Global Investigative Journalism Network (https://archive.gijn.org/tag/conflict-reporting/)
In this excerpt from GIJN’s Guide to Investigating War Crimes, humanitarian disarmament researcher Wim Zwijnenburg offers best practices for reporting on environmental and property damage during conflicts.
In the first section of Chapter 13 of the GIJN Reporter’s Guide to Investigating War Crimes, the Dart Center’s Gavin Rees discusses best practices for interviewing victims and survivors of war crimes and armed conflict.
Editor’s Note: The tipsheet was updated in 2023 by GIJN’s Leonardo Peralta and edited by Nikolia Apostolou. The subject of sexual violence remains a sensitive if not taboo subject in much of the world and often goes unreported.
The subject of sexual violence remains a sensitive if not taboo subject in much of the world and often goes unreported. Watchdog journalism has started digging deeper into sexual violence, but these investigations are still few relative to the estimated number of cases worldwide. GIJN has now updated its reporting guide for this hard-to-cover subject.
At a recent GIJN webinar, journalist and experts discussed best practices for investigating conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), including tips for interviewing possible war crimes victims and corroborating incidents without re-traumatizing survivors.
From stories examing potential conflicts of interest among lawmakers in Peru and the US, to a data story revealing the history of Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait on banknotes worldwide, our column features the best in data journalism. Also this week: the dangers of so-called celebratory gunfire, displacement in the Democratic Repubilc of Congo, and how the war in Ukraine has impacted children living in institutional care.
In South Sudan, conflict and government repression make it difficult to do on-the-ground reporting, so a team of journalists designed a mobile phone survey to gather data on forced displacement and destruction across the country. Carolyn Thompson explains why their award-winning investigation may offer lessons to others working in repressive environments or facing movement restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Esther Htusan, who was part of AP’s all-female Pulitzer Prize-winning team for a series on forced labor in Southeast Asia’s fishing industry, shares her experiences working as a journalist in Myanmar. She emphasizes the safety procedures that her newsroom and herself practices while reporting conflicts, and the struggles and roles of women journalists in Myanmar.
Divine intervention appears to be the only thing protecting journalists in Iraq these days. Local reporters are sent off to do conflict reporting with no prior training and equipped with bad, cheaply made and easily penetrable vests. Mustafa Sa’adoun, director of Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights, details the dangers of being an Iraqi war reporter.