Event information

15 March 2022, 12:00-13:30
Register start 7 March 2022
Register end 14 March 2022

Russia and Ukraine

IHL Talks

A scene from the Palanca-Maiaki-Udobnoe border crossing point, between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine on 1 March 2022. A scene from the Palanca-Maiaki-Udobnoe border crossing point, between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine on 1 March 2022.

This IHL Talk aims at shedding light on some of the legal issues stemming from the current armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia. As it is well-known, on 24 February 2022 Russian forces entered Ukraine, triggering a new phase of the international armed conflict which started in 2014. As a reaction, a growing number of states has provided assistance to Ukraine and has adopted increasingly severe sanctions against Russia.

First, the focus will be on the humanitarian impact of unilateral sanctions. Second, we will address challenges raised by the use of force against Ukraine, with a particular focus on the justifications provided by Russia. Lastly, we will analyse the conflict from an international humanitarian law perspective, focusing on instances of clear violations and more controversial ones.

Moderator

  • Michael Strauss, Professor of International Law, Centre d'Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégiques (CEDS) in Paris

Speakers

  • Alena Douhan, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights
  • Marco Roscini, Professor of International Law, Westminster Law School
  • Chiara Redaelli, Research Fellow, Geneva Academy

About IHL Talks

The IHL Talks are a series of events, hosted by the Geneva Academy, on international humanitarian law and current humanitarian topics. Every two months, academic experts, practitioners, policymakers and journalists discuss burning humanitarian issues and their regulation under international law.

Get Ready: Our Resource Page on Ukraine

Video

Russia and Ukraine

This IHL Talk  addressed some of the legal issues stemming from the current armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Panelists notably discussed the humanitarian impact of unilateral sanctions and challenges raised by the use of force against Ukraine, with a particular focus on the justifications provided by Russia. They also analyzed the conflict from an international humanitarian law perspective, focusing on instances of clear violations and more controversial ones.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

LLM students pleading at the Geneva Academy News

LLM Students Plead on IHL Violations in Gaza and the West Bank

24 April 2024

Half of the class of our LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights pleaded on 20 April on the current armed conflict in and around Gaza.

Read more

A street in Guayaquil News

Is There a Non-International Armed Conflict in Ecuador?

2 February 2024

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa started the new year by declaring that there is an ‘internal armed conflict’ against a series of criminal groups operating in the country. Our Research Fellow Dr Eugénie Duss, in charge of RULAC, answers our questions about whether the situation in Ecuador amounts to a non-international armed conflict.

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

Iraq, Mosul. View of the west bank after the war. Project

IHL in Focus

Started in January 2024

As a yearly publication, it keeps decision-makers, practitioners and scholars up-to-date with the latest trends and challenges in IHL implementation in over 100 armed conflicts worldwide – both international and non-international.

Read more

Cover of Report Publication

Artificial Intelligence And Related Technologies In Military Decision-Making On The Use Of Force In Armed Conflicts: Current Developments And Potential Implications

published on May 2024

Anna Rosalie Greipl, Neil Davison, Georgia Hinds

Read more