Information

6-21 February 2025
Application start 5 August 2024
Application end 23 January 2025
Fee: 1250 Swiss Francs

Downloads

Flyer >

The Law of Non-International Armed Conflicts

Descriptive

While international humanitarian law (IHL) was initially drafted and is still most detailed for international armed conflicts (IACs), most armed conflicts are today of a non-international character (NIACs).

This short course discusses the protection offered by IHL in NIACs and examines why and to what extent IHL of IACs and IHL of NIACs are different or similar, as well as where the rules applicable to NIACs can be found. It also addresses some problems and controversies specific to IHL of NIACs, including the difficulty to ensure the respect of IHL by armed non-state actors.

Online

This is an online short course.

Schedule

Classes will take place online during lunchtime on:

  • Thursday, 6 February 2025, 12:00–14:00 (CET)
  • Friday, 7 February 2025, 12:00–14:00 (CET)
  • Thursday, 13 February 2025, 12:00–14:00 (CET)
  • Friday, 14 February 2025, 12:00–14:00 (CET)
  • Monday, 17 February 2025, 12:00–14:00 (CET)
  • Friday, 21 February 2025, 12:00–14:00 (CET)

Audience

This short course forms part of the Geneva Academy Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict. It is open to professionals – diplomats, lawyers, legal advisers, judges, NGO staff, human rights advocates, media specialists, professionals working in emergency situations, UN staff and staff from other international organizations – who are not enrolled in the Executive Master and who want to deepen their expertise in this specific issue.

Fee

The fee for this short course is 1,250 Swiss Francs. In case of cancellation by the participants, CHF 200 won't be returned.

Certificate

Participants obtain a certificate at the end of the course (no ECTS credits are gained).

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted via this online form.

If you encounter problems with your application, do not hesitate to contact us.

Your application will have to include:

  • A short motivation letter (no more than one page)
  • Your curriculum vitae
  • Proof of your competence in English (a certificate or statement highlighting your solid background in English)
  • Once admitted to the course, participants receive instructions on how to pay. Proof of payment is required before you begin the course.

Professor and Lecturer

Picture of Gloria Gaggioli

Gloria Gaggioli

Former Director of the Geneva Academy and Associate Professor and Vice-Dean of the Law Faculty, University of Geneva

Gloria Gaggioli is a renowned scholar in international humanitarian law and human rights and has published widely in various fields of public international law.

Location

Online course

Access

The course will be conducted online using the ZOOM platform.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

A thank at the Ethiopian-Eritrean border News

Eritrea-Ethiopia: Understanding 20 Years of Armed Conflict

11 December 2018

The War Report article The Eritrea-Ethiopia Armed Conflict provides detailed information about the history of this conflict, the peace process and the final Algiers Agreement, the deployment of peacekeeping operations until 2008, the work and conclusions of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) and the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission (EECC), as well as recent developments.

Read more

Wall with PKK tags News

Kurdish Military Formations in Middle Eastern Battlefields

23 November 2017

Our new publication Kurdish Military Formations in Middle Eastern Battlefields provides an overview of Kurdish history, of current dynamics of the Kurdish question, as well as of Kurdish forces and armed groups in the Middle East. It also analyses how recent developments in the region, including the emergence and fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), are impacting on Kurdish armed groups and alliances.

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

Event

Strengths and Challenges of Inter-State Applications Before the European Court of Human Rights

12 May 2025, 18:30-20:00

In this Geneva Academy Talk Judge Lətif Hüseynov will discuss the challenges of inter-State cases under the ECHR, especially amid rising conflict-related applications.

Read more

A general view of participants during of the 33nd ordinary session of the Human Rights Council. Training

The Universal Periodic Review and the UN Human Rights System: Raising the Bar on Accountability

10-14 November 2025

This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.

Read more

Neutrotechology Project

Neurotechnology and Human Rights

Started in August 2023

This project addresses the human rights implications stemming from the development of neurotechnology for commercial, non-therapeutic ends, and is based on a partnership between the Geneva Academy, the Geneva University Neurocentre and the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee. 

Read more

Central African Republic, Ouham province, village of Ouogo. International Humanitarian Law dissemination session to members of the Peoples' Army for the Restoration of Democracy. Project

From Words to Deeds: A Study of Armed Non-State Actors’ Practice and Interpretation of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Norms

Completed in January 2017

This project aimed at compiling and analysing the practice and interpretation of selected international humanitarian law and human rights norms by armed non-state actors (ANSAs). It had a pragmatic double objective: first, to offer a comparative analysis of IHL and human rights norms from the perspective of ANSAs, and second, to inform strategies of humanitarian engagement with ANSAs, in particular the content of a possible ‘Model Code of Conduct’.

Read more