Opening Expert Meeting For 'IHL in Focus' Project

To kick-start the activities of the project and refine its approach, a two-day expert meeting was convened to discuss key questions arising in the context of IHL monitoring that are of particular importance to this project. The meeting conveyed a diverse group of practitioners from the humanitarian and human rights sector, OSINT specialists, IHL experts and academics. A through presentation of the project was followed by four panels covering;

• Existing initiatives in the field of IHL monitoring and their complementarity
• Identifying trends and patterns of IHL violations
• Methodological aspects connected with data-gathering
• The translation of such a research project into a relevant tool for IHL advocacy
  

Gloria Gaggioli, Director of the Geneva Academy, explained, ‘Gathering such a high-level group of experts and practitioners to discuss about the challenging issue of monitoring and reporting on IHL violations at Villa Moynier was a very rewarding experience. Comments, presentations, and informal exchanges have provided us with valuable insights that will play a prominent part in helping us to fine-tune the methodology for the development of the global annual report. This first ‘IHL in Focus’ expert meeting has also been a great opportunity to discuss the challenges that the project will face, and even more importantly, it has reinforced our conviction in the significance of this effort.’