UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
2 April 2020
In the past years, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has been increasingly dealing with international humanitarian law (IHL) via either specific debates or thematic and/or country resolutions.
‘Compared to other thematic issues such as the rule of law or individual criminal accountability, little attention has been paid to the consistency – or lack thereof – of the UNSC’s practice in relation to this legal framework’ underlines Emilie Max, former Researcher at the Geneva Academy.
‘Similarly, the prevailing discourse on the UNSC's dynamics tends to only focus on the organ’s five permanent members to the exclusion of the other members, the so-called ‘E10’’ she adds.
Our new research project precisely aims at critically assessing this trend. Resulting from traditional legal research and informal interviews with over 30 experts (scholars, diplomats, as well as representatives of the United Nations, NGOs and relevant international organizations), it will analyse how the UNSC has recently dealt with IHL and formulate a series of recommendations to policy-makers working with this organ to ensure consistency in addressing IHL issues.
Alarming conflict trends from the IHL in Focus report were presented to members of the UN at the EU Delegation in Geneva by members of the Geneva Academy.
Organized with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva, and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, the event explored legal gaps and accountability failures in global arms transfers.
ICRC
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.
The Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts project (RULAC) is a unique online portal that identifies and classifies all situations of armed violence that amount to an armed conflict under international humanitarian law (IHL). It is primarily a legal reference source for a broad audience, including non-specialists, interested in issues surrounding the classification of armed conflicts under IHL.
Shutterstock
This project will explore humanitarian consequences and protection needs caused by the digitalization of armed conflicts and the extent to which these needs are addressed by international law, especially international humanitarian law.