THE MISSION
The Documentation Centrale des Crimes Internationaux (DCCI) is a non-profit association based in Paris, France. Its mission is to hold the perpetrators of international crimes legally accountable.
The Documentation is in a logic of cooperation with both State and international actors, involved in good faith in the repression of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Through a combination of open-source investigations, fieldwork via human sources and partners, the DCCI produces intelligence that is judicially exploitable by investigators, magistrates and lawyers working in this field.
To this end, it centralizes the available data on an interactive world map which locates the acts likely to constitute international crimes, with details about alleged perpetrators, victims and the circumstances.
In parallel, the lists of these crimes are established for each country, and the organization charts of the belligerent entities are elaborated, taking into account the notion of chain of command. This allows to highlight the circumstances of crises in which specific acts are committed, and to compile useful intelligence from a judicial point of view.
The DCCI is neutral and shall not be influenced by any political, ethnic or religious orientation. It does not support one side over another. Its only aim is the implementation of public international law and justice.
All the Documentation sources are quoted, with the exception of cases where there is a risk of retaliation against witnesses. In such cases, priority is given to the security of human sources, and information which could lead to their identification shall not be published or transmitted to a Court of law without their consent.
In any case, the exploitation of sources respects scientific methodological rigor in order to produce reliable intelligence. Each piece of information is cross-checked with sources that are independent of one another.
What distinguishes the DCCI
The DCCI is entirely focused on the judicial action, with the aim of accomplishing criminal justice.
Other leading NGOs dedicated to international law generally aim to inform the general public, and to raise awareness about human rights violations through the media and politically, in order to bring a change and resolve a particular crisis.
Instead of this strategy, the Documentation prefers a discreet but reliable and detailed expertise that has a direct utility in the prosecution of alleged perpetrators of international crimes. For the organization and its members, it is not about expressing militancy publicly. The objective is judicial, not political.
This capacity to centralize and structure information on violations of international law turns fragmented and scattered information into a coherent, accessible and easily exploitable resource.
This work complements existing efforts by bridging the gap between data collection in the field and judicial investigations. For this purpose, the DCCI is committed to work with local sources, NGOs and the media, as well as with the relevant public authorities working to enforce justice.
By producing such intelligence, the organization contributes to strengthen the mechanisms that fight impunity on a global scale.