Event information

7 March 2020, 20:00-22:00

Does international humanitarian law legitimise wars?

Event

The International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH), Doctors without Borders (MSF) and the Geneva Academy co-organize an online debate on international humanitarian law during the revised 18th edition of the festival.

International humanitarian law (IHL) provides a platform for major humanitarian organisations to negotiate in the event of a conflict. When war is in conformity with the law, is it still legitimate?

Systematic attacks on hospitals and other civilian sites in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and South Sudan: since the beginning of the "war on terror" declared following the attacks of 11 September 2001, violations of IHL have multiplied. In this context, the importance of promoting IHL has become a fundamental pillar of contemporary humanitarian action. Advocacy campaigns and public speeches proliferate. But does recognizing that war can be legally considered as civilized not ignore the political realities of law and warfare? Does this not lead to legitimizing so-called just wars in the name of law?

Speakers

  • Amani Balloor, Physician, the protagonist of The Cave
  • Annyssa Bellal, Strategic Adviser on IHL, Geneva Academy
  • Rony Brauman, Doctor, ex-president of MSF, director of studies for CRASH - the center of reflexion on action and humanitarian knowledge at MSF

Moderation

  • Gaith Abdul-Ahad, Journalist, The Guardian

Video

Does international humanitarian law legitimise wars?

International humanitarian law (IHL) provides a platform for major humanitarian organisations to negotiate in the event of a conflict. When war is in conformity with the law, is it still legitimate?

Watch the debate co-organized by the Geneva Academy, The International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH) and Doctors without Borders (MSF).

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Map of the Rulac online portal pointing on Israel/Palestine News

RULAC: Update of our Entry on the Military Occupation of Palestine by Israel

27 November 2023

Our Research Fellow Dr Eugénie Duss answers our questions related to this update that follows the attacks carried out by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Israel’s subsequent Iron Sword operation.

Read more

Houses destroyed due to the violent war in the city of Taiz, Yemen News

Join our Online Executive Master in the Law of Armed Conflict and Upgrade Your Legal Skills

1 February 2024

Applications for the upcoming academic year of our Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict are now open. They will remain open until 31 May 2024, with courses starting at the end of September 2024.

Read more

Afghanistan, Parwan detention facility. Inside a room where detainees of the prison, separated by an acrylic glass, are allowed to meet with their families a couple of times per year with the help of the ICRC employees who facilitate the programme. Short Course

Preventing and Combating Terrorism

25 April - 17 May 2024

This online short course discusses the extent to which states may limit and/or derogate from their international human rights obligations in order to prevent and counter-terrorism and thus protect persons under their jurisdiction.

Read more

A session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

IHL Expert Pool

Started in January 2022

The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.

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

Cover Page of Research Brief Publication

Unpacking the Burgeoning Challenge of Environmental Protection and the Right to Food in the Context of Armed Conflict

published on April 2024

Erica Harper, Junli Lim

Read more

Cover Page of Research Brief Publication

Environmental Human Rights as a Tool in Early Warning and Conflict Prevention The Role of the Human Rights Council

published on January 2024

Erica Harper, Baïna Ubushieva

Read more