Nieman Foundation - Reporting Global Conflict

In May 2008, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard and the Harvard Divinity School hosted a conference convening religious leaders and scholars, human rights policy makers and advocates, reporters and editors to investigate the link between religion and human rights in global conflict — and in global conflict reporting.

Journalists often find themselves at the crossroads where religion and human rights meet, if not collide. Whether they work as foreign correspondents, national commentators, essayists, religion reporters, or human rights watchdogs, it is their job to report in depth; to explain, sort out and shed light on stories of conflict and human rights abuse; to examine what made the disturbing news possible — as well as what made it human — and ultimately, how humanity can try to make sense of it.

This conference had two major goals:

1.	To educate journalists on the basics of the human rights framework and legislation and how they relate to and are interpreted within the Abrahamic religions.
2.	To engage scholars, leaders, advocates and journalists in a frank, constructive discussion of the roles religion, human rights legislation and the media each play in securing, protecting or violating human rights.

Edited excerpts from the conference will be published here soon.