Preserve the record
Keep audiovisual documentation of state violence intact and usable.
About
A community archive of the uprising.
The Bangladesh Protest Archive is a grassroots initiative that emerged from the 2024 mass uprising. It preserves evidence for future justice efforts.
Background
Why the record exists.
The archive preserves the voices and evidence of a generation that demanded justice, and faced one of the most violent state crackdowns in Bangladesh’s history.
July 2024
The uprising.
In July 2024, young people and students across Bangladesh took to the streets, initially demanding the removal of a discriminatory quota system in government jobs.
Their peaceful protests were met with brutal force. Thousands were killed, including students, women, and journalists. Security forces used live ammunition, breaking rules of engagement and firing into crowds and homes.
Origin
Emergence of the archive.
During the blackout that accompanied the uprising, citizens risked their lives to document what was happening. When connectivity returned, their footage flooded social media and showed the extent of state violence.
Recognizing the urgency to safeguard this evidence, Activate Rights, with support from WITNESS and a network of archivists and OSINT researchers, launched the Bangladesh Protest Archive.
The mission is to systematically preserve this material as evidence of gross human rights violations for future justice efforts.
Purpose
Purpose and vision.
Support accountability
Prepare material for national and international accountability processes.
Keep stories with people
Contributors retain ownership of their evidence and how it is told.
Archive with care
Use secure, ethical, and transparent methods from intake to publication.
Movement
A community archiving movement.
Across Bangladesh, small groups began documenting abuses, but most lacked proper preservation tools. Activate Rights trained these grassroots initiatives in basic archiving, chain of custody, and ethical documentation.
Through that collaboration, the archive and its community partners have preserved over 2,000 pieces of audiovisual evidence: videos, testimonies, and firsthand accounts of violence.
Partners
Who holds the work.
- Activate Rights (opens in a new tab)
Launched the archive with community archivists and OSINT researchers.
- WITNESS (opens in a new tab)
Supported the effort to safeguard footage recorded during the blackout.
- Netra News (opens in a new tab)
Publishes verified investigations with the archive when communities agree.
Independence
Sustaining the archive.
Unlike a conventional NGO, the archive sustains itself through partnerships and collaboration:
- Co-publishing investigations with outlets such as Netra News.
- Training human rights and transitional justice organizations.
- Staying community-based and financially independent.
This model is meant to last without compromising integrity or neutrality.