On Thursday, 26 February 2015, PHAP hosted its Second Exchange Hub online event. It provided members of the association with the opportunity to interactively engage with current topics in humanitarian affairs through online discussions and to learn from the experiences and expertise of other humanitarian practitioners. Four weeks of discussion culminated in this online event.

The panel featured three experts in this area: Naz Modirzadeh, founding Director of the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (PILAC) and Governing Member of PHAP; Dustin Lewis, Senior Researcher at Harvard PILAC; and Sinisa Milatovic, an expert on human rights, rule of law and humanitarian issues and currently a consultant mandated with developing and authoring a toolkit for the Norwegian Refugee Council and the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee on how to mitigate the effects of counterterrorism measures on principled humanitarian action.

Over the last decade, state and inter-governmental counter-terrorism laws and policies have become increasingly robust, resulting in additional pressure on many humanitarian organizations operational on the frontline – often posing additional challenges for acting in accordance with the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, humanity, and independence. With increasing tension between principled humanitarian action and counter-terrorism laws and policies, what do humanitarian organizations need to consider moving forward?

The Online Exchange Hub online events are only open to members of PHAP, the only sector-wide professional association of individuals engaged in humanitarian assistance and protection worldwide. You can read more about membership and apply at phap.org/membership.

Guest Experts

Dustin A. Lewis Dustin A. Lewis is a Senior Researcher at the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (PILAC). With a focus on public international law sources and methodologies, he leads research projects on the theoretical underpinnings and application of international norms related to contemporary challenges concerning armed conflict.
Naz K. Modirzadeh Naz K. Modirzadeh is the founding Director of the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (PILAC). She regularly advises and briefs international humanitarian organizations, UN agencies, and governments on issues related to international humanitarian law, human rights, and counterterrorism regulations relating to humanitarian assistance. For more than a decade, she has carried out legal research and policy work concerning a number of armed conflict situations. Her scholarship and research focus on intersections between the fields of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and Islamic law.
Sinisa Milatovic has over 14 years' experience with UNDP, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other international agencies on human rights, rule of law and humanitarian issues. He has co-authored various laws, such as the Anti-discrimination Act in Serbia, and has authored numerous strategies and policy documents. He has also consulted for UNDP on constitutional and judicial reform in Turkey, Tajikistan and the Maldives. He is currently a consultant mandated with developing and authoring a toolkit for the Norwegian Refugee Council and the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee on how to mitigate the effects of counterterrorism measures on principled humanitarian action. He is awaiting his defence of his PhD thesis in international law at the University of Oxford.