Conflict-Sensitive Reporting
The code urges journalists to avoid becoming instruments of ideology or conflict escalation.
Code of Ethics
Conflict-Sensitive Journalism
A regional code of ethics for journalists and contributors covering conflicts in the South Caucasus, developed through dialogue among journalists and scholar-practitioners.
Do No Harm
The guiding principle is to protect people, avoid stigma, and prevent reporting from deepening conflict.
Dialogue-Oriented Language
The code promotes terminology that avoids hate speech, stereotypes, and dehumanizing rhetoric.
Origin & Purpose
Tbilisi, March 2015
The code was prepared by a group of journalists and scholar-practitioners and later expanded through broader feedback.
In March 2015, a group of journalists and scholar-practitioners in social science from the South Caucasus met in Tbilisi to develop a code of ethics for journalists covering conflicts in the region. The code was jointly prepared during the meeting and developed later with feedback from an expanded group of journalists.
The working meeting was organized by the Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation and supported through contribution of the Black Sea Trust Fund.
The guidelines reflect the depth of experience accumulated in the field of conflict-sensitive journalism over decades. They are broadly applicable to conflict situations while also reflecting the cultural and political particularities of the South Caucasus.
The authors' point of departure is that journalists covering conflicts, military operations, and clashes have the power to create and shape conflict discourses. This can influence the development of existing conflicts, the emergence of new ones, or their peaceful transformation.
This code is a call for regional journalists to cover and analyze conflicts in an honest, professional, and conflict-sensitive manner.
Ethical Guidelines
Do No Harm
Do not contribute to proliferation or escalation of the conflict.
- Be honest and refrain from presenting unverified information.
- Do not plagiarize. Cite all sources used in the material and make clear where information comes from.
- Do not withhold or cover up information, except in cases when lives are at stake.
- Inform editors when emotionally connected to a story.
- Exercise care when reporting on marginalized groups, including refugees, IDPs, soldiers and their families, and minorities.
- Do not stigmatize individuals or groups, as such reporting may harm personal and professional lives.
- Exercise caution when reporting casualties. Refrain from publishing details of affected individuals until relatives have been informed.
Do Not Become Part of Information Wars
Maintain professional independence and avoid one-sided conflict frames.
- Do not take sides or position yourself as an advocate or representative of one side to the conflict.
- Adhere to professional journalism standards and do not prioritize ideological or national positions.
- Avoid focusing on the suffering and fears of only one party. Provide the suffering, fears, and grievances of all parties.
- Avoid victimizing language that presents people only through what has been done to them. Report also on what people have done.
- Avoid demonizing adjectives such as vicious, cruel, brutal, or barbaric. Report what is known and indicate the reliability of descriptions.
- Clearly differentiate between factual coverage, opinion, commentary, and analysis.
Do Not Reproduce Conflict Discourse
Avoid language that dehumanizes groups or turns journalism into conflict rhetoric.
- Avoid ethnic and cultural stereotypes and cliches that dehumanize sides in the conflict.
- Avoid multiplying war propaganda and conflict escalation. Do not contribute to enemy images or calls for violence.
- Refer to people involved in the conflict by their actual national identities.
- Avoid emotionally charged vocabulary and adjectives that stir aggressive or traumatic sentiments.
- Avoid speaking of individuals or groups as homogeneous entities or collective actors.
- Recognize that groups and individuals have diverse backgrounds, experiences, and relationships to conflict.
- Avoid contributing to discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or any other identity.
Taboo and Self-Censorship
Treat sensitive subjects carefully without allowing silence to block dialogue.
- Be sensitive to cultural and religious taboos while still covering sensitive topics with care.
- Strive to break taboos when they prevent dialogue, distort facts, or preclude multi-perspective coverage.
- Use self-censorship only to avoid harming informants or vulnerable populations.
- Do not let self-censorship become a barrier to criticizing discrimination, stereotyping, or taboo formation.
- Provide diverse perspectives by bringing in opposing views and giving voice to marginalized individuals and groups.
- Avoid adding to existing cliches when writing about history. Seek untold stories.
Terminology and Vocabulary
Use language that is accurate, neutral, and acceptable rather than provocative.
- Avoid inciting conflict, hatred, or enmity.
- Use language that is acceptable rather than provoking to all sides in the conflict.
- Avoid cliches, hate speech, and language that creates negative stereotypes of others or positive stereotypes of one's own group.
- Use neutral language that does not rely on emotionally charged adjectives or dehumanizing terms.
- When neutral terms do not apply, such as when quoting a source, supplement the material with additional information or alternative views.
Working Definitions
Stereotypes
Thoughts or ideas repeated with a negative implication or direct negative content.
Cliches
Words, word combinations, or phrases permanently used with a negative implication or provoking a negative response.
Data verification
Essential practice to avoid producing or replicating false information.
Adoption
A Living Regional Code
Caucasus Edition encourages journalists working in the context of South Caucasus conflicts to adopt this code and continue to evolve it.