Course Description
The Core Professional Training on Humanitarian Law and Policy serves as an opportunity for experienced humanitarian practitioners and policy professionals to explore international humanitarian law (IHL) issues relevant to their work through an intensive, fast-paced, three-day program. The Course is also designed to ensure that IHL norms and related legal frameworks are discussed in a tailored manner to address the practical needs and challenges participants face in their respective professional activities. Interactive sessions, case studies, and simulation exercises are therefore integrated into the curriculum. Expert academics and practitioners lead sessions covering the sources and development of IHL, key distinctions between international and non-international armed conflicts, the applicability of international human rights law in armed conflict, the obligations of State and non-State actors, implementation and enforcement of IHL, and the role of humanitarian actors in situations of armed conflict. Throughout the course, instructors and participants use examples from contemporary conflicts to illustrate the applicability of legal rules to concrete challenges and how to make the best use of the legal language in complex situations, shaped by the interests of the parties to a conflict and by the need to uphold humanitarian principles.
Participants are recommended to complete the PHAP Credentialing Program certification in International Legal Frameworks for Humanitarian Action (ILFHA) prior to the course.