Guides
International events and conflicts: a reporting guide
A guide to sourcing conflict claims: primary UN records, casualty counts that name their method, legal labels, and when to withhold a location.
What to take away
- Attribute a contested claim in the same sentence that carries it, not at the end of the paragraph.
- Log place and time as four separate fieldsevent, capture, upload, verification.
- A casualty figure means nothing without its counting body, cutoff and inclusion rule.
- "Missing" is an open case file, not a slower word for dead.
- Withhold coordinates and identifiable images when publication could expose civilians, patients or aid routes.
What arrives, and from whom
Conflict coverage reaches a desk through governments, armed groups, residents, aid agencies and monitoring groups. They see different parts of an event, at different speeds, and several have an interest in the version that travels.
The job is to show which source knows what, by what means, and what nobody has confirmed yet. When an event is still moving, the intake-to-publish pipeline in how to run a live update desk keeps those source lanes from blending into one voice.
Photo and credit
The photograph shows a 2017 Security Council meeting. It is not evidence of any current Council decision.
Build a claim ledger
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Claim | The narrow factual statement |
| Claimant | Named person, institution, party, or anonymous source |
| Basis | Direct observation, document, sensor, image, interview, or hearsay |
| Place | Coordinates, administrative area, landmark, and map source |
| Time | Event, capture, upload, statement, and verification times |
| Status | Confirmed, corroborated, claimed, disputed, or unknown |
| Risk | Potential harm from publishing identity, route, or location |
Keep attribution beside the claim it covers. A reader who reaches the end of a paragraph holding four unsupported facts has been given no way to sort them. Each entry runs through the breaking news verification checklist before its status changes.
Claim ledger fields
- Claimnarrow factual statement
- Claimantnamed or anonymous source
- Basisobservation, document, sensor, image
- Placecoordinates, area, landmark, map source
- Timeevent, capture, upload, verification
- Statusconfirmed, corroborated, claimed, disputed
- Riskharm from publishing identity or location
Read the document, not the summary
Resolutions, meeting records, votes, press statements, reports and treaties are six different kinds of paper. The United Nations guide to its document systems explains that the Official Document System holds full texts from major UN bodies, while the Digital Library carries documents, votes, speeches and publications. Search by document symbol and read the operative text before describing a decision.
A diplomatic speech is one state's position. A draft resolution is not an adopted resolution. A press statement is not a binding instrument. Each of those errors survives a summary and dies on the source.
Handle casualty figures
For every number, record who counted and the cutoff time. Also record the geography covered and the inclusion rule. Then record whether the unit is people, incidents, reports or identified bodies. Never add figures from sources whose coverage overlaps. Never let "missing" drift into "dead."
Missing is a working legal category. The ICRC's factsheet on missing persons sets out the machinery built to resolve those cases, including national information bureaux and the Central Tracing Agency, whose mandate includes telling families what became of a relative. A missing count is a stack of open files, and it should read that way.
Legal labels need a cited basis
Keep description, allegation, investigation and adjudicated finding in separate sentences. A reporter can describe conduct and cite the rule that governs it without issuing a verdict. Where a classification is contested, quote a qualified legal analyst and name them.
Protect people before you publish
Strip metadata. Delay exact locations when publication could expose civilians, hospitals, shelters, evacuation routes, witnesses or aid convoys. Get meaningful consent for identifiable images of survivors. A photograph already posted publicly does not settle the question of dignity or risk.
When official alerts and instructions enter the story, the public safety alert reporting checklist covers sender and scope checks.
Update in the open
When a border, a line of control, a casualty figure, a negotiation or a document's status changes, revise the headline and summary with it. Keep a dated note for each material change and preserve the source version you relied on. Continuous coverage runs under the breaking updates and timelines guide.
Common questions
Can a government statement confirm an event?
It confirms what that government said. The underlying event still needs independent corroboration, and the statement's own wording is the part you can quote safely.
Is a UN press release an adopted decision?
Not necessarily. Find the official document, the vote record, the meeting record and the operative text before you describe it as a decision.
Should two casualty estimates be averaged?
No. Their definitions, coverage and cutoff times usually differ, so an average describes neither. Report each figure with its method and its cutoff.
When should coordinates be withheld?
When a precise location could expose people, protected sites, routes or an ongoing operation. Give the administrative area instead and say why the detail is held back.
