Why Ukraine Needs a Separate Methodology for Journalists Recording War Crimes
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Diplomatic Legal Hub
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2026/05/19
Professional journalism operates within a series of ethical frameworks. These frameworks may be geographically bounded, as in international or regional codes, or domain-specific.
At the international level, the International Federation of Journalists produced the Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists. UNESCO links to the International Principles of Professional Ethics in Journalism. With the rise of artificial intelligence, the Paris Charter on AI and Journalism is emerging as a reference.
In Europe, frameworks include the Munich Charter and the CoE Parliamentary Assembly’s Resolution 1003 on the Ethics of Journalism. For Ukraine, there is the Code of Ethics of the Ukrainian Journalist, approved by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, by the Commission on Journalistic Ethics.
Our publication entitled “Ukraine needs a separate methodology for recording war crimes by journalists” argues that journalists need a methodology for recording possible war crimes. Journalists are not court officers, investigators, or prosecutors. However, we need a comprehensive professional methodology for journalists.
A methodology for documenting possible war crimes in the context of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine.[1] Such a methodology would bring accuracy, ethical responsibility, evidentiary value, and the safety and dignity of victims and witnesses into a single procedural structure.
Current journalism ethics codes provide a basis for professional responsibility. However, the methodology for recording war crimes is not explicit. We want to build a more specific procedure for collection, reportage, preservation, secure storage, and verification. These can contribute to accountability processes.
The methodology links journalism’s public-interest mission with war crimes legal requirements. While journalists observe and transmit data, their work can become relevant in the context of criminal proceedings.
The ethics codes named above establish principles and guides for professional responsibility. A war-crimes recording methodology would turn those principles into a procedure under wartime evidentiary conditions. In this respect, the Diplomatic Legal Hub can become a leader in developing standards for responsible journalistic documentation during armed conflict.
[1] UN documents identifying the Russian Federation’s conduct as aggression against Ukraine include the following, in chronological order: A/RES/ES-11/1, “Aggression against Ukraine,” adopted on March 2, 2022; A/HRC/RES/49/1, “Situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression,” adopted on March 4, 2022; A/RES/ES-11/2, “Humanitarian consequences of the aggression against Ukraine,” adopted on March 24, 2022; A/HRC/RES/S-34/1, “The deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression,” adopted on May 12, 2022; A/RES/ES-11/5, “Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine,” adopted on November 14, 2022; A/HRC/RES/52/32, “Situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression,” adopted on April 4, 2023; A/HRC/RES/55/23, “Situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression,” adopted on April 4, 2024; and A/HRC/RES/58/24, “Situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression,” adopted on April 4, 2025. The UNRIC Ukraine backgrounder lists the General Assembly emergency-session resolutions, including ES-11/1, ES-11/2, and ES-11/5.
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