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Human Rights & Humanitarian Law Course

Human Rights and Humanitarian Law are two distinct bodies of law that unify in their goal of protecting individuals from immoral acts of violence. Human rights are inherent and call for protection and abidance at all times, during war and peace. On the other hand, humanitarian law can only be applied during armed conflict. This course will investigate the origins and principles of these two bodies of law. It is crucial for humanitarian aid workers to understand the legal aspect of their work so they are able to conduct effective relief in accordance to all necessary procedures and protocols. Examining different case studies will foster useful analytical learning skills that can be integrated in the students’ future field experiences. A thorough comprehension of both sets of laws will enable students to gain more legal confidence in their aid work, it will promote a greater understanding of the logistics and legitimacies of how issues are handled.

Course Content

The Human Rights and Humanitarian Law course will explore the origins, principles, and applications of these bodies of law. The course will provide participants with a framework for understanding the legal aspects of delivering humanitarian assistance.  The course will introduce applicable conventions and protocols, explore ways where the law can enhance humanitarian assistance, and give students an opportunity to analyze case studies and develop a thorough understanding of the applicability of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law to their daily work.  This integration of academia, with the participants’ past field experience, provides practical implications of the ever-evolving field of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. The aim of the course is to enhance students’ ability to monitor violations of respective rights and determine effective ways of advocacy, while also integrating international norms and standards into their own field of work.

Topics covered include:  Human Rights Law (Introduction, history, concepts, (non-) state actors; civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, child rights); Tools for Humanitarian workers (Natural Disasters and Human Rights); Humanitarian Law (Introduction, history, Geneva Law, The Hague Law, rules of engagement, combatant status, determining conflicts); The Human Rights based approach (integrating a human rights based approach into programming and projects), Human Rights monitoring and advocacy; The Right to Humanitarian Assistance (legal concepts and current developments); Humanitarian Intervention and the responsibility to protect; International Criminal Law (History, concepts, tribunals and the ICC, practical implications for humanitarian workers); International Disaster Response Law.

When? Where?

The second Human Rights and Humanitarian Law course will be held in Nairobi, from September 4th to the 10th, 2011. This course will be offered at the Loreto Mary Ward Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. 

For more information, please visit our website http://www.cihc.org/human_rights_and_humanitarian_law_course