Event information

8 April 2020, 12:30-13:45

Fighting Two Battles at the Same Time: Responding to Covid-19 in Conflict Zones

Geneva Academy Talks

Destroyed health facilities in Libya Destroyed health facilities in Libya

Online Event

 

Prisoners, internally displaced persons and refugees are particularly vulnerable to the rapid spread of COVID-19 because they can hardly comply with measures of confinement and/or social distancing and have limited access to healthcare facilities. In Syria, Yemen and many other places affected by armed conflict, healthcare facilities have also been destroyed or degraded, and there is significant shortage of medical equipment and medical professionals.

This IHL talk – exceptionally organized online – aims at shining light on the challenges faced by humanitarian organizations in organizing the response to COVID-19. The discussion will also touch upon states' obligation of due diligence to prevent the further spread of the virus.

Moderator

  • Emilie Max, Researcher, Geneva Academy

Panelists

  • Fabrizio Carboni, Regional Director for the Near and Middle East, International Committee of the Red Cross
  • Antonio Coco, Lecturer, School of Law at the University of Essex, and Visiting Fellow, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict

How to Join the Discussion

Make sure you have created a Zoom account, if you haven’t yet, please create an account here.

Once you have created the account, please click on this link. If you are not sent to the meeting room but requested to download the app, just download it again (and if it doesn’t open the meeting, just re-click on the link).

You will then be placed in the event's waiting room: the host will grant you access right before the start of the event at 12:30. Please note that the discussion can only accommodate 100 participants. Places will, therefore, be allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis. For those who cannot join this online meeting, the video of the event will be posted afterwards on this page, as well as on our social media channels.

Asking Questions to Panelists

Please use the chatbox to ask your questions, the moderator will make a selection of questions at the end of the presentations. There will be no possibility to interact by webcam and microphone in order to avoid connexion issues.

About IHL Talks

The IHL Talks are a series of events, hosted by the Geneva Academy, on international humanitarian law and current humanitarian topics. Every two months, academic experts, practitioners, policymakers and journalists discuss burning humanitarian issues and their regulation under international law.

Video

Fighting Two Battles at the Same Time: Responding to Covid-19 in Conflict Zones

In this online IHL Talk, panelists discussed the challenges faced by humanitarian organizations in organizing the response to COVID-19, and states' obligation of due diligence to prevent the further spread of the virus.

Here are the links discussed during the event:

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

IHL in Focus Spot Report News

Spot Report – Water Crisis in War and Under Occupation: Current Israeli Policy and Practice in Occupied Palestinian Territory Under International Humanitarian Law

16 June 2025

The Geneva Academy has published a new spot report analysing Israeli policy and practice relating to water in the Occupied Palestinian Territory through the lens of IHL.

Read more

MENA Training GHRP News

Strengthening MENA Engagement with UN Human Rights Mechanisms: Second Edition of our Tailored Training

24 July 2025

Participants from six countries across the Middle East and North Africa region joined our customized training on the Geneva-based United Nations human rights mechanisms

Read more

Warzone Event

Advanced IHL Seminar for Academics and Policymakers

25-29 August 2025, 09:00-17:30

Co-hosted with the ICRC, this event aims to enhance the capacity of academics to teach and research international humanitarian law, while also equipping policymakers with an in-depth understanding of ongoing legal debates.

Read more

Open dump Training

Protecting Human Rights and the Environment

15-19 September 2025

Participants in this training course will gain practical insights into UN human rights mechanisms and their role in environmental protection and learn about how to address the interplay between international human rights and environmental law, and explore environmental litigation paths.

Read more

Training

Human Rights and the Environment: Introducing Legal Regimes and Key Issues

1-8 September 2025

Participants in this training course will be introduced to the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as international environmental law and its implementation and enforcement mechanisms.

Read more

surveillance image of people Project

Human Rights in a Digitalized World: Mapping Risk, Strengthening Regulation and Promoting the Development of International Human Rights Law

Started in August 2023

To unpack the challenges raised by artificial intelligence, this project will target two emerging and under-researched areas: digital military technologies and neurotechnology.

Read more

Wheat field Project

The Right to Seeds in Europe

Started in January 2018

The project will notably identify the main opportunities and obstacles to protect the right to seeds in Europe. It will also discuss how to promote changes in European laws, policies and trade agreements to ensure that they do not infringe, but facilitate the realization of peasants’ right to seeds.

Read more

Cover of the 2023 Geneva Academy Annual Report Publication

Annual Report 2024

published on July 2025

Read more