Third Annual International Humanitarian Law Course
The Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) and the Canadian Red Cross presented the third annual International Humanitarian Law (IHL) summer intensive course from May 31 – June 5, 2009 at the Faculty of Law.47 participants including students, civil servants, lawyers and members of NGOs from across Canada and the United States came together to learn the fundamentals of IHL and to take advantage of the opportunity to apply this knowledge through hypothetical case studies.
Faculty of Law Professors Amir Attaran, Pacifique Manirakiza as well as Vice-Dean of the French Common Law program, Nicole LaViolette, were involved in teaching this year’s IHL course. Part-time professor, Joseph Rikhof, who teaches International Criminal Law and is Senior Counsel, Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Section with the Department of Justice also lectured during the week-long course. Several other experts also accepted the invitation to lecture including Dr. Marco Sassòli, Professor of International Law at the University of Geneva and Council Chair, Geneva Academy for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights; and René Provost, Director, Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, McGill University.
The diversity of participants brought unique a perspective to the course and also created an interesting dynamic. “I am completely fascinated,” stated Mr. Marc-André Dionne, Legal Services, CIDA, Department of Justice. “The division that we [had] within the working groups [gave] us an understanding of each others’ interests and concerns, which is much broader than just those of lawyers.”
A further example of the diversity seen during the IHL course was participant Olivia Heaney from Memorial University. She is currently working on her Master’s degree in English Literature. Her thesis relates to the representation of children in contemporary literature in Northern Ireland. Ms. Heaney was particularly interested in this course as part of her research deals with the civil wars which have affected Northern Ireland, specifically throughout the last half of the twentieth century. “You wouldn’t think that it would be immediately applicable,” she explained, “but...international armed conflict plays a big role even in civil war sometimes depending on [the size of] rebel groups, how powerful and how widespread rebel groups are. So I find this interesting for that purpose.”
The course also attracted two American Red Cross (ARC) employees. Harley Jones, Director of Emergency Services in Peoria, Illinois, says that he now has many more tools to make use of in the area of IHL that he will be able to share with his fellow citizens. He noted that he will be able to tell them, “Here are the issues that some experts are debating right now that in the next few years are going to be on the forefront of IHL.” His colleague, Alicia Guajardo, Senior Associate, IHL Dissemination, American Red Cross, added, “In some ways it’s very reassuring that even the experts debate these issues. It is not always black and white.”
At the end of the course, participants received a certificate, and those who were registered as students benefitted from three additional credits on their transcripts.