International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or are no longer participating in the hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare. Throughout this training day we will have a lot of interaction with attendees discussing IHL in general and specifically as it relates to the military, protection of civilians and participants in conflict, and the role of governments in ensuring respect for IHL.

The day will be broken up into a short discussion/overview of IHL principles, followed by a panel discussion which will move into an interactive simulation exercises where the principles and essentiality of IHL will be brought to life.

Panel Discussion: the panel discussion will feature Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Dr Eve Massingham and Sarah Spottiswood. The panel will be discussing war crimes and issues of accountability and transparency around Australian combat forces abroad.

PRE-EVENT HOMEWORK

Before attending the training day, we ask that you complete a FREE online course run by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The course is separated into modules and takes a total of 5 hours to complete. The training day will start with a brief overview of IHL and a fun quiz. Click here.

SPEAKERS:

Our speakers are experts in their field and bring an immense amount of knowledge and lived experience in IHL.

Dr Eve Massingham:

Dr Eve Massingham is a Senior Research Fellow with the School of Law at The University of Queensland. Eve's current research focuses on the diverse ways in which the law constrains or enables autonomous functions of military platforms, systems and weapons. She is the co-editor of Ensuring Respect for International Humanitarian Law (Routledge, 2020) and she has published a number of book chapters and journal articles in the field of international humanitarian law. Prior to joining the University of Queensland, Eve worked for the International Red Cross and Red Cross Movement for ten years, including as the International Committee of the Red Cross' Regional Legal Adviser for East Africa and as an International Humanitarian Law officer for Australian Red Cross. She is an Australian qualified lawyer (admitted 2004) who has served as an Australian Army Reserve Officer. She was a Chevening Scholar at King’s College London where she completed an LLM in 2009 and was awarded a PhD from the University of Queensland in 2016.

Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh:

Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh is a constitutional law scholar and Senior Lecturer at UQ Law with combined expertise in courts, national security and press freedom. She has published widely in these fields, including two edited collections as well as articles in Australia's leading journals. In 2019, Rebecca was awarded the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia’s Paul Bourke Award for Early Career Research and a UQ BEL Faculty award, in recognition of her research in national security, press freedom and fair trial rights. Her book 'The Tim Carmody Affair: Australia's Greatest Judicial Crisis' (co-authored with Gabrielle Appleby and Andrew Lynch), was shortlisted for a 2017 Queensland Literary Award and her Sydney Law Review article 'The Inherent Jurisdiction of Courts and the Fair Trial' has been shortlisted for a 2020 Australian Legal Research Award. Rebecca writes regularly for The Conversation, has given evidence to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, and has contributed to numerous submissions to government with respect to national security, human rights and constitutional issues.

Sarah Spottiswood

Sarah Spottiswood is a barrister at Level 27 Chambers in Brisbane. Before coming to the bar, Sarah worked as a solicitor for the UK Government Legal Department and Australian Government Solicitor. Sarah has acted in investment treaty arbitrations, World Trade Organisation disputes and constitutional and administrative law litigation in Australia and the UK. She has advised on treaty negotiations and other public international law issues and represented the United Kingdom at the UNCITRAL Working Group on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (2017-2019). Sarah was Associate to Hon. Justice Geoffrey Nettle AC of the High Court of Australia (2015-2016). She holds a Masters of Law (International Law) from the University of Cambridge and has been published in and edited academic journals and book chapters on international law topics.

Disclaimer:

This event is being planned under the current QLD Covid-Safe rules. Should there be any changes to these rules which impact on the event, participants will be informed as soon as possible. Participants will receive a full refund processed in a timely manner in the unfortunate circumstance that Covid-Safe changes lead to a cancellation. Further, should you feel unwell on the day please do not attend. Please contact us and we will process a refund.

The event is being organised by the Australian Red Cross Community Engagement Network in Queensland. This is a volunteer group supporting the Australian Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Program. Monies raised through holding this event will go towards Australian Red Cross programs and services.