Standfirst:
Journalists and media workers are civilians. Targeted attacks—or indiscriminate operations that ignore feasible precautions—breach international law and may constitute war crimes. Protection demands both battlefield precautions and credible investigations after harm occurs.

Legal framework

• Additional Protocol I (1977), Art. 79: Journalists on dangerous missions are civilians and must be protected.

• Geneva Conventions (1949), Common Art. 3: Humane treatment; prohibition on violence to life and person.

• UNSC Resolution 2222 (2015): Calls on parties to protect journalists; urges thorough, independent investigations.

• ICRC Customary IHL: Rules on distinction, precautions, and protection of journalists.

• UN/UNESCO Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists (2012).

• Rome Statute: Intentional attacks on civilians; persecution (context-dependent) may constitute crimes.

What effective protection looks like

• Precautions in attack: Real-time target verification, proportionality reviews, and feasible alternative means/methods; documentation of decisions.

• Operational deconfliction: Channels for alerting on journalist presence; radio/ISR notations; route and site marking where feasible.

• Medical access: Assured evacuation and treatment; protection of those providing medical aid.

Accountability and remedy

• Investigations: Prompt, independent, impartial, and capable of leading to prosecution—aligned with the Minnesota Protocol (UN manual on investigating potentially unlawful deaths).

• Evidence: Immediate scene security, munitions identification, chain of custody, and metadata preservation for images/video.

• Victim support: Family notification, witness protection, and reparations (where liability is established).

• Transparency: Public reporting of findings and corrective measures; parliamentary oversight of systemic lessons learned.

Policy recommendations

1. National journalist-protection protocol: Early-warning contacts, field notification systems, and a dedicated ombudsperson.

2. Conditionality: Tie certain forms of security cooperation to measurable accountability benchmarks (investigation timelines; publication of redacted findings).

3. Independent archiving: Support forensic archiving and open-source verification to meet admissibility standards.

4. International engagement: Back UN special procedures, fact-finding mechanisms, and regional human-rights bodies; provide consular support to at-risk foreign journalists.

Editor’s note (opinion): Without credible investigations and public accountability, promises of “precautions” ring hollow—and the chilling effect on press freedom grows.

References 

Additional Protocol I (1977), Art. 79; Geneva Conventions (1949), Common Art. 3; UNSC Res. 2222 (2015); ICRC Customary IHL; UN/UNESCO Plan of Action (2012); Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016); Rome Statute (1998).