Ron Haviv (born 1965)^[1] is an Americanphotojournalist who covers conflicts. He is the author of several photographic publications, is a co-founder ofVII Photo Agency, lectures at universities and conducts workshops. Haviv has photographed more than 26 conflicts and worked in over 100 countries in the last three decades. He has documented American politics since 1988 and has photographed over 10 national conventions.^[2]

Ron Haviv
Born	1965 (age 59–60)
Nationality	American
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation	photojournalist
Website	ronhaviv.com

Ron Haviv was a student and graduate of Northern Valley Demarest High School in 1983, and later went on to graduate fromNew York University.^[3] Since the end of theCold War he has covered conflict and other humanitarian crises worldwide.

Haviv has also photographed the city ofJuárez,^[4] a battleground of theMexican Drug War where civilian, law enforcement and cartel member casualties occur daily.^[5] Additionally, Haviv covered the destruction of the2010 Haiti earthquake, as well as the subsequentcholera epidemic, and celebrity support and involvement in its reconstruction. Haviv's photography also sheds light on malnutrition inBangladesh, clashes betweenLos Angeles gangs and police forces, the2009 Afghan presidential elections, theSri Lankan Civil War, and the struggle for children inDarfur.

Haviv's photography has been collected and published in the books:Blood and Honey: A Balkan War Journal,Afghanistan: On the Road to Kabul, andHaiti: 12 January 2010.He is one of seven co-founders ofVII Photo Agency, formed in 2001, along withAlexandra Boulat,Gary Knight,Antonin Kratochvil,Christopher Morris,James Nachtwey andJohn Stanmeyer.Haviv has channeled his focus on raising awareness for human rights violations by helping to create multi-platform projects for NGOs, such asDoctors Without Borders' DR Congo missions: The Forgotten War and Starved for Attention,UNICEF's Child Alert for Darfur and Sri Lanka, and theInternational Committee of the Red Cross' World at War.

In 2012 it was revealed an image from his bookAfghanistan: On the Road to Kabul, which was also published onThe Digital Journalist website,^{[citation needed]} had been licensed to the arms manufacturerLockheed Martin to advertise its small diameter bombs.^[6][7] According to figures inThe Guardian in 2010 Lockheed Martin were the biggest seller of arms in the world, with sales exceeding $35 billion.^[6] Haviv responded to the controversy with a statement in which he textually says: "I draw a strict line between my photojournalism and commercial campaigns and feature examples of both on my website, where they are clearly labeled for what they are."^[8] Haviv also claimed that his photo agency "VII is not associated in any way with the images in question".^[9]

Haviv is known for his broad documentation of theYugoslav Wars: thebattle of Vukovar inCroatia, theSiege of Sarajevo, the atrocities committed at Serbconcentration camps inBosnia and Herzegovina, and the practice ofethnic cleansing as exhibited byArkan's Tigers,^[10] aSerb paramilitary group active during theBosnian War.

In April 1992, Haviv embedded with Arkan's Tigers. His earlier interactions with the Tigers in Croatia included photographing their commander,Arkan, who expressed particular interest in an image of himself posing with a baby tiger and a gun. On April 2, 1992, while accompanying the Tigers toBijeljina, Haviv documented their violent actions against civilians, and captured one of the first documentedwar crimes of the conflict. Among the photographs he took is one of Hajrush Ziberi, a young man pleading for his life, which served as evidence of the Tigers' detention of civilians. Ziberi's body was reportedly later discovered in theSava River. Haviv witnessed the killings of several individuals, including a woman named Tifa, who was also shot while begging for her life. He observed that it was "clear Arkan's Tigers were rounding up and targeting civilians." His observations included a scene where a man, Admir Šabanović, was killed, noting that "they just shot him, like a joke."^[11]

As the Tigers prepared to leave the scene, Haviv realized the importance of capturing a photograph that included both the perpetrators and their victims. He recognized a commando he had previously photographed and took an image of him swinging his boot toward Tifa's body amidst the other victims. This photograph has become emblematic of the extraordinary violence against civilians, appearing in books, newspapers, and magazines, and cited by prosecutors at The Hague. After witnessing the events, Haviv quickly left the scene but was intercepted by Arkan, who confiscated the roll of film from Haviv's camera. Haviv had hidden additional rolls that contained some of the only existing photographs of the Bijeljina massacre. Two weeks later,Time published a photo essay titled "The Killing Goes On", which marked the first public exposure of the atrocities and prompted widespread international outcry. Following the publication, Arkan expressed his anger at Haviv, reportedly stating he "looked forward to the day" he could "drink his blood." Despite the notoriety of the photographs, many of the individuals depicted in them have yet to face legal consequences for their actions during the war.^[11]

• Blood and Honey: A Balkan War Journal. TV Books, 2001.ISBN 978-1575001357.
• Afghanistan: On the Road to Kabul. New York: de.MO, 2002.ISBN 978-0970576859.
• Haiti: 12 January 2010. New York: de.MO, 2010.ISBN 978-0982590812. 16 posters folded and boxed.
• Lost Rolls. Blurb Publishing, 2015.ISBN 978-1320998840.

• Images of War, Perpignan, France (1995); Fotofusion, Palm Beach, FL (1996); The Newseum, New York, NY (1997); International Festival of Photojournalism, Gijon, Spain (1999); The Council on Foreign Relations, New York, NY (1999); Bayeux, France (2001)
• Afghanistan: The Road to Kabul, Grazia Neri, Milan, Italy (2002); 92nd Street Y, New York, NY (2002)
• Blood and Honey: A Balkan War Journal, Saba Gallery, New York, NY (2000); National Gallery, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2000); Skopje Cultural Museum, Skopje, Macedonia (2001); Freedom Forum, London, England (2001); Rex Cultural House, Belgrade, Serbia (2002); Queen's Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland (2005); Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL (2005); War Photo Museum, Dubrovnik, Croatia (2003-2013)
• Children of Darfur, The United Nations, New York, NY (2005); University of California, Los Angeles, CA (2006); International Human Rights Film Festival, New Orleans, LA (2008); San Francisco Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA (2008)
• Haiti: January 12, 2010, VII Gallery, New York, NY (2010); Fovea Gallery, New York, NY (2010)

• Official website
• VII Photo Agency