Hutaf, which translates to “to chant” in Arabic, is an independent human rights project that monitors and documents human rights violations with the aim of limiting them by contributing to the protection of victims’ rights and exposing the perpetrators of violations in preparation for holding them accountable.
Hutaf was founded in February 2024, to respond to the systematic increase in human rights violations, at the initiative of a diverse group of human rights advocates, scholars, practitioners, and frontline activists working across the Middle East and beyond. The Hutaf mission is focused on fighting impunity, ending the commission of crimes, and holding accountable those responsible for such violations in the Middle East by shedding light and raising awareness.
Hutaf aims to amplify the stories of brave individuals who help shed the light on the darkness of the atrocities committed. With the goal of saving lives and honoring those passed, these individuals risk their lives to report on countless human rights abuses they witnessed first-hand. Unfortunately, they most often encounter an indifferent international community for an audience.
To amplify their stories, Hutaf is a platform that records, verifies, and highlights the voices of civilians that have not been heard or are frightened to speak out, fearing their lives. Hutaf provides verified information on human rights abuses and contextual data on the situation of these countries. It also enables those who want to securely and anonymously communicate their stories to do so through the platform.
The individual stories are then organized and presented through an easily comprehensible and simple storyline for each country, highlighting the intolerable actions of the main perpetrators.
This model will facilitate the communication of the ongoing conflicts in a simple and comprehensible way, increasing awareness of the crimes committed, with the hopes that the increased awareness will lead to increased outcry, actions, and policy response by governments and non-governmental actors.
