Tuesday, 16 January ‘24
This week’s overview of key events and links to essential reading.
Along the Frontline in Ukraine’s Unforgiving Winter
Fighting continues, but the gruelling cold takes a toll on soldiers in the trenches and civilians in destroyed villages.
Tuesday, 9 January ‘24
This week’s overview of key events and links to essential reading.
A Long Way Home; Ukraine’s Child Deportees
Those investigating potential war crimes must gather evidence while reducing trauma for vulnerable minors.
Case Launched Over Cruel Treatment of Civilians
Serviceman accused of seeking revenge on Ukrainian man who refused to sell him his three-year-old daughter.
Key Challenges in Prosecuting War Crimes
International advisor highlights need to appoint more judges and advance legal reforms to expedite judicial processes.
Russian Commander Sentenced in Absentia Over Teen Hostage
Officer blackmailed child’s mother for information about the location of Ukrainian forces.
Tuesday, 19 December ‘23
This week’s overview of key events and links to essential reading.
Armenia’s Energy Security Faces Frosty Relations with Russia
Lacking fossil fuels, Armenia leans on Russian gas and oil for most of its needs.
IWPR Hosts Second School of Analytic Journalism
Central Asian journalists learn new skills in cross-regional training.
IWPR Fights Hate Speech in Bosnia
New stage of initiative raises awareness among advertisers and other stakeholders.
IWPR Brings Central Asian Journalists to Georgia
Learning from shared experiences and gaining new contacts will boost their work back home.
Central Asia: Young Analysts Unite
Next exercise in regional cooperation rolled out in Almaty training.
EU and IWPR Launch Georgia's Top Journalism Prize
Entries formally open to mark World Press Freedom Day.
Iraq: Women Plant Trees for Peace
Powerful gesture brings volunteers together to launch empowerment campaign.
Monitoring Malawi's Elections
Projects will enhance local reporting on crucial polls.
Syria: La Tifti (Don't Judge) Video Series
Five part series on conflict sensitive and ethical journalism.
Nigeria: Joining Forces for Human Rights
Event hears that collaboration between different sectors is a key route to justice.
IWPR Women’s Prize for Journalism
IWPR’s inaugural award for outstanding journalism recognises the work of our network of women reporters worldwide. Working in often challenging environments, these journalists face additional threats such as harassment, gender-based violence and systemic misogyny.
"What was significant for all three of us [judges] was how the stories stayed with us - not just for the amazing yet harrowing insights into these women’s lives but the courage it took for them to keep going, to experience the harshness in which they lived and to tell the world about it through their stories."
World Press Freedom Day 2024
On World Press Freedom Day we focus on local journalists facing myriad challenges in the tireless pursuit of truth and their enduring efforts to bring meaningful change.
Highlights from IWPR’s Consortium to Support Independent Journalism in Latin America (CAPIR).
An investigation by ContraCorriente, one of the investigative units IWPR supports in Honduras, revealed abuses including robbery, torture and kidnappings allegedly inflicted on citizens by police officers. The investigation also addressed how the state of emergency, in place since 2022, has allowed these abuses to occur with impunity. The authorities deny responsibility, claiming that organised criminal groups are using replica uniforms to pose as police officers.
A transnational publication by the investigative units of Plaza Pública and Criterio media revealed the huge extent of Asian cigarette smuggling in northern Central America. In addition to the health problems and millions of dollars lost to tax evasion, this also finances organised crime trafficking of drugs, weapons and humans. The investigation highlighted the failure of institutional efforts to stop this problem, aggravated by the complicity of officials who help falsify documents.
A story by the IWPR beneficiaries Guardiana and La Nube media outlets revealed the unauthorised sale of "medical preparations" to treat mental illnesses such as depression in a market in Cochabamba, one of Bolivia's largest cities. The story showed how products were marketed without information about their ingredients, including unlicensed natural remedies from Peru and Brazil. In response, the Cochabamba department of health announced it would increase the number of police operatives in the market where these products are sold.
Highlights from IWPR’s Central Asia network of analysis and investigations.
The construction of the Qosh Tepa canal in Afghanistan is causing water shortages in southern Uzbekistan, while in Kyrgyzstan the government is considering the construction of a nuclear power plant. In Kazakstan, conservation activists are working to save the Central Asian tortoise from extinction.
Elsewhere, CABAR delves into the efforts by Central Asian authorities to detect, reduce and prevent statelessness across the region.
Ukraine Justice Report
Countering Disinformation in Moldova
Ukraine War Diary by Anthony Borden
Democratic accountability comes from journalists investigating their own societies – IWPR provides a much needed platform and support for those reporting from some of the most dangerous and difficult places in the world.
Disinformation is a major global threat , especially in conflict and post-conflict areas. IWPR performs a vital mission, building up local voices as a bulwark against this challenge.
IWPR fills a critical gap by helping local journalists to focus on human rights and justice issues. In the process, it contributes to democratic transitions, and demonstrates that the best war reporting is not about military conflict, but human consequences.