Description of impact
I have been a casualty recorder for 20 years, as the principal researcher of the NGO Iraq Body Count, which was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (2015 and 2016). Iraq Body Count work has been used for two main purposes.1.First, specific casualty information derived from the IBC database has informed analysis, comment, and advocacy in relation to the Iraq war.
2.Second, significant references to the IBC project have been made in wider ongoing discussions about the ethical, legal, and methodological aspects of monitoring casualties of conflict, in Iraq and elsewhere.
The main categories of user are listed below, with examples of use in each category.
•Press and media organisations
•Governments and government departments
•Inter-governmental organisations and agencies
•Activists and activist organisations
•Lawyers and Legal organisations
•NGOs and think-tanks
•Scholars and Universities
Iraq Body Count was featured in the 2016 Iraq War Inquiry (Chilcot Report), section 17 on civilian casualties: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20171123123237/http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk//media/246676/the-report-of-the-iraq-inquiry_section-170.pdf
In collaboration with Every Casualty, we published the Standards for Casualty Recording in 2016.
In its 53rd session (June-July2023), the OHCHR highlighted examples demonstrating the breadth and depth of uses to which casualty recording is put and the positive impact it has on the protection of human rights. One of the casualty recording bodies explored in the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is Iraq Body Count:
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/impact-casualty-recording-promotion-and-protection-human-rights-report-united-nations-high-commissioner-human-rights-ahrc5348-enarruzh
| Impact date | 2003 → 2025 |
|---|---|
| Category of impact | Policy |
| Impact level | Adoption |