International disaster law course
The law faculties of the Universities of Bologna, Roma Tre, Uninettuno and Pisa, S. Anna (acting through their "International Disaster Law Project") and the IFRC Disaster Law Programme will co-convene their first joint "International Disaster Law Course" for academics and practioners hosted at the Institute for International Humanitarian Law in Sanremo, Italy on 28 April - 2 May 2014.
The 5-day course is aimed at graduate and post-graduate students with a specific academic interest in international disaster law as well as technical disaster management practitioners (eg. staff of civil protection departments, staff of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, NGOs) and other persons with an academic background in areas such as law, security studies, international relations, conflict studies or other related fields who want to expand their knowledge in this area.
The course will cover a broad spectrum of international law related to disasters, including norms on humanitarian assistance, human rights, civil protection, cultural heritage, enviornmental protection, risk reduction and climate change. Through short lectures and interactive scenarios, it will provide a broad overview of existing international legal frameworks and current debates at the global and regional levels.
Lectures will be delivered by distinguished speakers including Dr. Eduardo Valencia-Ospina (Special Rapporteur of the International Law Commission on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters) and Prof. Walter Kälin (former Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons), as well as over a dozen other experts from academia, United Nations agencies, the Red Cross, regional organizations, and government.
Applications for the course will be accepted on a rolling basis and interested persons are encouraged to register early to secure a place. Unless all places are taken earlier, the final deadline for application will be 4 April 2014.