ALMA Newsletter - February 2019

עברית

Dear friends,

Welcome to our February 2019 newsletter. As we step further into this year we can already see that this is going to be a very interesting IHL year. In our newsletter we note two fascinating IHL-related events: an online symposium dedicated to Kubo Mačák's "Internationalized Armed Conflicts – The Wars of Our Age", hosted by Opinio juris; and the 3rd young researchers workshop on "Terrorism and Belligerency" hosted by the Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions. Along with our regular references to new articles and upcoming events, we offer you a very rich edition of our newsletter.

As always, you are welcome to keep in touch via our Facebook page and twitter. In order to subscribe to our mailing list please click here

Best regards

Ido Rosenzweig

ALMA Chairman

3rd Young Researchers Workshop on Terrorism & Belligerency

The Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions (RLEC) at the University of Haifa, convened a group of scholars for a high-level discussion on enduring and emerging practical legal issues related to terrorism and belligerency from varied perspectives and disciplines. The links below direct to the video recordings of the presentations, available also on Minerva Center RLEC YouTube Channel:

1) Prof. Eli Salzberger, Director of Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions, University of Haifa, Faculty of Law, Opening remarks.

2) Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, Chatham House Report on Proportionality in The Conduct of Hostilities - Key Points.

Respondent: Dr. Yael Berda, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Respondent: Dr. Ziv Bohrer, Bar-Ilan University.

5) Prof. Yuval Shany, UN Human Rights Committee, Vice-President Israel Democracy Institute, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Security detention and Human Rights Law.

Respondent: Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict.

8) Prof. Daniel Statman, University of Haifa, Unreliable Protection: Proportionality in Warfare Put to the Test.

9) Mr. Elad Uzan, Tel-Aviv University, International Law and the Morality of Ending Wars.

Respondent: Prof. Michael Gross, University of Haifa.

10) Col. (res) Pnina Sharvit-Baruch, The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Combatting terrorism under the framework of IHL.

Respondent: Dr. Kimberley Trapp, University College London.

Respondent: Mr. Nimrod Karin, The Federmann Cyber Security Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

13) Mr. Anuar Baltabayev, China Studies Centre, China’s Approach to International Terrorism.

Respondent: Dr. Kimberley Trapp, University College London.

14) Dr. Kire Babanoski, Faculty of security studies, MIT University Skopje, The Threats of Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters.

Respondent: Prof. Stefan Oeter, University of Hamburg.

15) Dr. Anna Evangelidi, Post-Doc fellow, Minerva RLEC, The Law of Armed Conflict as an other-directed normative regime.

16) Mr. Yahli Shereshevsky, Post-Doc fellow, Minerva RLEC, International Humanitarian Law-making.

17) Dr. Sofia Galani, Bristol Law School, Maritime Terrorism in international law.

18) Ms. Barbara EA Korte, Goethe University Frankfurt, Rethinking counter-terrorism strategy as to the communicative nature of terrorism.

Respondent: Dr. Alexandra Herfroy-Mischler, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Respondent: Ms. Keren Michaeli, Head of Legal Department, UNHCR (Israel).

Opinio Juris Symposium: Internationalized Armed Conflict - The Wars of Our Age

1) Kubo Mačák, Internationalized Armed Conflicts–The Wars of Our Age

2) Bill Boothby, Internationalized Armed Conflicts in International Law–A Review

3) Susan Breau, A Commentary on Complex Conflict Situations

4) Anne Quintin, Reflections on Conflict Classification

5) Laurie R. Blank, The Interplay Between IAC and NIAC–Questions and Consequences

6) Tamás Hoffmann, Should a State’s Own Citizens Become Protected Persons During an Internationalized Conflict? Criticism Couched in Shameless Self-Promotion

7) Katharine Fortin, Further Thoughts on an IAC with Three Parties and the Capacity of Armed Groups to Adhere to International Norms

8) Elvina Pothelet, Three Questions to the Author

9) Alonso Gurmendi, Combatancy and Post-Conflict Reconciliation in Internationalized NIACs – A Call for Further Discussion

10) Kubo Mačák, Internationalized Armed Conflicts - Four Concluding Thoughts

Calls for Papers and Opportunities

Historical perspectives on medical care in armed conflict, ICRC Law & Policy: The ICRC is interested in a multidisciplinary approach to this issue; submissions from academics or policy researchers with expertise in law, history, military strategy, social science or other relevant fields are welcome. Authors are invited to send short research proposals (about 2 pages) to the Washington Delegation of the ICRC at icrcevents@gmail.com for review and feedback at any time. Completed policy papers should be submitted by 31 April 2019.

IHL Articles & Media

1) Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, Proportionality in the Conduct of Hostilities: The Incidental Harm Side of the Assessment (Chatham House)

2) Geoffrey S. Corn, Calibrating the Compass of Proportionality (Just Security)

3) Adil Haque, Proportionality and Doubt (Just Security)

4) Jonathan Horowitz, Precautionary measures in urban warfare: A commander’s obligation to obtain information (ICRC blog)

5) Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Philippines: A Series of Long-Lasting Non-International Armed Conflicts (Geneva Academy)

6) Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, The Syrian Armed Conflict: Nearing the End? (Chatham House)

Upcoming IHL Events

1) Exploring Humanitarian Law: 2-Day Educator Training. Canadian Red Cross, Ottawa, Canada, 1-2 March 2019.

2) 24th International Humanitarian and Security Conference: The Conference will be organized together with the Webster Humanitarian Association (WHA) and in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Webster University and Webster Humanitarian Association (WHA) , Geneva, Switzerland, 7-8 March2019.

3) Peace Operations and International Humanitarian Law – Mali and Beyond: The Conference will examine how International Humanitarian Law (IHL) applies to peace operations during armed conflict, by bringing together experts in the field, including academics, practitioners and representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross, to discuss IHL challenges arising in contemporary multinational peace operations in Mali and beyond. Canadian Red Cross, Ottawa, Canada, 8 March 2019.

4) Exploring Humanitarian Law: 2-Day Educator Training in Winnipeg: The training training utilizes an easy-to-use, adaptable toolkit aimed at students 13 – 18 years of age. Canadian Red Cross, Winnipeg, Canada, 14-15 March 2019.

5) Short Course: The Law of Non-International Armed Conflicts: This short course discusses the protection offered by IHL in NIACs and examines why and to what extent IHL of IACs and IHL of NIACs are different or similar, as well as where the rules applicable to NIACs can be found. It also addresses some problems and controversies specific to IHL of NIACs, including the difficulty to ensure the respect of IHL by armed non-state actors. Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, Geneva, Switzerland, 15-29 March 2019.

6) 31st - 32nd Edition of the Jean-Pictet Competition on International Humanitarian Law. Committee for the Jean-Pictet Competition, Obernai, France, 16-23 March 2019 (Anglophone), 30 March - 6 April 2019 (Francophone and Anglophone).

7) Amman-Dead Sea 2019 Core Professional Training on Humanitarian Law and Policy. PHAP, Mövenpick Dead Sea, Jordan, 17-19 March 2019.

8) Amman-Dead Sea 2019 Thematic Workshop on the Law of Non-International Armed Conflict: Contemporary challenges for the protection of civilians. PHAP, Mövenpick Dead Sea, Jordan, 20-21 March 2019.

9) 8th Annual Cambridge International Law Conference: The theme of this year's conference is ‘New Technologies: New Challenges for Democracy and International Law’. The Conference will explore and reflect on the ways in which the proliferation of novel technologies challenge foundational assumptions, principles, and norms in international law, and influence democratic institutions and processes. Cambridge International Law Journal (CILJ), Cambridge, United Kingdom, 20-21 March 2019.

10) Annual University of New Brunswick IHL Conference - Cyber Warfare in the New Age: Threat for all nations? his year’s conference seeks to raise awareness regarding the interaction between cyber security and international humanitarian law. Technological advancements in recent years have created unique challenges for international legal scholars, and the international community is struggling to address new threats of cybercrime and cyber warfare. These threats are a dimension of a broader phenomenon we call digital transformations, which will be the theme of this year’s conference. The UNB International Law Society and the Canadian Red Cross, New Brunswick, Canada, 22 March 2019.

11) Amman-Dead Sea 2019 Thematic Workshop on Fact-finding, Monitoring, and Reporting in Armed Conflict. PHAP, Mövenpick Dead Sea, Jordan, 23-24 March 2019.

12) Competition on the Law of Armed Conflict and IHL for Military Academies: The Academies Competition provides teams of 3 Officer Cadets from the top military academies from around the world with an early appreciation of the critical importance of humanitarian law in multi-national military operations. International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Sanremo, Italy, 25-29 March 2019.

13) Targeted Killings and International Humanitarian Law: This Conference aims to uncover the role that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) plays in situations concerning targeted killings during armed conflict. Canadian Red Cross, Windsor, ON, Canada, 26 March 2019.

For information about more IHL events from all over the world, please visit ourUpcoming IHL Events webpage

Recent IHL Events

1) Vancouver International Humanitarian Law Conference on Women, Children and War: Women and children are the most vulnerable in war and are provided special protections under IHL. Despite this, women still face problems such as sexual violence and risks to their health. Children continue to be recruited as fighters, separated from families, killed, abused and exploited in other ways. The Conference will focus on these challenges and on potential solutions. Canadian Red Cross, Vancouver, BC Canada

23 February 2019.

2) 24th Annual National Security Law Conference: Duke's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS), Duke Law School, 22-23 February 2019.

3) Short Course: The Interplay Between International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights: The course focuses on specific issues that arise in times of armed conflict regarding the respect, protection and fulfillment of human rights. It addresses key issues like the applicability of human rights in times of armed conflict; the possibilities of restricting human rights under systems of limitations and derogations; and the extraterritorial application of human rights law. Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Switzerland 25 January - 22 February 2019.

Alma Tweets by ‎@ALMA_IHL

1) #IHLarticle on the protection of medical personnel under #IHL.

2) #IHL Precautionary measures in #urban #warfare - @J_T_Horowitz on the commanders’ obligation to obtain information in order to spare the #civilianpopulation/objects -> https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy.

3) #Philippines are involved in non-international #armedconflicts (NIACs) in #Mindanaoagainst #armedgroups fighting for independence. They are also engaged in a NIAC against the NPA.

4) Professor Gad Barzilai: Court's National Security Arguments Over (other) Human Rights - YouTube https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jjT_n8agoOM …