Humanitarian Action in the Middle East: the ICRC’s Work and Mandate in the Field

On the occasion of his visit to The Hague, HILAC organizes a special lecture by Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on humanitarian action in the Middle East.Dr. Robert Heinsch (Leiden University) will start with an introduction to the legal framework of the ICRC-mandate with a special focus on humanitarian access, while Daccord will discuss the challenges in the field. Among other things, he will address issues like access to victims as well as civilians’ access to essential services and how to ensure their right to these services. Furthermore, he will speak about the dangers humanitarians face in their day-to-day work, warfare in cities, and the impact of protracted armed conflict. Daccord will speak from his experience with ICRC; the contexts he will draw from include Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

About the speakers

* Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Daccord holds a degree in political science. A former journalist, he joined the ICRC in 1992 and worked in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Sudan, Yemen, the northern Caucasus and Georgia. At the ICRC’s headquarters in Geneva he previously held several positions, including Deputy Head of the Division for the Promotion of International Humanitarian Law, and Director of Communication.  

* Dr. Robert Heinsch, Associate Professor of Public International Law at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University. Heinsch holds a Ph.D and LL.M degree in law. Previously, he has worked as a Legal Advisor in the International Humanitarian Law Department at the German Red Cross, and as a Legal Officer in the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court. He has published various articles in the field of international humanitarian law, including on the role and impact of the ICRC in the development of core International Humanitarian Law treaties.  

Venue: Humanity House

Organisers: the Netherlands Red Cross in cooperation with T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the Amsterdam Center for International Law

Time: 19.30 hrs (doors open at 19.00hrs)

Address: Prinsegracht 8, 2512 GA, The Hague, The Netherlands

Registration: This event has reached full capacity

The Hague Initiative for Law and Armed Conflict (HILAC) Lecture Series is an occasional lecture series on the subject of law and armed conflict organised by the T.M.C. Asser Instituut since 2005, in cooperation with the Netherlands Red Cross and the Amsterdam Center for International Law.