The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights strengthens and promotes cooperation between its founding institutions – the University of Geneva and the Geneva Graduate Institute – in the fields of international humanitarian law, human rights law, and accountability for serious violations of international law in armed conflict and transitional contexts.
Through joint research and policy engagement, the Academy serves as a centre of excellence that combines scientific rigour with applied relevance, contributing to both academic advancement and public service in Geneva and globally.
We conduct research and policy engagement that bridge theory and practice. Our work clarifies legal standards, analyses how they operate in practice, and supports policy dialogue on the protection of individuals, justice for victims, and the prevention of violations.
By linking academic expertise with the needs of diplomats, international organisations, and practitioners, the Academy ensures that its outputs – from working papers to expert consultations – remain both intellectually robust and practically relevant.
1. Armed Conflict, Civilian Harm, and the Law of War
Understanding how international humanitarian law applies to modern conflicts and protects civilians.
We examine how international humanitarian law (IHL) applies to contemporary conflicts and how it can better protect civilians.
Through initiatives such as IHL in Focus and the War Watch portal, we classify situations of violence, assess civilian harm, and promote compliance and accountability for violations of IHL.
2. Human Rights Governance and Prevention
Strengthening human rights institutions, early warning, and prevention through dialogue and cooperation.
We explore how human rights mechanisms contribute to early warning and conflict prevention, and how Geneva-based institutions can work more coherently to advance universality and inclusion.
The Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) serves as a neutral space for reflection, coordination, and informal diplomacy among states, experts, and civil society.
3. Serious Violations of Human Rights and International Crimes: Law and Justice
Promoting accountability, victims’ rights, and reparations for serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law.
We study how international and domestic systems address serious and gross violations of human rights and IHL.
Our research analyses accountability mechanisms, victims’ participation, and reparations in both transitional and non-transitional contexts, contributing to justice and the rule of law.
4. Arms Trade, Weapons, and Emerging Technologies
Examining how arms control and new technologies interact with international law and human rights.
We analyse the international regulation of arms transfers and weapon systems, including implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty and related disarmament frameworks.
Current projects also explore neurotechnology, autonomous weapons, and artificial intelligence, assessing their humanitarian and human rights implications.
5. Minorities, Vulnerable Groups, and Inclusion
Protecting both individual and collective rights and fostering participation in global human rights governance.
This stream focuses on the protection of persons belonging to minorities, indigenous peoples, and other vulnerable groups, particularly in contexts of conflict and displacement.
It examines how international law safeguards collective identities, autonomy, and participation, while promoting universality and inclusion in human rights governance.
IHL in Focus – Research Project
IHL in Focus is the Academy’s flagship research project on the classification of armed conflicts and the assessment of civilian harm.
Through systematic legal analysis and the use of reliable secondary data, the project examines how international humanitarian law (IHL) is applied in practice and how it can better protect civilians.
Its online platform, the War Watch portal, provides regularly updated conflict classifications, spot reports, and global monitoring of civilian harm.
The initiative is complemented by the War Watch podcast, which brings expert discussion and field-informed analysis to a wider audience, exploring how the rules of war operate in real time.
War WATCH
War WATCH is a flagship digital platform of the Geneva Academy that brings together legal conflict classification and rigorous documentation of civilian harm in one accessible, interactive space.
By merging the legacy of RULAC with the analytical framework of IHL in Focus, it offers an authoritative, visually driven tool to understand how armed conflicts unfold and how civilians are affected.
Designed for practitioners, journalists, researchers and policy-makers, War Watch transforms complex legal analysis into clear, navigable insights on contemporary and historical conflicts worldwide.
Geneva IHL Lab
The Geneva IHL Lab is a hands-on, practice-oriented course offered by the Geneva Academy that trains Master’s students in open-source research and legal analysis under international humanitarian law.
It brings together students from the Academy, the Graduate Institute, and the University of Geneva, organised into teams each focused on a current armed conflict.
By working with publicly available information in conflict settings, participants build practical skills in gathering, evaluating, and interpreting evidence to assess compliance with IHL.
Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) – Policy Engagement (Operative until December 2025)
The Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) is the Academy’s principal policy engagement initiative until its conclusion in December 2025.
Throughout its mandate, the GHRP has fostered inclusive and informed dialogue among diplomats, UN experts, NGOs, and academics to strengthen the coherence and effectiveness of the international human rights system.
Through its reflection groups, confidential ‘Lake Room’ exchanges, NGO coordination meetings, and online courses, the GHRP has contributed to reinforcing Geneva’s central role as a hub for principled multilateralism and human rights governance.