13 December 2018, 18:30-20:00
Event
ICRC
Three years of civil war and regional military intervention in Yemen has left the country with a crumbling economy and without a government or civil services. In 2017, the United Nations (UN) declared Yemen to be the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. As a consequence of the conflict, Yemenis face frequent exposure to violence, which, compounded by widespread economic insecurity, starvation, fractured social ties, poverty, the absence of basic services, and governmental neglect, has created a serious risk of a mental health crisis. Despite the known long-term adverse psychological effects of war, mental health issues in Yemen have largely been neglected by both domestic authorities and the international community.
The year 2018 has brought with it new challenges and opportunities. While the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, with 22.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance or protection, the UN plans to host consultations with the main warring parties this December in Stockholm, Sweden. Although attempts at negotiations failed earlier this year, there is new, unprecedented momentum for the UN’s broader efforts in ending the conflict in Yemen.
The event – co-organized with the Columbia Law School Human Rights Clinic and the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies – will focus on the implications of the war on mental health and well-being of Yemenis. It will also discuss the previous UN-sponsored peace negotiations on the conflict in Yemen, and the opportunities and challenges facing the upcoming consultations.
Our Head of Research and Policy Studies, Dr Erica Harper, spoke at a United Nations Economic and Social Council panel on June 16th, focused on Humanitarian Aid Under Siege.
Adobe
The Geneva Academy convened an expert consultation on the CESCR’s General Comment on the Application of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Situations of Armed Conflict.
ICRC
Co-hosted with the ICRC, this event aims to enhance the capacity of academics to teach and research international humanitarian law, while also equipping policymakers with an in-depth understanding of ongoing legal debates.
UN Photo/Violaine Martin
The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.
Adobe Stock
This project addresses the human rights implications stemming from the development of neurotechnology for commercial, non-therapeutic ends, and is based on a partnership between the Geneva Academy, the Geneva University Neurocentre and the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee.