Is international humanitarian law robust enough to protect civilians in conflict zones? Conference to explore
TORONTO, February 28, 2022 – The Canadian Red Cross and York University are presenting Displacement of Civilians and the Efficacy of International Humanitarian Law. The conference on March 2 will explore the laws that apply to armed conflict and civilian displacement.
Saptarishi Bandopadhyay, Osgoode Hall Law School professor, and Sarah Khan, LLM research candidate and Global Health Scholar at York’s Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research – are among the panelists. Sociologist Joanna L. Robinson, Interim Director, Glendon School of Public and International Affairs, will moderate one of the panels.
Bandopadhyay, whose current research focuses on the historical and contemporary relationship between war/armed conflict, environmental crises, and human displacement, will be on the panel that will explore whether international humanitarian law (IHL) can evolve appropriately alongside international laws pertaining to climate change, human rights, and disasters.
Khan will be on the panel that analyzes whether protections against displacement due to violence and/or threat of violence are adequately articulated in IHL. and the broader international law and policy governing civilian displacement. She will focus on how the absence of a reference to the harm of displacement in NATO’s Protection of Civilians Policy 2016 highlights the limitations of the current framework. She is a former Senior Protection Officer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Senior Legal Advisor on IHL at the Canadian Red Cross, Sophie Rondeau, will offer an introduction to international humanitarian law ahead of the panels.
York’s Glendon School of Public and International Affairs; Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security; and Osgoode Hall Law School have collaborated on this bilingual 2022 Canadian Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Conference.
WHAT: 2022 Canadian Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Conference: Displacement of Civilians and the Efficacy of International Humanitarian Law
WHO:
Panelists
- Professor Saptarishi Bandopadhyay, Osgoode Hall Law School
- Sarah Khan, LLM research candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School and a Global Health Scholar at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research
- Immigration Law Professor Ndeye Dieynaba Ndiaye, Department of Legal Sciences, University of Quebec in Montreal
- Sociologist Joanna L. Robinson, Interim Director, Glendon School of Public and International Affairs (moderator)
WHEN: Wednesday, March 2, 2022 from 1:30 to 4 p.m.
WHERE: Via Zoom. Register here.
Note: For program details, click here.
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York University is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change and prepare our students for success. York’s fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario’s Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. York’s campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.
Media Contact:
Gloria Suhasini, York University Media Relations, 647-463-4354, suhasini@yorku.ca
