Human rights experts gather for conference on armed conflict

Our School of Law and Human Rights Centre and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights hosted the ‘Current Issues in Armed Conflict’ conference representing a further example of the burgeoning relationship between the two institutions.

The conference provided a platform for academics, practitioners and activists to discuss a wide range of international humanitarian law issues.

Dr Emily Jones, from the School of Law, led the group of academics who organised the conference, which was being held in the UK for the first time. She said: “One of the most enjoyable things about the conference was the vast array of voices brought together, drawing both on the numerous expertise of Essex, the Geneva Academy and beyond. The conference included a mix of practitioners, academics and critical scholars, working to bring established voices together with junior colleagues to foster fascinating discussions throughout the day.”

Professor Robert Roth, Director of the Geneva Academy added: “We very much value our cooperation with Essex in the organisation of this conference, which allows us to reach out to different audiences in Geneva and London and to strengthen our close ties that go well beyond this yearly event”.

The conference, which was held in London, covered a number of topics including new technologies in armed conflict, violence by armed gangs and organised crime.

Dr Patricia Viseur Sellers, Special Advisor for Gender to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, delivered the keynote address. Dr Jones said: “It was momentous to end such a varied day with a talk by someone who has been so fundamental to ensuring women are seen and included within the international legal framework. I spoke to many of our students afterwards who were very moved to have been able to see her speak and that was so wonderful to see.”

To strengthen our commitment to raising our students’ awareness of international humanitarian law we have created a specialist LLM International Humanitarian Law