This year it is possible to combine the LawTransform PhD course “Effects of Lawfare” with the training in Humanitarian Diplomacy that runs in the afternoons of the Bergen Exchanges (17-21 August). This course is aimed at practitioners, researchers, and graduate students with an interest in humanitarian negotiations, relief, and diplomacy.
Humanitarian negotiations have historically been conducted in situations of extreme insecurity and unstable political conditions to secure access, assistance and protection for civilians. The implicit, sometimes even hidden, practices of humanitarian negotiations led to the concept of humanitarian diplomacy (HD), which emerged in the early 2000s. HD activities include, for example, arranging for the presence of humanitarian organizations in a given country, negotiating access to civilian populations in need of assistance and protection, monitoring assistance programs, promoting respect for international law and norms, and engaging in advocacy at a variety of levels in support of humanitarian goals.
How and at what costs is possible to reach the “most vulnerable” in complex emergencies? What diplomatic and practical tools can humanitarian organizations put forward in this task? To what extent are humanitarian principles (humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence) negotiable?
Interested? Read more.