• Room XXVI (map)
  • Palais des Nations
  • Geneva

Date and time

Thursday, June 22, 18h00 – 19h15

Location

Room XXVI, Palais des Nations, Geneva

This side event is presented by Switzerland and the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (HLS PILAC) and organised in the framework of the ECOSOC Humanitarian Segment.

Opening remarks

  • Amb. Heidi Grau, Head of the Human Security Division, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (chair)

Panelists

  • Prof. Naz K. Modirzadeh, Harvard Law School, Director of the Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (moderator)
  • Dr. Tristan Ferraro, Senior Legal Advisor, Legal Division, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
  • Ms. Kate McGrane, Senior Humanitarian Policy Adviser, Geneva Office of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Counter-terrorism measures are an important means to protect the civilian population in armed conflict. However, there are also potential adverse effects of such measures on the ability of humanitarian organisations to serve people in need. In three of the four contexts where famine is currently looming, proscribed armed groups control access to the population, and may be governing affected territory. This can have a considerable impact on the ability of humanitarian organisations to operate: various tightened due diligence measures required in grant agreements, or significant obstacles to programming and implementing humanitarian engagements, including negotiating access to the civilian population living in areas controlled by proscribed groups.

Over the past five years, there has been considerable research, policy engagement, and debate on this issue. Yet, there has been a lack of empirical or measurable evidence of the impact of counterterrorism laws and policies on humanitarian action. The Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (HLS PILAC) has conducted a first pilot empirical study to quantify the consequences of counter-terrorism measures for humanitarian action. The side event, a follow-up of the side event organized in 2014 by OCHA and NRC, aims at presenting and discussing the results of the study and – equally importantly – possible ways forward to find concrete solutions to very real challenges, focusing on the following questions:

• What are the main factors for possible negative impacts of counter-terrorism measures on humanitarian action?

• What are concrete experiences for mitigating adverse effects of counter-terrorism measures on humanitarian action?

• What could be the way forward, what could be possible avenues for mitigating adverse effects of counter-terrorism measures on humanitarian engagements?

Co-sponsored by the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Photo credit: U.N. Photo/Stuart Price (Flickr).