Commission for International Justice and Accountability

What Commission for International Justice and Accountability does

The Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) is a non-profit, apolitical, non-governmental organization founded in 2011 and headquartered in Forest, Belgium, that collects, preserves, and analyzes documentary and testimonial evidence of international crimes — including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, terrorism, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling — to support criminal prosecutions at the domestic and international level. CIJA's core technology is an investigator-driven evidence pipeline: field teams (notably approximately 40 embedded Syrian investigators led by Hasan Al Hariri and Husam Sharif) gather regime-generated documents, photographs, videos, and electronic files from conflict zones while maintaining chain-of-custody standards admissible in court; the organization has secured nearly 1.2 million pages of Syrian regime and Islamic State documents and conducted over 5,500 witness interviews. Analytical products include structural investigations, legal briefs identifying specific perpetrators, and expert testimony, with 920+ Requests for Assistance responded to across 31 justice actors.

CIJA operates a Request for Assistance (RFA) distribution model: prosecutorial offices, law enforcement agencies, and international courts (including the International Court of Justice in Gambia v. Myanmar and Canada/Netherlands v. Syria) formally request evidence and analytical support, which it provides free of charge. Revenue comes from government grants — the 2023-2024 investigative cycle was funded by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UK FCDO Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, and the US Department of State Office of Global Criminal Justice, with additional UK DCMS funding for Ukraine cultural-property work via Blue Shield International. CIJA's customer base spans 52 law enforcement/counter-terrorism agencies and 14 prosecutorial offices across 16 countries, with named outcomes including convictions of Anwar Ruslan (52 counts, Germany), Lina Ishaq (genocide, Sweden), Ali Mamlouk (in absentia, France), and Rafik A. (Netherlands).

Name

Commission for International Justice and Accountability

Legal name

Commission for International Justice and Accountability

Website

https://cijaonline.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CIJA is a non-profit, apolitical NGO that collects and preserves conflict-zone evidence — nearly 1.2 million pages of regime documents and 5,500+ witness interviews — to support criminal prosecutions of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide across 16 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Criminal Justice Services

NAICS

Investigation and Security Services (5616), Legal Services (5411), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381), Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Criminal Investigations & Forensics (Detectives, Crime Labs, CSI) (BPAIAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

eDiscovery, Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAKAHAD), Litigation Support & Civil Investigations (Witness/Asset/Skip Tracing) (BPAKAEAE)

Keywords

• International criminal justice
• War crimes investigation
• Evidence collection services
• Prosecutorial support
• Human rights accountability

Headquarters

HQ city

Forest

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Funding: CIJA is a non-profit organization funded by government donors. The 2023-2024 investigative cycle was funded by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Office of Global Criminal Justice of the US Department of State.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CIJA is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that gathers, preserves, and analyses evidence of international crimes (war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, terrorism, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling) in conflict zones, with particular emphasis on evidence linking specific perpetrators to crimes. It responds to Requests for Assistance from law enforcement agencies, prosecutorial offices, and international courts, currently supporting prosecutions in 16 countries and assisting 52 law enforcement agencies and 14 prosecutorial offices globally. Its evidence base includes nearly 1.2 million pages of documents and over 5,500 witness interviews, which it shares as evidentiary and analytical support for investigations, prosecutions, and trials.

Product overview

CIJA is a non-profit investigative organization, not a technology product company. Its offerings consist of investigative and analytical services supporting criminal justice efforts internationally. The core portfolio includes: (1) Criminal investigation and evidence collection services that gather and preserve documentary evidence and witness testimony; (2) capacity building and technical assistance programs for national authorities; (3) evidentiary and analytical support to prosecutorial offices; and (4) evidence-based research reports documenting findings on specific conflicts. CIJA operates specialized investigation units focused on Syria and Iraq/Yezidi cases, with teams of Syrian and Iraqi investigators working to document atrocities committed by the Syrian regime, Islamic State, and Myanmar armed forces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Criminal Investigation Services Investigative services that gather evidence of international crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, terrorism, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling, with emphasis on evidence linking specific perpetrators to crimes. Services are delivered to law enforcement agencies, prosecutorial offices, and international courts via the Request for Assistance (RFA) system.
• Evidence Collection and Preservation Systematic collection, preservation, and analysis of documentary evidence, including regime-generated documents, witness interviews, videos, photographs, and electronic files, while maintaining chain of custody and evidentiary standards required for criminal justice use. CIJA has secured nearly 1.2 million pages of documents and conducted over 5,500 witness interviews under this service.
• Evidentiary and Analytical Support Provision of evidentiary and analytical support to international and domestic criminal justice institutions pursuing accountability through investigations, prosecutions, and trials. Includes 24 structural investigations and legal briefs identifying dozens of high-ranking suspects, and expert testimony in trials.
• Capacity Building and Technical Assistance Technical assistance, mentoring, and capacity building for competent national authorities seeking to investigate international crimes in accordance with criminal justice standards. Includes workshops with academic institutions, joint projects with partner organisations (e.g., Blue Shield International), and mentoring of local investigators.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported 11 Syrian Regime and Da'esh suspect identifications, apprehensions, and trials in 2023-24 reporting period
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Damascus UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 May 2026Co-hosted International Workshop on International Criminal Justice and Prosecution Mechanisms with over 300 law students, 20 professors and university leaders. CIJA shared experiences with next generations of Syria's legal community on transitional justice pathways.
• Syrian Emergency Taskforce (SETF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 May 2026Cooperation in hosting international workshop on criminal justice with Damascus University. SETF and CIJA working together on transitional justice mechanisms in post-assad Syria.
• Blue Shield International (BSI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2026Joint project led by BSI and CIJA to support Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office in Ukraine with a 12-month, DCMS-funded initiative to strengthen capacity to investigate and prosecute crimes against heritage and cultural identity. Project involved real-time investigations and case support for cultural property crimes.
• Temple Garden ChambersminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 5 March 2026Hosted joint panel discussion 'The Future of International Criminal Law in a Changing World' at The London Library featuring CIJA speakers and barristers from the chambers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Justice Rapid Response: Geneva-based NGO that deploys specialized criminal investigation and prosecution experts to support accountability efforts for international crimes. Directly comparable mandate and operational model, though Justice Rapid Response focuses on rapid personnel deployment while CIJA builds persistent in-country evidence holdings.
• Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine: UN Human Rights Council-mandated body investigating violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Ukraine. Directly comparable mandate in the Ukraine theater, though it is a UN commission rather than an evidence-collection NGO.
• International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) for Syria: UN-mandated body collecting, preserving, and analyzing evidence of serious international crimes committed in Syria since March 2011. The most direct institutional peer to CIJA — overlapping mandate, similar evidence-collection methodology, and shared prosecutorial customer base across European universal-jurisdiction cases.
• Syrian Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC): Direct peer in the Syrian war-crimes evidence space — SJAC collects and preserves documentation of human rights violations in Syria and supports transitional justice. Overlaps with CIJA's Syria work in both evidentiary approach and prosecutorial customer base (European universal jurisdiction cases).
• Global Rights Compliance: Lawyers and investigators supporting accountability for international crimes, with particular focus on Ukraine and sanctions regimes. Closely comparable professional-services model and prosecutorial support mandate; direct overlap in Ukraine theater where both CIJA and GRC are active.
• Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan: UN-mandated commission investigating human rights violations and abuses in South Sudan. Closely comparable mandate and methodology (investigations, evidence collection, reporting for accountability purposes) and similar customer base (international and domestic prosecutorial bodies).

Broad incumbents

• Amnesty International: Largest global human rights organization with forensic investigation capabilities (Crisis Response and Amnesty Tech). Overlaps with CIJA on evidence collection in armed conflict and accountability research, though Amnesty's mandate and outputs are far broader than atrocity-focused evidence collection.
• Human Rights Watch: Larger and broader-scope international human rights organization with a long-standing International Justice program that investigates war crimes and supports prosecutions. Overlaps with CIJA on Syria, Myanmar, and Ukraine work but operates at vastly greater scale and with advocacy as its primary product rather than courtroom-grade evidence.

Emerging players

• Mnemonic: Berlin-based non-profit specializing in digital evidence preservation for human rights investigations and international criminal justice. Comparable in mandate (evidence preservation for accountability) but focused on digital/open-source evidence while CIJA focuses on regime-documents and witness testimony.
• Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy: Washington DC-based think tank that produces investigations and policy analysis on mass atrocity prevention, with notable work on Myanmar/Rohingya and Uyghur atrocity documentation. Comparable research-and-evidence output, particularly the Rohingya report that paralleled CIJA's Myanmar investigation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC5VVXBsYBq4bF4E0-CgHubA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-commission-for-international-justice-and-accountability
• Xx.com/CIJAOnline
• Facebookfacebook.com/CIJAonline

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Commission for International Justice and Accountability