Ukrainian IHL Professor Hosted at the Geneva Academy

31 October 2022

The Geneva Academy is hosting during a year Dr Nataliia Hendel, a Professor of international law at the International Humanitarian University in Odesa, Ukraine, and an expert in international humanitarian law (IHL).

Dr Hendel, who fled the conflict in Ukraine, joined the Geneva Academy as a Researcher back in September 2022 under the Programme Scholars at Risk, with funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF).

‘We are very grateful to the SNF and to the University of Geneva, which is part of the network ‘Scholars at Risk’, for allowing us to host Dr Hendel at the Geneva Academy’ explains Professor Gloria Gaggioli, Director of the Geneva Academy.

‘Dr Hendel conducts research of extreme importance and relevance in the field of IHL. We feel privileged to be able to host her and look forward to collaborating with her. We hope she will find at the Academy a conducive and supportive environment despite the enormous challenges linked to the war in Ukraine.’ she adds.

‘I am very grateful to the Geneva Academy for hosting me during these difficult times and for welcoming the Ukrainian experience, understanding and practice in IHL’ says Dr Nataliia Hendel.

Focus on the Protection of the Environment during Armed Conflicts

Dr Hendel will pursue her research on the protection of the environment during armed conflicts – with a focus on Ukraine – during her time at the Geneva Academy.

‘My stay at the Geneva Academy will allow me to pursue my research on the international legal regulation of environmental protection during armed conflicts, with a focus on the current Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict. I am notably looking at the responsibility for environmental damages and at the qualification of the attacks and seizure of nuclear plants in Ukraine through the prism of IHL’ underlines Dr Hendel.

‘I am also studying the application of the article on criminal liability for ‘Ecocide’ in the Ukrainian Criminal Code and preparing amendment proposals based on IHL provisions and other states’ best practices. This is an issue of crucial importance since these crimes are committed in Ukraine by the Russian armed forces at this very moment and will probably be committed till the end of the armed conflict’ she adds.

'How best to protect the environment during armed conflicts is a topic of increasing urgency. Dr Hendel’s research is particularly pertinent given the conflict affecting her country, and we hope that her stay with us will not only facilitate a continuation of this work but an opportunity to enrich discussions and thinking within the Geneva Academy and our partnerships’ says Dr Erica Harper, Head of Research and Policy Studies at the Geneva Academy.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Portrait of Nataliia Hendel News

Ukrainian IHL Professor Hosted at the Geneva Academy

31 October 2022

The Geneva Academy is hosting during a year Dr Nataliia Hendel, a Professor of international law at the International Humanitarian University in Odesa, Ukraine, and an expert in IHL.

Read more

Portrait of Daniel Fyfe News

Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict: What Participants Say

27 March 2023

Daniel Fyfe follows our online Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict while working as an Associate Expert at OHCHR in Geneva on UN treaty bodies’ individual communications procedures.

Read more

Portrait of Professor Chiara Giorgetti Event

International Law Responses to Russia’s Aggression – Building an International Reparation Mechanism for Ukraine

18 April 2023, 18:30-21:00

In this lecture organized with the MIDS, Professor Chiara Giorgetti will discuss current efforts to create a reparation mechanism for Ukraine in order to hold Russia liable for its violations of international law.

Read more

Afghanistan, Parwan detention facility. Inside a room where detainees of the prison, separated by an acrylic glass, are allowed to meet with their families a couple of times per year with the help of the ICRC employees who facilitate the programme. Short Course

Preventing and Combating Terrorism

27 April - 8 June 2023

This online short course discusses the extent to which states may limit and/or derogate from their international human rights obligations in order to prevent and counter-terrorism and thus protect persons under their jurisdiction.

Read more

Syria, Harasta, destroyed buildings Training

Advanced IHL Seminar for Academics and Policymakers

28 August - 1 September 2023

Organized by the Geneva Academy and the ICRC, the Advanced IHL seminar for academics and humanitarian policymakers aims to enhance the capacity of academics to teach and research IHL and contemporary issues arising during armed conflict, while also equipping policymakers with an in-depth understanding of ongoing legal debates and their relevance to decision-making.

Read more

Screen Shot of Obsolete, a game made for the 7DFPS project in 7 days. Download for PC and Mac Project

Disruptive Military Technologies

Started in February 2020

This project aims at staying abreast of the various military technology trends; promoting legal and policy debate on new military technologies; and furthering the understanding of the convergent effects of different technological trends shaping the digital battlefield of the future.

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

Cover page of the study Publication

From Words to Deeds A Study of Armed Non-State Actors’ Practice and Interpretation of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Norms: Research and Policy Conclusions

published on September 2022

Annyssa Bellal, Pascal Bongard, Ezequiel Heffes

Read more