Projects

Berlin Police Abuse at Protests –  This project documents police abuse at protests in Berlin since 2022, primarilly by compiling and verifying videos posted to social media.

The recorded violations include unnecessary force, excessive force and arbitrary arrests that impinge on the rights to free expression and assembly.

A public report is in preparation to highlight the problem and to spur reform. A database of verified videos, updated regularly, will be made available for use by activists, media, NGOs and lawyers.

Ukraine: Abuses in Russian-occupied Territory – Together with the Center for Urban Studies in Lviv and the Invisible University for Ukraine, this project manages a joint student team from Germany and Ukraine to document war crimes in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine, including widespread forced displacement, with public reporting and follow-projects.

Returning Personal Items of Nazi Prisoners – In this project, students conduct research for the Arolsen Archive in Germany, the world’s largest collection of documents and objects on victims and survivors of Nazi persecution, and in particular the Stolen Memory initiative, which works to return the personal belongings of concentration camp prisoners to their families. The students are helping to find the decendants of these people so that the personal items can be returned.

Military Use of AI – The rapid increase in military spending in Europe and globally, coupled with the fast growth in artificial intelligence, has led to a boom in AI applications for military use with little to no transparency, regulations or oversight to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law.

While various stakeholders are looking at militaries and states, this project monitors the private sector actors that are designing and producing artificial intelligence systems for military purposes. A public and running database of these companies is being prepared to demonstrate who is active in this sector, what they are producing, where it is being deployed, and what steps the company is taking to respect civilian protection and the laws of war.