HPCR Podcasts

In this month's humanitarian assistance podcast, our panelists considering community participation in humanitarian relief and protection. The discussion was moderated by Claude Bruderlein (Director, HPCR) and Christina Blunt (ATHA Coordinator, HPCR).

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined which international legal frameworks may apply for government and humanitarian professionals working to develop a protection strategy aimed at enhancing the security of the civilian population. The discussion was moderated by Naz Modirzadeh (Associate Director of HPCR) and Dustin Lewis (Program Associate). Guest panelists included: Vincent Cochetel, The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International, Professor Leila Sadat, Washington University in St. Louis and Professor John Cerone, New England Law | Boston

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined the legal issues that arise in situations where a decision is made to target individuals – potentially outside the immediate theater of hostilities – using military force. The discussion was moderated by Naz Modirzadeh (Associate Director of HPCR) and Dustin Lewis (Program Associate). Guest panelists included: Shuja Nawaz, South Asia Center at The Atlantic Council of the United States, Mary Ellen O’Connell, University of Notre Dame Law School, Vijay Padmanabhan, Cardozo School of Law, and Michael Schmitt, Durham Law School

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined the international community’s response to the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire. The discussion was moderated by Naz Modirzadeh (Associate Director of HPCR) and Claude Bruderlein (Director). Guest panelists included: Mike McGovern, Yale University, Department of Anthropology, Marko Milanovic, University of Nottingham School of Law, Corinne Dufka, Human Rights Watch, and Brian O'Neill, European Commission, Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), West Africa

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined the modalities through which (elements of) the international community may respond to the ongoing crisis in Libya. The discussion was moderated by Naz Modirzadeh (Associate Director of HPCR) and Claude Bruderlein (Director). The Keynote Speaker was Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court and the Principal Presenter was Amb. R. Nicholas Burns, The Sultan of Oman Professor of the Practice of International Relations, Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Guest panelists included: Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, Middle East and North Africa Division, Human Rights Watch, Dirk Vandewalle, Associate Professor of Government, Dartmouth College, and Philippa Thomas, Nieman Journalism Fellow, Harvard University.

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined the Kampala Convention which will be the first legally binding regional instrument to establish obligations on the part of states and non-state actors to protect and assist IDPs. The discussion was moderated by Claude Bruderlein and Dustin Lewis. The Guest Panelist was Dr. Chaloka Beyani, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs. Guest commentators included: Dr. Katinka Ridderbos, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and Mr. Allehone Mulugeta Abebe, University of Bern, Switzerland.

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined mechanisms and strategies to promote accountability for IHL violations committed during counterinsurgencies, focusing on the case of Sri Lanka. The panel used a backdrop of domestic and international efforts to address IHL violations committed during the counterinsurgency in Sri Lanka. The discussion was moderated by Claude Bruderlein and Naz Modirzadeh. Panelists included: Jon Lee Anderson (The New Yorker), Alan Keenan (International Crisis Group), Ambassador Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona (Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations), and Sam Zarifi (Amnesty International).

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined the shifting landscape for humanitarian organizations in Afghanistan. Recent reports indicate a potential increase in violence in 2011, projecting more civilian casualties and displacement alongside a diminished ability for humanitarian organizations to reach those most in need of assistance. The discussion was moderated by Naz Modirzadeh and Elizabeth Holland. Panelists included: Jasteena Dhillon (University of Windsor Law School), Michiel Hofman (Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontière- Afghanistan), Ashley Jackson (Oxfam International- Afghanistan), Lynn Yoshikawa (Refugees International), LTC Eric Young (US Naval War College, speaking in a personal capacity)

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined the challenges and opportunities for humanitarian actors in Sudan. On the eve of a referendum in southern Sudan and amid concerns regarding the potential for renewed violence. The discussion was moderated by Naz Modirzadeh and Elizabeth Holland. Panelists included: Julie Flint (Independent Researcher), Conor Foley (Independent Humanitarian Analyst), Arjan Hehenkamp (Médecins Sans Frontières-Holland), Kelsey Hoppe (NGO Secretariat), Laura Jones (Enough Project), Olivia Kalis (Oxfam International).

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined the modalities through which the UN Human Rights Council engages in monitoring the implementation of international humanitarian law during situations of armed conflict. The discussion was moderated by Claude Bruderlein and Naz Modirzadeh. Panelists included: Christina M. Cerna (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights), Loubna Freih Georges (Carr Center for Human Rights Policy- Harvard, and Human Rights Watch, Geneva), Françoise Hampson (University of Essex - UK) and Yvonne Terlingen (formerly of Amnesty International).

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined legal and policy challenges pertaining to the use of force outside traditional zones of military operations, including allegations of "targeted killing" and "extrajudicial killing." They reviewed recent counterterrorism operations and litigation concerning whether those operations are lawful by reference to recent counterterrorism operations involving the use of force outside traditional notions of the “battlefield." The discussion was moderated by Claude Bruderlein and Naz Modirzadeh. Panelists included: Laurie Blank (International Humanitarian Law Clinic, Emory University School of Law), Jonathan Hafetz (Seton Hall Law School), Kevin Jon Heller (Melbourne Law School), and Andrew March (Yale Law School).

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined how recent legal and policy trends—punctuated by a June 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision—may alter modalities of humanitarian engagement with non-state armed groups. In Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a law criminalizing various forms of “material support” to prohibited groups. The discussion was moderated by Claude Bruderlein and Naz Modirzadeh. Panelists included: Professor David Cole (Georgetown University Law Center), Gabor Rona (Human Rights First) and Kenneth Wainstein (O'Melveny, Myers LLP, Former Homeland Security Advisor).

In this week's live seminar, our panelists examined whether—and, if so, to what extent—protection norms applicable to educational institutions and actors in situations of armed conflict have developed or are developing. The discussion was moderated by Claude Bruderlein and Naz Modirzadeh. Panelists included: Julia Freedson (Global Coalition for Protecting Education from Attack), Brendan O'Malley (Journalist), Professor Peter Rowe (Lancaster University Law School) and Bede Sheppard (Human Rights Watch).

In this week's live seminar, our panelists explored the questions and challenges pertaining to the development, use and effects of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in humanitarian activities. The discussion was moderated by Claude Bruderlein and Naz Modirzadeh. Panelists included: Sanjana Hattotuwa (ICT4Peace Foundation), Salem Avan (United Nations), Olivier J. Cottray (iMMAP), Mark Dalton (ReliefWeb), Mike Hartnett (Global Relief Technologies, Inc.), Patrick Meier (Harvard Humanitarian Initiative).

This live seminar examined legal and policy responses to the challenges of civilian protection in situations of armed conflict, specifically in the context of air warfare. The discussion was moderated by Claude Bruderlein and Naz Modirzadeh. Panelists included: Bruno Demeyere (Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, Harvard University), Marco Sassòli (University of Geneva), Michael Schmitt (Durham University Law School), Capt. Dale Stephens (Royal Australian Navy).