The Role of Social Media in International Justice

Is social media becoming the new arbiter in International Justice?

In the past few days, a Non-Profit organization, Invisible Children, based in Latin America has produced a 26 min. youtube documentary that has ever since gone viral. Millions of viewers around the world have been since viewed and become engaged in discussions via twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets, with one message: Stopping Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA). For those who might not know who this man is, Kony is an Ugandan man who have been wagging a holy war against his country for almost three decades. Besides, his own country Uganda, he has been attacking Southern Sudan, Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo all neighboring countries to Uganda.

His guiding philosophy and vision is to govern Uganda by the Ten Commandments and to purify the people. In this endeavor, he took to the bushes and began to recruit soldiers and many child soldiers. At the beginning, he used to enjoy a great support, but later began to indiscriminate target people in Uganda and the four countries. Over the course of his rebellion history which began in 1986, the LRA has abducted more than 66, 000 children to fight along his side. Many of these children have often lived in harsh and abusive conditions, whereby their dignity and basic human rights such as the right to education and being part of a family have been denied. Consequently, more than two millions have been displaced.

Because of these barbaric acts, the LRA became notorious for their aggression against children in particular and assaults in the four countries. Many activists in the U.S and other countries have organized International campaign against the LRA and its heinous acts in earnest to bring him and top commanders to face justice.

At first, the International Community and others regional countries attempted many failed peace attempts to resolve the issue, but each time they were faced with disappointment and failure. Consequently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant arrest against Kony in 2005 and some of these top commanders charging them with crimes against humanity. The main Prosecutor of the ICC Moreno Occampo has come out in favor of the recent produced documentary, which has gone viral ever since.

My conviction is that the publicity being given to the issue of child soldiers and the Invisible Children, focuses the debate and sheds lights on the larger campaign against the abusers of children’s rights in areas of the armed conflicts. The offensive practices must stop in the conflict hot spots, where children are used against their own will.

Moreover, any attention paid to the LRA operations would help the world know about the atrocities that the terrorist organization has committed in the recent years in name of ruling Uganda by the 10 commandments.

In a matter of hours, millions of viewers around the world came to know whom Joseph Kony is than in anytime in the past years combined of the campaign history. Whatever, the intended purpose of the non-profit was, this is certainly a positive outcome. However, this success is not without its criticism. Critics have raised questions about the non-profit’s ethical problems. The claim is about whether the Non-Profit, Invisible Children International, has used the funds it raised appropriately? This brings up the issue of ethics and accountability in the non-profits world doing activism and what they can and can’t do with the money they raise from taxpayers, good will, and the donor community who generously open their wallet.

Can 2012 be the year of social media bringing warlords like Kony and others to Justice?

Whatever position one takes on this hot issue, the big picture is whether social media is changing the landscape of information sharing and the role it plays in human rights issues around the world, and if it can play a crucial role in International Justice today.

We live in a culture of a 24 hours instant cycle of news that is to a large degree energized by social media outlets that amplifies what we hear and process. Whether this does have real impact in the lives of child soldiers and others it tries to shed the light on, remain to be seen in years and years to come.