From the PHAP website: 

In light of developments in Syria, Iraq, Mali, and elsewhere, with hostilities between Islamist armed groups and states and other entities becoming more heated, the relevant questions for the humanitarian community regarding Islamic Law and applicable international legal frameworks have moved well beyond humanitarian access negotiations. The use of armed force both by and against Islamist groups has increased. This alters the dynamic of conflict situations, affecting the nature of humanitarian need as well as the possibilities to respond to it.

PHAP has been offering workshops on Islamic Law and Protection of Civilians for a number of years, including in Amman, Bangkok, and most recently London. The subject matter has covered topics such as state legitimacy, the distinction between combatants and civilians, targeting, and immunity of international aid workers under classical Islamic laws of war as well as under contemporary Jihadi fiqh; how these may be relevant in the context of humanitarian engagement with certain Islamist armed groups; and efforts to increase non-state armed groups’ respect for the protection of civilians. Participants have found the workshops particularly helpful in terms of better understanding the dynamics on the ground and learning from leading legal and policy experts as well as from the experiences of humanitarian field practitioners.

In collaboration with top experts in relevant fields, Naz Modirzadeh and Prof. Andrew March, the focus of this year’s workshop has been updated to respond to recent developments. Looking not only at the Islamist groups’ relations to the norms of Islamic Law and of IHL, the workshop will also familiarize participants with the approaches of states in responding to armed actions of these groups, analyze states’ counterterrorism frameworks in relation to international humanitarian law (IHL), and assess the implications for humanitarian action.

The workshop will cover the following:

• Brief primer on Islamic legal frameworks, including key concepts, sources, and theological foundations.
• Examination of how “Islamist” armed groups frame their actions in terms of Islamic law, and reviewing statements from groups claiming to adhere to Islamic Law, with the aim of better understanding their approaches.
• Analysis of state approaches to counterterrorism in terms of the use of lethal force – looking in particular at examples of US approaches in different contexts, the French approach in Mali and the broader region, the situation in Syria, and other examples – and the relationship between states’ counterterrorism frameworks and the international law of armed conflict (LOAC)/international humanitarian law (IHL).
• In the context of the above, looking at rapidly evolving policy and legal discussions regarding key developments, such as international and national measures against so-called “foreign fighters” as well as the variety of regulatory processes being established to combat the channeling of financial and other support to listed terrorist entities and individuals.
• Throughout the above discussions, highlighting the current and potential future implications for humanitarian action in its various forms.

The workshop will serve as an intensive review of the relevant legal and policy frameworks (Islamic Law, Islamist armed group statements, UN and state counterterrorism law and policies, international humanitarian law, international human rights law, etc.), as well as an advanced discussion of current developments in terrorism and counterterrorism, the use of force in this context, and the implications in terms of humanitarian need and response, as well as humanitarian advocacy efforts.

The primary intended audience includes experienced humanitarian law and policy advisors, managers of UN and NGO humanitarian operations in relevant contexts, and government officials, including both diplomatic and military personnel. Other interested individuals are also welcome to apply. 

Visit the PHAP website for more information.

Photo credit: Brian Hillegas, “MRAP v. Mosque," Flickr, CC BY 2.0.