To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights – a joint centre of the Graduate Institute and the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva – highlights their work on the importance of respecting and upholding international humanitarian law (IHL) through research, teaching, engagement with international actors and internal expertise.
“As the Geneva Conventions turn 70, they still constitute the cornerstone of international humanitarian law […]”, said Marco Sassòli, Geneva Academy Director and Professor. “Based in the heart of International Geneva, at the Villa Moynier – named after Gustave Moynier, one of the co-founders of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – we teach the Geneva Conventions to students and practitioners from all around the world”.
For the occasion, the Geneva Academy’s Strategic Adviser on IHL and Graduate Institute alumna, Annyssa Bellal, was invited to New York to brief the United Nations Security Council on the Geneva Conventions. In addition, the ICRC published an online casebook, to which the Geneva Academy’s LL.M. students and Director regularly contribute.
The Geneva Academy also engages in cutting-edge IHL research, and through their LL.M. and Executive Master, they train around 60 young people and 25 practitioners annually on IHL and the protection the Geneva Conventions offer to people affected by armed conflicts.
Read the full statement by Marco Sassòli on the importance of the Geneva Conventions.
Learn about Geneva Academy’s activities that contribute to a better respect of these treaties.
More on the Geneva Academy’s research concerning IHL-related issues.
Discover more about Annyssa Bellal’s briefing of the UN Security Council.
Find out about the Geneva Academy’s work with the ICRC (news en français).
Photo credit: Olivier Chamard/Geneva Academy