L’Osservatorio operates in contexts where it pools resources with local and international actors already working in the field and where such partnerships can generate added value. L’Osservatorio chooses, establishes and fosters long-term relationships with its working partners that conform to its work methodology. Above all, its guiding principle is to consider the best interests of civilian victims of conflicts, whose memories are intrinsically linked to the political and socio-economic context from which they are gathered. As all stories are recounted in the first person, the victims themselves become the authors of the archive. Testimonies of victims build up a memory archive containing a wealth of past and present life experiences during conflicts, in different times and places.
In dealing with a large array of armed conflicts, L’Osservatorio treats all sides involved with a profound commitment to objectivity and impartiality, seeking out information from a range of heterogeneous sources: academic research centres, journalists, activists, state officials, and field staff of national and international civil society organizations. With such a variety of sources, and due to the very nature of its work, the necessary premise of its methodological approach is to pay attention to the context in which the information is processed and the nature of the relationship between the narrator and the audience.
Our programmatic vision
L’Osservatorio fully recognises that it has an ambitious mandate, but it is focused on making heard the complex and multiple voices of civilian victims.
It is important to emphasise how research are made available always with the aim of advocating, directly, or through our working partners, for the protection and promotion of the human dignity of the civilian victims. With this in mind, L’Osservatorio intends to circulate research documents and analysis through different media such as print, web and press conferences. These tools are ultimately designed to support efforts in restoring the dignity and strengthen the resilience of victims of conflicts.
Certainly, its work is also beneficial in general to support advocacy campaigns for the promotion of accountability, fight against impunity and access to justice for victims. In doing so, L’Osservatorio aims to engage directly with stakeholders for advocacy and to submit recommendations.
To achieve all of these objectives, L’Osservatorio relies on voluntary contributions. The ANVCG supports, with available resources, L’Osservatorio by funding both programmes and research. As we scale up to meet growing demand, we will be looking to diversify and increase our funding base, reaching out to national and international, private and public donors.