Musician and activist Peter Gabriel shares his very personal motivation for standing up for human rights with the watchdog group WITNESS — and tells stories of citizen journalists in action.

In 1988, Peter Gabriel embarked on the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! tour. During his travels, Gabriel encountered people with horrific stories to tell: stories of torture, murder and abuse that had been denied and forgotten by those in power. Gabriel became convinced of the profound need to shine a spotlight into these unseen corners of the world.

In 1992, he co-founded the watchdog group WITNESS, which arms ordinary people with digital cameras, enabling them to create and distribute films about the states of their own lives, transforming individual stories of abuse and violation into powerful tools for justice. His tireless advocacy has helped build WITNESS into one of the world’s great engines of citizen journalism.

“Peter Gabriel is recognized around the world for his activities for peace and humanity.”

Mikhail Gorbachev