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.