News - The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

Applications for the upcoming academic year of our Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict are open: don't miss this unique opportunity to move your career forward!

We welcome applications from professionals based in Geneva or in the field until 13 September 2021. Courses will start on Wednesday 29 September 2021.

Our Open House on 16 June 2021 (12:30 –13:30) will allow you to meet staff, students and alumni, learn more about this programme and discuss career opportunities.

Our Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict is one of the few part-time, innovative and intellectually challenging programmes in the law of armed conflict offered today.

Designed for professionals with demanding jobs and responsibilities, the programme provides strong theoretical and practical knowledge and responds to the growing need for specialists to address complex humanitarian and human rights challenges and challenging processes such as criminal proceedings, international negotiations and humanitarian interventions.

Courses cover international law, international humanitarian law (IHL), international human rights law (IHRL), international criminal law (ICL) and the interplay between them, providing solid theoretical and practical knowledge of the law that applies to armed conflicts. They also address current issues and challenges, including the repression of terrorism, the responsibility to protect and international refugee law.

After the end of the courses in June, participants have six months to submit a master’s paper. They do not need to be in Geneva to write their papers.

‘I believe this programme improves not only our technical skills but also empowers us to evaluate critically a wide variety of international disputes and armed conflicts and to approach humanitarian crisis from a legal perspective.’

Monica Garcia, Executive Assistant at Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Access Campaign

yria - Raqqa West - Frontline. A soldier from the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) looks at the neighborhood with his RPG.

MSF

ICRC

Participants can follow the programme in Geneva or, for those who are field-based, online.

If the COVID-related health situation requires it – lockdown, illness or quarantine – participants in Geneva can follow it online.

For those online, an easy and interactive platform allows participants to interact directly with professors and other students during classes and access all the courses’ materials and readings.

Participants can decide to take exams online or, alternatively, to come to Geneva to pass them.

Geneva Academy

A hybrid class of the Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict: in Geneva and online

Geneva Academy

Our Executive Master responds to the growing need for specialists to address current humanitarian and human rights challenges.

By providing the necessary tools to apply the international legal framework in complex contemporary conflicts, it forms high-level professionals who want to acquire additional responsibilities or move their career forward.

‘I work in the UN so learning about international law is not only an added value for me, it is a must. The Executive Master will allow me to advance in my career and be capable of performing my duties with an added knowledge of international mechanisms.’

Ziad Ayoubi is the Head of Livelihoods and Economic Inclusion at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Olivier Chamard/Geneva Academy

An Oxfam member of staff helps to carry one family's newly received non-food items home in UN House, Juba

Anita Kattakhuzy/Oxfam

ICRC

This executive programme runs for nine months (September–June) and admits 20 to 30 practitioners annually.

Courses take place from Wednesdays to Fridays at lunchtime (12:00 –14:00 CET) at our headquarters, Villa Moynier and online. When participants cannot attend a course for professional reasons (e.g. missions, travel, conferences), they can either follow the course remotely or watch the recordings afterwards.

Exams take place at the end of the first year (June) with retakes in October.

After the completion of courses, participants have six months to submit a master’s paper. They are not required to remain on campus or in Geneva to write their papers.

An Intimate Learning Environment

Leading academics and experts teach in this programme. The small and intimate learning environment allows for interactive exchanges with professors and among participants who bring diverse experiences and expertise in class.

The programme was an eye-opener regarding the various layers of rules applicable to facts occurring in armed conflict. Following the programme, I have been able to provide advice on situations concerning persons affected by armed conflicts and the knowledge acquired at the Geneva Academy put my work in a different perspective. I benefitted from this fresh outlook both as a lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights and as a human rights advisor.

Patricia Ötvös, Advisor to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe