Unblocking aid: the EU’s 2023 shift in sanctions policy to safeguard humanitarian efforts

January 23, 2024 16 mins read Access / Analysis / Counterterrorism / Humanitarian Action / Humanitarian diplomacy / Special Themes / The Geneva Conventions at 75 Sophie Huvé, Guillemette Moulin & Tristan Ferraro

The year 2023 marked a significant shift in how the EU makes space for humanitarian ...

Carve-out in Kabul: hard won resolution lifts humanitarian roadblock in Afghanistan

February 3, 2022 7 mins read Access / Analysis / Counterterrorism / Humanitarian Action / Humanitarian diplomacy Helen Durham & Christopher Harland

On 22 December 2021, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution ...

GCIII Commentary: Common Article 1 and State responsibility

January 28, 2021 12 mins read Counterterrorism / Religion Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne

The extent to which States have legal responsibilities under international humanitarian law in relation to the conduct of others has long been contested. ...

The world tomorrow: COVID-19 and the new humanitarian

May 20, 2020 14 mins read Analysis / Counterterrorism / COVID-19 and conflict / Humanitarian Action / Humanitarian Principles Raphael Gorgeu

Two months in, the COVID-19 crisis has sent shock waves throughout the humanitarian sector, prompting ...

The power of words: the dangerous rhetoric of the “terrorist”

March 4, 2020 6 mins read Counterterrorism / Religion Ellen Policinski

Although acts of terrorism are prohibited under a wide variety of legal regimes at the international, regional and domestic levels (including international humanitarian ...

‘Act today, shape tomorrow’: the 33rd International Conference

December 10, 2019 7 mins read Counterterrorism / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Principles / Sexual Violence Helen Durham & Kosuke Onishi

Today we launch the 33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, a ...

From child soldier to child ‘terrorist’: safeguarding innocence from counter-terrorism

November 20, 2019 6 mins read Counterterrorism / Humanitarian Principles Sandra Krähenmann & Paulien Vandendriessche

Despite legal prohibitions, children continue to be recruited and used in various capacities during armed conflict, in some cases by armed groups labeled ...

Black magic, zombies and dragons: a tale of IHL in the 21st Century

September 3, 2019 14 mins read Armed Groups / Conduct of Hostilities / Counterterrorism / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Principles / Law and Conflict / New Technologies / Scope of application / Sexual Violence / Technology in Humanitarian Action / Terrorism and IHL / The most read blog posts in 2019 Helen Durham

As we marked the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions last month, I want to ...

5 operational realities of detention in contemporary armed conflict

November 30, 2018 12 mins read Counterterrorism / Detention / Humanitarian Action / Law and Conflict / Terrorism and IHL Laurent Saugy & Tilman Rodenhäuser

Hidden behind thick walls and barbed wire, detention realities are generally little known to the ...

The world needs robust peacekeeping not aggressive peacekeeping

May 15, 2018 10 mins read Analysis / Conduct of Hostilities / Counterterrorism / Humanitarian Action / Law and Conflict / The most read blog posts in 2018 Mona Ali Khalil

Since 1999, and in response to the tragic failures to protect civilians in Rwanda and Srebrenica, the ...

International Humanitarian Law: A legal framework for exceptional circumstances

November 30, 2017 9 mins read Counterterrorism / Religion David Tuck & Thomas de Saint Maurice

Recently, the International Committee of the Red Cross expressed its concern about the risks of rhetoric that suggests there are circumstances in which ...

Fighting together and international humanitarian law: Ensuring respect for the law and assessing responsibility for violations (2/2)

October 17, 2017 10 mins read Counterterrorism Cordula Droege & David Tuck

The second part of this two-part blog on partnering in warfare discusses the issues of ensuring respect for IHL and State responsibility for ...