From Witnessing to Accountability: Diplomatic Legal Hub Hosts International Discussion on War Journalism and the Berkeley Protocol in Ukraine
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Diplomatic Legal Hub
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2026/07/13
From Witnessing to Accountability: Diplomatic Legal Hub Hosts International Discussion on War Journalism and the Berkeley Protocol in Ukraine
On 10 July, the Diplomatic Legal Hub hosted the international public discussion “The Role of War Journalists in Documenting War Crimes: Implementing the Berkeley Protocol in Ukraine” at Ukrinform. The event brought together journalists, lawyers, government officials, international experts, open-source investigators, and human rights advocates to examine how journalistic documentation can contribute to international accountability for war crimes committed during Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
The discussion focused on the practical implementation of the Berkeley Protocol on Digital Open Source Investigations, the internationally recognized framework developed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley. The Protocol establishes best practices for collecting, preserving, verifying, and presenting digital open-source information for use in human rights investigations and international criminal proceedings.
Opening the event, Scott Douglas Jacobsen, independent journalist and Diplomatic Legal Hub Coordinator, emphasized that Russia’s war against Ukraine has become one of the most extensively documented conflicts in modern history. Every missile strike, destroyed civilian building, eyewitness testimony, satellite image, drone recording, or social media post has the potential to contribute to future investigations—but only if handled according to internationally recognized evidentiary standards.
Jacobsen stressed that war journalists are increasingly among the first professional witnesses to atrocities. While journalists are not prosecutors or investigators, their work often forms the foundation upon which future legal accountability may be built. The Berkeley Protocol provides a common methodology for journalists, lawyers, investigators, civil society organizations, and public institutions to preserve the integrity of digital evidence without compromising professional journalistic ethics.
During his keynote address, Jacobsen outlined five essential principles for transforming digital information into material that can support international justice:
- preserve original files together with metadata, timestamps, source information, and URLs whenever possible;
- avoid publishing material that could endanger witnesses, survivors, civilians, or military personnel;
- distinguish clearly between information, potential evidence, and legally admissible evidence;
- verify digital materials through multiple independent methods, including source verification, geolocation, metadata analysis, and cross-referencing;
- prioritize the safety and dignity of people above the publication of exclusive content.
The event also explored the growing role of OSINT (Open Source Intelligence), digital archiving, countering disinformation, documenting crimes against prisoners of war, and cooperation between journalists, prosecutors, and international judicial institutions. Participants represented academia, government institutions, media organizations, legal practice, international human rights organizations, and Ukraine’s defence and strategic communications community.
Among the speakers were Liudmyla Kozhura, Nadiia Balahurak, Marichka Baisa, Yana But, Mark McNamee, Irina Tsukerman, Eleonora Belei, Giorgio Provinciali, Nestor Barchuk, and Miro Vanadze, each bringing expertise from legal practice, wartime reporting, strategic communications, digital investigations, evidence preservation, and international human rights.
Concluding his remarks, Jacobsen observed that every atrocity is followed by another struggle—the struggle over memory and historical truth. The Berkeley Protocol provides a practical framework for preserving, verifying, protecting, and explaining digital records so that they remain usable in future criminal proceedings. In this way, the Protocol helps transform witnessing into accountability.
For Ukraine, participants agreed, the professional documentation of war crimes is not only a legal necessity but also a historical responsibility. The quality of today’s digital evidence will directly influence tomorrow’s pursuit of justice before national and international courts.
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