Course Overview

There has been a change in the recent past, and the issue of human rights in an armed conflict zone is a national and global issue that has been integrated into politics, military practice, and international jurisprudence. For too long, the topic of human rights in armed conflict was confined to theorists’ study rooms and was dealt with in academic discussions with little impact on policy choices in matters of warfare or on the reality of a battlefield.

The trend needs to be connected with legal theory and be embedded in broader considerations of laws that govern conflict and violence of various forms.

Such an analysis of the idea, law, practice, and policy of human rights in armed conflicts is meant to serve various purposes; first, this course is an attempt to take stock of where we stand in explaining the role of human rights in armed conflict, and to organize, contextualize and revisit.

Secondly, the course aims at determining the prospect and limitations-in law and practice and policy-of increasingly invoking International Human Rights Law in armed conflict and thirdly to explore the potential and the benefits as well as dangers and drawbacks of increasingly referring to human rights in armed conflict as well as the repercussions this has on human rights and humanitarian law and on the future of warfare.

Course Content

• Human rights in armed conflict: a history of an idea
• The science of warfare and the progress of civilization
• Human rights and humanitarian law: theory
• United Nations Human Rights Council: monitoring armed conflict
• Monitoring and litigating human rights
• The extra-territorial application of human rights: functional universality
• War as an emergency: derogation Human rights and humanitarian law challenges and commonalities
• The right to life: the limits of human rights in armed conflict
• The dynamics of war and law
• Human rights and humanitarian obligation
• Operationalizing human rights in armed conflict

Exercises:

After they have read the material for each unit, students are expected to test their own learning by completing some relevant exercises and tasks.

Assignments:

In order to demonstrate their understanding of the course content, students will be required to submit three assignments.

Training format:

All materials are made available through our online learning platform

Course duration: 3 months

Course fee: €500

Regions targeted: Global

Language: English and French