The Thematic Workshops on IHL address critical challenges of International Humanitarian Law in current conflict situations. The two-day workshops complement the Core Professional Trainings on Humanitarian Law and Policy. Participants in the Thematic Workshops are expected to have completed the Core Professional Training in Humanitarian Law and Policy (or an equivalent multi-day training).
The Geneva 2014 Thematic Workshop on Human Rights Law in Situations of Armed Conflict: Implications for Humanitarian Action will be offered by PHAP and it will follow directly a three-day standard Core Professional Training on Humanitarian Law and Policy in the same location (1 - 3 December).
Summary Description:
While traditionally considered to be mutually exclusive, a multiplicity of actors - including governments, armed opposition groups, activists, and experts - have increasingly referred to both international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) in armed conflicts. These two bodies of law offer a series of protections to persons in armed conflict, whether civilians, persons who are no longer participating directly in hostilities or active participants in the conflict.
Nonetheless, while providing opportunities for complementarity and even overlapping in some ways, there are aspects of the interaction between IHL and IHRL that remain problematic - at the conceptual, implementation, and operational levels.
The Geneva 2014 Thematic Workshop on Human Rights Law in Situations of Armed Conflict: Implications for Humanitarian Action sets out to shed light on those grey areas. It provides an avenue for informed dialogue, and offers participants the opportunity to deepen their functional knowledge of the relationship between IHL and IHRL.
Core issues to be addressed include:
- Foundations and applications of IHL and human rights law
- Frameworks for humanitarian action
- Human rights law and conduct of hostilities (including drones and direct participation in hostilities)
- Counterterrorism operations (including use of force and detention issues)
- Human rights bodies and IHL violations
- Engaging armed groups in IHL and IHRL
- IHL, IHRL, and humanitarian advocacy
Please note that participation to the Thematic Workshops requires prior participation to a standard Core Professional Training on Humanitarian Law and Policy (or an equivalent multi-day training).