Legal Aspects of Relief Operations – Programme
May, 26 – 27, 2019,
University of Haifa
Introduction:
Relief operations* usually take place in situations of extreme conditions, including armed conflicts, natural disasters, or as a consequence thereof (e.g. in refugee and internally displaced persons camps).
The aid sector is not unified. It is composed of various types of relief operations and actors, including, inter alia, UN affiliated operations, UN agencies (such as UNHCR), INGOs, and NGOs, and State operations. Relief operations can differ in their different characteristics, such as the duration, size, capacity, interaction with the local population, etc.
The reality of relief operations, including, inter alia, the presence of such operations in overseas, combined with the fragile conditions on the ground and the expected weakness of the rule of law, creates a complicated legal surrounding. This legal complexity is the basis for a workshop held at the University of Haifa, on May 26 – 27, 2019.
Participants included representatives from relevant organizations such as UN agencies and NGO, state representatives, legal and field practitioners and academic experts.
The event was held in collaboration between the Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions (Minerva RLEC) at the University of Haifa, the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (IAJLJ) and the Israeli School of Humanitarian Action (ISHA).
Participation in the event was by invitation only.
* We refer to the term “relief operations” in a wide scope which includes different types of operations aim to provide aid, goods, treatment etc. to affected communities.
The workshop included four sessions of discussion: a keynote evening session and three round tables. Each round table included a few short presentations (10 – 15 minutes), followed by a moderated discussion among all participants.
Sunday, May 26th
18:00 – 18:30 – Gathering
18:30 – 19:00 – Introductions (Link to video)
- Prof. Eli Salzberger, Director, The Minerva Center for the Rule of Law Under Extreme Conditions
- Col. (res.) Adv. Pnina Sharvit-Baruch, Vice-President, the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists.
- Mr. Einav Levy, Founding Director, Israeli School of Humanitarian Action
19:00 – 19:15 – Introductory presentation, Mr. Ido Rosenzweig, Director of Research (Terrorism, Belligerency & Cyber), Minerva RLEC; Director of International Organisations, IAJLJ (Link to video)
19:15 – 20:00 – Keynote presentation – Lt. Col. (R) Eyal Dror, former head of “Operation Good Neighbor”
20:00 – Dinner
Monday May 27th
9:30 – 10:00 Introductions
First Round Table
10:00 – 12:30 – “Standardization, regulation, and liability of relief actors”
Presenters:
- Mr. Itay Epshtain – International Lawyer, Magen David Adom (link to video)
- Dr. Odeda Benin-Goren – “The EMT Initiative” (link to video)
- Ms. Aninia Nadig, Policy and Practice Manager, Sphere (link to video)
- Ms. Shadia Sbait, Strategy & Development Advisor, Humanity Crew
12:00 – 13:30 – Lunch
Second Round Table
13:30 – 16:00 – “Preventing Sexual Exploitation and abuse in the aid sector”
Moderator: Prof. Frances Raday, former member of the CEDAW Committee and UN Special Rapporteur on discrimination against women
Presenters:
- Dr. Stephanie Cartier, Legal Officer, UN Office of the Legal Affairs
- Mr. Kevin Chang, Human Rights Legal Adviser and Visiting Scholar in Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney. (link to video)
- Mr. Jerry Locula, Former Human Rights Officer UNMISS (UN Mission in South Sudan) (link to video)
- Mr. Larry Bottinick, Senior Legal Officer, UNHCR
16:00 – 16:20 – coffee break
Third Round Table
16:20 – 18:50 – “Maintaining human rights of the addressed population”
Moderator: Dr. Itamar Mann, the University of Haifa, Faculty of Law, Minerva RLEC.
Presenters:
- Ms. Ira Ryk-Lakhman, Tadmor-Levy & Co. “Technology, Blockchain, and Humanitarian relief” (link to video)
- Ms. Rosa Da Costa, Lecturer, Tel-Aviv University, “Administration of Justice in Large Camp Situations”
18:50 – 19:00 – Short coffee break
19:00 – 19:20 – Concluding remarks – Ms. Emanuela-Chaira Gillard, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict.
See here policy paper: Counter-Terrorism and Humanitarian Action in Gaza – Three Key Elements of the Regulatory Framework, by Emanuela-Chaira Gillard
19:30 – Heading to Dinner
