Over the past year, Ukrainian media have had to completely reinvent themselves in order to carry out their mission, especially in the occupied areas. The project "Supporting the Resilience of Ukrainian Media" offers them a wide range of support, including training on journalistic coverage of justice. A third workshop delivered by our media outlet JusticeInfo was held from 7 to 9 April in Kyiv.

Preserving access to reliable information in times of war, including for populations in armed conflict zones or displaced persons, is the goal of Fondation Hirondelle's involvement in Ukraine. Through its local partner, the International Institute for Regional Media and Information (IRMI), Fondation Hirondelle has been providing financial and material support to the media and training journalists in international justice for the past year.

Much national and international attention is being paid to the ongoing war crimes trials in the country.  The media plays a key role in providing transparent information about the ongoing trials and also in documenting the war crimes committed in the country.

JusticeInfo.net, our international justice media, has been providing these trainings in Ukraine for a year. The 3rd workshop on journalistic coverage of war-related conflicts and trials was held from 7 to 9 April in Kyiv. Several local speakers (journalists, judges, representatives of organisations) were invited to contribute to the training, which was conducted by Thierry Cruvellier, co-editor of JusticeInfo.

The training aimed at understanding the international standards and practices of conflict journalism and the principles of humanitarian communication. The idea was also to enable participants to know and be able to use their rights to participate in trials, to know the standards of international conventions, to use relevant terminology and to apply it correctly. 

Following this first workshop, a second one was organised for journalists who are members of the network set up by JusticeInfo for the coverage of war crimes trials. This was a way of monitoring its strengthening and responding specifically to new needs that emerge. The productions of this network are published in the media where the journalists work, but also in 4 languages (Ukrainian, Russian, French, English) on JusticeInfo website.

The project, financed by Swiss Solidarity and private foundations, is being implemented in partnership with the International Institute for Regional Media and Information (IRMI).