ALMA Newsletter - December 2014

Dear friends,

As the end of 2014 is coming upon us, we would like to wish you happy holidays. In the recent year we've experienced several high intensity conflicts - operation "Protective Edge" between Israel and Hamas, the ongoing hostilities in Syria and the atricities of the Islamic State are just a few examples that emphesize the importance of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). ALMA will continue to promote the knowledge, understanding and discussion of IHL in 2015.

I would like to use this opportunity to mention the 8th issue of the National Competition on IHL for students that was held recently, and thank our partners in running the competition from the local ICRC delegation, and our friends at the Swiss Embassy for their continuous support of the competition. In this newsletter you can find information about the results of the competition, as well as updates on new publications, and upcoming events.

As always, you are welcome to keep in touch via our facebook page and twitter. In order to join our mailing list please send your name and email address to info@alma-ihl.org. If you wish to support ALMA please visit our donations page.

Sincerely,

Ido Rosenzweig

ALMA Chairman.

8th National Competition on IHL - Results

Between November 17th and 20th the 8th National Competition on IHL for students was held by the ICRC and ALMA. Seven teams from four academic institutions participated in the competition (University of Haifa, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv University and Sha'arei Mishpat College).

The winning team of the 8th National IHL Competition: Ms. Nitzan Conforti, Ms. Livia Silver Benaiah, and Mr. Tomer Treger from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The finalist team (the runners up): Ms. Yifat Rozen, Ms. Ilana Sherrington, and Mr. Guy Ziv from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The winners of the first IHL Scavenger Hunt: University of Haifa team B: Ms. Mor Granot, Mr. Daniel Amital and Mr. Kfir Witman.

The winner of the Uriel Masad Best Speaker Award: Ms. Ilana Sherrington from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

ALMA would like to congratulate all participating teams and thank the judges: Dr. Annyssa Bellal (Geneva Call), Ms. Christie Edwards (American Red Cross), Mr. Eitan Diamond (Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement) and Lt. Col (Res.) David Benjamin.

New IHL Articles & Media

1. Matthew Happold: Obligations of States Contributing to UN Peacekeeping Missions under Article 1 Common to the Geneva Conventions (SSRN)

2. Laurie R. Blank: Military Operations and Media Coverage: The Interplay of Law and Legitimacy (SSRN)

3. Noam Lubell: Robot warriors: technology and the regulation of war (Video on TEDx University of Essex)

4. Aurel Sari: Jaloud v Netherlands: New Directions in Extra-Territorial Military Operations

(EJIL: Talk!)

5. Eric C. Sigmund: Learning the Rules of War from Video Games (intercross)

6. Tania Sweis: Drone Wars: The Legality of Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (Travaux)

7. Shani Dann: Knowing What You Hit Next Time You Play "BattleShip" (Humanity in the Midst of War)

Upcoming Events and Applications

1. The next session of the Joint International Humanitarian Law Forum will be held on Wednesday, December 10, 2014, 18:30, in room C110 (Arazi-Ofer Building, 2nd floor) at the IDC Herzliya. Speakers will be announced.

2. The Israeli Foreign Ministry is offering a support letter for the Shabtai Rosen Scholarships for the Summer Course in International Law at The Hague Academy. Applications must be submitted by Monday, December 1, 2014.

3. The INSS-ICRC 3rd International Conference on Challenges of Warfare in Densely Populated Areas will be held on Tuesday, December 2, 2014 in Tel-Aviv.

4. The International Law Forum of the Hebrew University will be held on Tuesday December 2, 2014 in Jerusalem. In this meeting Prof. Andreas Zimmermann, University of Postdam, will discuss the topic "The International Criminal Court and the Use of Chemical Weapons in (Non-International) Armed Conflicts".

5. The Annual Meeting of the Association for Public Law will be held in January 1-3, 2014 in Haifa.

6. Geneva 2014 Core Professional Training on Humanitarian Law and Policy, will be held in December 1-3, 2014, in Geneva, Switzerland.

7. Geneva Academy's Academy Briefing on Autonomous Weapons Systems Under International Law will be held on Monday, December 1, 2014, in Maison de la Paix I Auditorium 1A (Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2) – Geneva, Switzerland.

For many more events from all over the world, please visit our upcoming IHL event - worldwide page on our website. To add you event to our database please send an email to events@alma-ihl.org