This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. Do they address the realities of modern warfare? Are they to blame when violations occur? And do they really justify killing? In the latest episode of our podcast series ‘In and Around War(s)’, we delve into these frequently formulated questions by putting the Geneva Conventions on trial.

This episode of 'In and Around War(s)' was co-produced with Janet H. Anderson and Stephanie van den Berg from the Asymmetrical Haircuts podcast, who lead the discussion by presenting three charges against the Geneva Conventions. Acting as defenders are Andrew Clapham, Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute, and Gloria Gaggioli, Associate Professor and Vice-Dean of the Law Faculty at the University of Geneva. The verdict is ultimately delivered by Francesco Romani, Research Fellow at the Geneva Academy.

The latest episode of our 'In and Around War(s)' podcast follows on from the IHL Talk 'The Prosecution of Ecocide and Other Environmental Crimes: State of the Law and Way(s) Forward' which took place in April.

In the episode our Research Fellow, Eugénie Duss, speaks to Jelena Aparac, from UN SWTP, and Stavros-Evdokimos Pantazopoulos, from of the Erik Castrén Institute at the University of Helsinki. The discussion covers the recent and ongoing proceedings addressing climate change outside the criminal framework, focusing in particular on the case of Verein Klimaseniorinnen Schweiz and others v. Switzerland. It also covers the request for an advisory opinion on climate change before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and also the worrying tendency of the investor-state dispute settlement system to award large compensations to investors against states that adopt stricter environmental and climate change measures.

Following on from the discussions that took place during the recent IHL Talk on ‘The Weaponizing of Water in Contemporary Armed Conflicts’, Dr Eugenie Duss, researcher at the Geneva Academy speaks to Mark Zeitoun, Director General, Geneva Water Hub and Professor of Water Diplomacy, Geneva Graduate Institute, and Abby Zeith, Legal Adviser, Arms and Conduct of Hostilities Unit, Legal Division, International Committee of the Red Cross.

Subjects covered in the episode include role of expert engineers in decision processes related to the targeting of water during hostilities, the historical and contemporary use of water as a weapon, and the need for more research around these topics. The guests were also able to frame the issues in the context of their current roles and give some examples of positive developments in the legal work that is going into preventing the use of water as a weapon.

A new season of our podcast In and Around War(s) will launch soon with a series of discussions on topical issues related to the law around armed conflicts. This third season welcomes a new host, Research Fellow Eugénie Duss, who will meet with experts on a range of subjects related to the work of the Geneva Academy.

Cyberspace is increasingly used for war related purposes. But does international humanitarian law apply to cyber operations? In the season�s 2 last episode, Paola Gaeta and Ana Srovin Coralli host a very special guest � Antonio Coco, a Lecturer in International Law at the Essex University and an alumnus of the Geneva Academy � and an usual co-host of this podcast. They discuss inter alia which kind of cyber operations may be carried out in war, when a cyberattack can amount to an armed attack against a state, and whether there is a need for new rules which would be better placed to address the realities and challenges brought about by attacks in cyberspace.

Links

- Essex Award for Outstanding Early Career Researcher: Antonio Coco discussed his work https://vimeo.com/830392101

- The Oxford Process on International Law Protections in Cyberspace https://www.elac.ox.ac.uk/the-oxford-process/

- United Nations Open-ended Working Group I https://disarmament.unoda.org/open-ended-working-group/

- United Nations Open-ended Working Group II https://meetings.unoda.org/meeting/57871/documents

- The Digitalization and Armed Conflict: a research project of the Geneva Academy https://www.geneva-academy.ch/research/our-clusters/digitalization-and-new-technologies/detail/78-the-digitalization-of-armed-conflict

- Societal Risks and Potential Humanitarian Impact of Cyber Operations https://www.geneva-academy.ch/joomlatools-files/docman-files/working-papers/Societal%20Risks%20and%20Potential.pdf

- Protecting Societies: Anchoring a New Protection Dimension in International Law in Times of Increased Cyber Threats https://www.geneva-academy.ch/joomlatools-files/docman-files/working-papers/Protecting%20Societies%20-%20Anchori.pdf

- The Future Digital Battlefield and Challenges for Humanitarian Protection: A Primer https://www.geneva-academy.ch/joomlatools-files/docman-files/working-papers/The%20Future%20Digital%20Battlefield%20.pdf

Follow and contact us at:

https://www.geneva-academy.ch/;

https://twitter.com/Geneva_Academy.

Credits for the production go to Margherita Capacci, Nathalie Mivelaz Tirabosco and Antonio Coco.

Hunger, starvation and famine are silent tragedies of wars. Limited or no access to food has often a devastating impact on civilian populations, and is one of the leading causes of death in armed conflict. Starvation has been used as a method of warfare despite clear prohibitions under international humanitarian law and international criminal law. But how much attention has been given to this issue in the past years? Have we seen any improvement? What are the most acute challenges with regard to hunger and armed conflicts that the international community is facing?

In this episode, the co-hosts Antonio Coco and Ana Srovin Coralli discuss the many challenges related to food insecurity in war with Brian Lander, the Deputy Emergency Director of the World Food Programme and an alumnus of the Geneva Academy�s Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict.

Links

- United Nations World Food Programme https://www.wfp.org/

- United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417 (2018) https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/1627380?ln=en

- IHL Talk: Starvation and Armed Conflict https://www.geneva-academy.ch/event/past-events/detail/147-starvation-and-armed-conflicts

- Research Brief: Harmonizing War Crimes Under the Rome Statute

https://www.geneva-academy.ch/joomlatools-files/docman-files/Harmonizing%20War%20Crimes%20Under%20The%20Rome%20Statute.pdf

- Coco, de Hemptinne, Lander (eds), Special Issue on Starvation in International Law, 17(4) Journal of International Criminal Justice 2019

https://academic.oup.com/jicj/issue/17/4

Follow and contact us at:

https://www.geneva-academy.ch/;

https://twitter.com/Geneva_Academy.

Credits for the production go to Margherita Capacci, Nathalie Mivelaz Tirabosco and Paola Gaeta.

Mass surveillance and big data in wars highlight the tension between the protection of privacy and legitimate goals such as military necessity, documenting atrocities and support to humanitarian assistance.

In this episode, the co-hosts Paola Gaeta and Antonio Coco discuss the challenges of data protection and privacy in war with Ilia Maria Siatista, an alumna of the LLM program of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and currently a Programme Director and Senior Legal Officer at Privacy International � a London based NGO. They talk about the mandate of Privacy International and specific issues that arise while engaging with private actors involved in mass data collection in warfare.

Links:

Privacy International, registered charity based in London that works at the intersection of modern technologies and rights: https://privacyinternational.org

Clearview AI and the War in Ukraine: https://www.clearview.ai/ukraine

Ilia Maria Siatisa, �Serious Violations of Human Rights. On the Emergence of a New Special Regime�, Oxford University Press: 2022

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https://www.geneva-academy.ch/;

https://twitter.com/Geneva_Academy.

Armed groups and de facto authorities are key players in today�s armed conflicts: they directly impact civilian populations and pose an increasing global challenge. Non-governmental organizations such as Geneva Call engage and speak to them, in order to induce them to comply with the rules of international humanitarian law to enhance the protection of the civilian population caught in the midst of armed conflicts.

But does engaging with these groups and authorities actually make a difference to how the wars in which they participate are eventually being carried out?

In this first episode of the second season of 'In and Around War(s)�, Ezequiel Heffes, currently Director of the organisation called Watchlist, shares with us his rich experience of engaging with armed groups to ensure respect for international humanitarian law with the co-hosts Paola Gaeta and Ana Srovin Coralli.

Links

- Geneva Call, organisation engaging with armed groups to increase respect for IHL: https://www.genevacall.org/

- International Committee of the Red Cross, Restoring family links programme: https://www.icrc.org/en/what-we-do/restoring-family-links

- Watchlist, network of organisations that advocate for children in war zones: https://watchlist.org/

- Detention by Non-State Armed Groups under International Law, Cambrige University Press, January 2022: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/detention-by-nonstate-armed-groups-under-international-law/64639EE42DAEF7CA410127E217F73D25

Follow and contact us at:

https://www.geneva-academy.ch/;

https://twitter.com/Geneva_Academy.

Credits for the production go to Margherita Capacci, Nathalie Mivelaz Tirabosco, and Antonio Coco.

International law provides for a distinct set of rules that fighters must abide by in war, known as �international humanitarian law�. How to effectively promote respect for such rules and ensure humanitarian protection for victims of war? And how to reconcile the aspiration to peace with the acceptance of rules regulating war?

In this episode, the co-hosts Paola Gaeta and Antonio Coco discuss the challenges and rewards of practising international humanitarian law with Nishat, an alumna of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights who has worked for years with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), including in conflict areas. They talk � among other things � about the ICRC�s mandate, the practice of talking to people involved in the war and the need for confidentiality.

Links

� What does the ICRC do: https://www.icrc.org/en/what-we-do

� Q&A on the ICRC�s practice of confidentiality: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/confidentiality-q

� ICTY, Prosecutor v Simic et al., �Decision on the Prosecution Motion under Rule 73 for a Ruling concerning the Testimony of a Witness�, 27 July 1999 (on the right to non-disclosure of information relating to the ICRC�s activities in the possession of its employees in judicial proceedings): https://www.icty.org/x/cases/simic/tdec/en/90727EV59549.htm

Follow and contact us at:

https://www.geneva-academy.ch/;

https://twitter.com/Geneva_Academy.

Copyright:

Credits for the production go to Tatiana Avanthay, Nathalie Mivelaz Tirabosco and Ana Srovin Coralli.

The worst forms of business-related abuses often happen in the context of war or in conflict-affected areas.

In Episode 4 of the podcast �In and Around War(s)�, the co-hosts � Paola Gaeta and Ana Srovin Coralli � discuss some burning legal issues in relation to business and war with S� Benjamin Traore, who is an Assistant Professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Rabat, Morocco, and an alumnus of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

They focus in particular on the African context, and examine the role of businesses in the perpetration of international crimes, business complicity in the commission of war crimes, and whether international humanitarian law and international human rights law impose obligations on businesses during wars.

Links

- UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights : https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf

- Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (�Malabo Protocol�): https://au.int/en/treaties/protocol-amendments-protocol-statute-african-court-justice-and-human-rights

- Lafarge case: Cour de cassation (France), judgment of 7 September 2021, overturning the 2019 lower court decision that dismissed charges against Lafarge for complicity in crimes against humanity and the charges over endangering the lives of others: https://www.dalloz.fr/documentation/Document?id=CASS_LIEUVIDE_2021-09-07_1987367&ctxt=0_YSR0MD1sYWZhcmdlIGNyaW1lcyBjb250cmUgbCdodW1hbml0w6nCp3gkc2Y9c2ltcGxlLXNlYXJjaA%3D%3D&ctxtl=0_cyRwYWdlTnVtPTHCp3MkdHJpZGF0ZT1GYWxzZcKncyRzb3J0PSNkZWZhdWx0X0Rlc2PCp3Mkc2xOYlBhZz0yMMKncyRpc2Fibz1UcnVlwqdzJHBhZ2luZz1UcnVlwqdzJG9uZ2xldD3Cp3MkZnJlZXNjb3BlPUZhbHNlwqdzJHdvSVM9RmFsc2XCp3Mkd29TUENIPUZhbHNlwqdzJGZsb3dNb2RlPUZhbHNlwqdzJGJxPcKncyRzZWFyY2hMYWJlbD3Cp3Mkc2VhcmNoQ2xhc3M9#texte-integral

Follow and contact us at:

https://www.geneva-academy.ch/;

https://twitter.com/Geneva_Academy.

Copyright:

Credits for the production go to Tatiana Avanthay, Nathalie Mivelaz Tirabosco and Antonio Coco.