmental rights violations?
From the Right Livelihood Award
Forensic Architecture is a pioneering research agency dedicated to uncovering and 
documenting the truth about environmental and human rights violations using cutting-edge open-source investigation and digital modelling techniques. Based at Goldsmiths, University of London, Forensic Architecture integrates advanced technology with witness and historical accounts to create powerful visual and spatial reconstructions, which have been used as evidence in landmark legal cases worldwide.
Since its founding in 2010, Forensic Architecture has led the development of new methodologies that combine technology with human rights advocacy. They have conducted more than 100 investigations on behalf of affected communities, uncovering truths about events both historic, such as the German colonial genocide in Namibia, and current, like the 2017 fire at Grenfell Tower in London. Their innovative methodologies not only set new standards for accountability but also assist survivors in processing trauma.
In an era when truth and facts are constantly challenged, including by governments, Forensic Architecture’s work helps usher in a new layer of oversight to ensure accountability, harnessing technology and witness testimony. With a fierce commitment to collaborative work with frontline communities and to developing and disseminating new evidentiary techniques, the organisation’s work has significantly impacted international legal processes and human rights investigations. As such, they help to hold perpetrators accountable and empower communities to seek justice on their own terms.
Headquarters: London, UK
Founded in: 2010
Anabela Lemos is a Mozambican environmental activist and Director of Justiça Ambiental! (JA!), an organisation committed to environmental justice in Mozambique. For over 20 years, Lemos and JA! have fought corporate-led projects that displace communities, damage livelihoods and intensify climate change. The organisation’s leadership in the ‘Say No to Gas Campaign’ has brought international attention to the environmental and human rights violations caused by liquid natural gas (LNG) extraction projects in northern Mozambique.
In addition to grassroots activism, JA! is renowned for its effective global advocacy, particularly against Mozambique LNG, a 24-billion-USD gas extraction project in Cabo Delgado backed by TotalEnergies. The organisation has built alliances with civil society in over 23 countries to challenge this project. By providing critical on-the-ground evidence of the project’s harm to local communities, JA! has exposed human rights violations and corporate crimes, successfully delaying Mozambique LNG’s progress.
Despite operating in a politically oppressive space, Lemos and JA! continue to amplify local voices on the world stage, demonstrating that the fight for environmental justice transcends borders. Their work has empowered communities to defend their rights, paving the way for a future where all people’s environmental and human rights are respected.
Anabela Lemos / Justiça Ambiental!
- Mozambique
Anabela Lemos
- Place of Birth: Maputo, Mozambique
- Date of Birth: February 18, 1953
Justiça Ambiental!
- Headquarters: Maputo, Mozambique
- Founded: 2004
Website: http://ja4change.org/
Issa Amro is a Palestinian human rights activist who has dedicated his life to peaceful resistance against Israeli occupation in the West Bank city of Hebron. Together with the activist group he founded, Youth Against Settlements (YAS), he has become a leading voice in the non-violent movement, striving to create a future where Palestinians live freely and with dignity. His efforts have garnered international recognition, and his strict commitment to non-violence stands in stark contrast to the violent realities of the Israeli occupation.
Amro and YAS have successfully mobilised local communities and international allies to resist the ongoing Israeli occupation through peaceful means. YAS plays an essential role in documenting human rights violations, organising protests, and supporting local communities in Hebron who live under constant threats and attacks from Israeli settlers and military forces. The group’s initiatives have also served as an inspiration for non-violent resistance in other Palestinian cities under Israeli occupation.
Amro and the group have been under constant pressure from settlers, the Israeli military and also the Palestinian Authority. Amro has been detained, tortured, attacked on the streets, evicted from home and subjected to judicial harassment. However, he has kept his unwavering commitment to non-violent resistance, which he sees as the only way to achieve justice and peace for the people of Palestine.
Issa Amro
- Place of Birth: Hebron, Palestine
- Date of Birth: April 13, 1980
- Education: Palestine Polytechnic University
Youth Against Settlements
- Headquarters: Hebron, Palestine
- Founded in: 2007
Heroes
Raising Indigenous voices in the face of the global ecological breakdown and her leadership in defending people, lands and culture.
Joan Carling is a Filipino Indigenous activist who has been defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples for more than 30 years. Her work spans grassroots and international levels, focusing on human rights, sustainable development, climate justice and the fight against land exploitation. Since the late 1990s, Carling has led multiple Indigenous rights organisations. She continues to play a pivotal role in amplifying the voices of Indigenous Peoples across the Philippines, Asia, and globally, with a focus on combating the systemic marginalisation and criminalisation of Indigenous communities.
Carling has dedicated her life to protecting Indigenous communities, often at great personal risk. She has been unjustly arrested, labelled a terrorist, falsely accused of crimes and received threats on her life. Despite this, she continues to fight for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, helping communities defend their lands and resist exploitation by powerful corporate and state interests.
Carling’s advocacy has had a profound impact, from helping stop destructive mining projects opposed by Indigenous communities to influencing policies on Indigenous women’s rights at the United Nations. Her work in the Philippines, one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Indigenous Peoples—where activists are frequently targeted, killed and forcibly disappeared—has been especially critical. By empowering Indigenous Peoples to defend themselves against these threats, Carling has helped communities across the Philippines take an active role in defending their rights and protecting their lands.
Joan Carling
- Philippines
- Place of Birth: Baguio City, PhilippinesDate of Birth: June 30, 1963Website: https://iprights.org/
