International Humanitarian Law and the Ukraine War

On 9 November, in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that has been making headlines for months, the Canada Research Chair in Human Rights and International Reparative Justice and the Canadian Red Cross benefited from the presence of Professor Marco Sassòli (University of Geneva) to hold a luncheon discussion on international humanitarian law (IHL).

Guests also had the chance to meet Fanny Dagenais-Dion, the new IHL coordinator for Quebec and the Atlantic at the Canadian Red Cross.

The Research Chair would like to thank the speakers for this presentation, which reflects the objectives of its first research area, "International Justice and Reparation for Human Rights Violations".

Marco Sassòli

Marco Sassòli is Professor of International Law at the University of Geneva since 2004. He is also a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) since 2013 and was Special Advisor (pro bono) on international humanitarian law (IHL) to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

He has published widely on IHL, human rights law, international criminal law, the sources of international law, the responsibility of states and non-state actors and Swiss constitutional law. He is recognized as a leading expert in IHL.

Professor Sassòli was the Director of the Geneva Academy from August 2018 to August 2020. He was also Director of the Department of Public International Law and International Organization at the University of Geneva from 2009–2016. From 2001–2003, he taught at the Université du Québec à Montreal, where he remains an associate professor.

From 1985–1997 he worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), notably as Deputy Head of its Legal Division, Head of the ICRC delegations in Jordan and Syria and as Protection Coordinator for the former Yugoslavia.

Professor Sassòli has also served as Executive Secretary of the ICJ, as registrar at the Swiss Supreme Court and Chair of the Board of Geneva Call, an NGO that promotes respect for humanitarian norms among armed non-state actors.

Click here for Prof. Sassòli's profile. 

This content has been updated on 15 November 2022 at 10 h 37 min.