Yesterday, our cooperation partner, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), submitted a communication to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ECCHR and other human rights organisations are requesting that the ICC open an investigation into the legal responsibility of individuals working for European companies which have provided arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE and thereby contributed to serious violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Additionally, the ECCHR is hosting a discussion concerning the issues raised in this communication at the Humanity Hub in the Hague tonight at 18:30. And the KGF’s director Dr. Robert Heinsch will be one of the speakers at this event tonight. For more detail on this event please clink the following link: https://www.ecchr.eu/en/event/european-arms-exports-and-the-case-of-yemen-how-to-hold-governments-and-corporate-actors-accountable-for-contributing-t/?fbclid=IwAR3_U3HzV_d5Ot7_w1eb81gObETPcAyfwACTVreg5AzZFZdbLhBOL6u1DHM

Both The Guardian and El País have reported on this communication, please find a link to their articles attached below:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/11/bae-systems-accused-of-being-party-to-alleged-war-crimes

https://elpais.com/internacional/2019/12/11/actualidad/1576055853_508814.html

10 new case studies were published on the "IHL in Action" database. One of them dealt with Sudan/South Sudan, Commitment of Non-State Armed Groups against Anti-Personnel Landmines and South Sudan’s Ratification of the Ottawa Convention. This case study was prepared by former Leiden International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Clinic students, as part of the IHL in Action project which documents instances of IHL compliance.

You can read it online at:
https://ihl-in-action.icrc.org/case-study/new-sudansouth-sudan-commitment-non-state-armed-groups-against-anti-personnel-landmines

In the coming weeks, we will regularly present one of these new case studies.

#changethenarrative #IHL

The DEADLINE to submit your posters is approaching quickly!! Make sure to get you posters submitted no later than 8 Dec 2019.

The KGF is currently running an Art Competition to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. The aim of this Art Competition is to promote awareness of IHL, in particular the Geneva Conventions. Thus, the KGF wants to use this Art Competition to provide a unique and engaging medium for IHL enthusiasts, or anyone interested in IHL and the Geneva Conventions, or war and peace more generally, to promote the humanitarian values and norms that are binding in times of armed conflict.

Prizes: The KGF’s will select three (3) submissions as winners of the Art Competition. The winning submissions will be announced on 16 December 2019. All three winners will each receive a an IHL related book prize valued at approximately 150 Euros each.

Information about contest dates, who can enter the competition, technical specifications about submitting artwork, prizes, judging, and copyright can be found in the competition rules on our website:

http://kalshovengieskesforum.com/art-competition/

Thank you for your interest in IHL – we are excited to receive your submissions!

10 new case studies were published on the "IHL in Action" database. One of them dealt with Somalia, AMISOM's Indirect Fire Policy. This case study was prepared by former Leiden International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Clinic students, as part of the IHL in Action project which documents instances of IHL compliance.

You can read it online at:
https://ihl-in-action.icrc.org/case-study/new-somalia-amisoms-indirect-fire-policy

In the coming weeks, we will regularly present one of these new case studies.

#changethenarrative #IHL

Wonderful to see that our IHL Clinic family is growing: One of our Leiden IHL Clinic alumni got inspired by our work, and initiated a new IHL/ICL Clinic at Panthéon Assas University in Paris, France! Congrats, Alexandre Nicolae! 😊👍#IHLClinicFamily #IHLDissemination #EmpoweringYoungPeople

On 14-15 November, our PhD fellow Sofia Poulopoulou participated in the Conference on the Role of Human Rights Mechanisms in Implementing IHL, where she presented her research paper “Interpreting the obligation to respect and ensure respect for IHL rules under article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: the practice of the Committee on the Rights of the Child”.

The Conference which was organised under the auspices of the Global Studies Institute at the University of Geneva, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the OHCHR, and the Canton of Geneva, brought together graduate and postgraduate researchers with experienced academics and practitioners from the UN, the ICRC and elsewhere.

Our Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on 'IHL in Theory and Practice' has been launched one year ago!

"A complete and highly recommendable MOOC: enjoyable, with accurate readings, video training, podcasts and a case study that is being extended with each module. I recommend it without a doubt."

- one of the most recent reviews of our course.

We are pleased to see so much interest and passion for IHL among our online course participants and are happy to welcome around 150 new learners each week!

If you are also interested to learn about the law that applies in armed conflict - and how it is applied - check out our course today! Leiden Law School Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies Coursera

10 new case studies were published on the "IHL in Action" database. One of them dealt with Iraq, Peshmerga Forces’ First Code of Conduct. This case study was prepared by former Leiden International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Clinic students, as part of the IHL in Action project which documents instances of IHL compliance.

You can read it online at:
https://ihl-in-action.icrc.org/case-study/new-iraq-peshmerga-forces-first-code-conduct

In the coming weeks, we will regularly present one of these new case studies.

#changethenarrative #IHL