Lectures and Discussions

Whether one examines the last war in Gaza, the civil war in Sri Lanka, or the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan—in all of these conflicts, large numbers of uninvolved civilians have been killed or injured. "Collateral damage" is the euphemistic term used to refer to these unintended victims.

International humanitarian law encompasses a number of key provisions relevant to the behavior of combatants and the protection of civilians. But it is not always easy to determine the point at which the conduct of warfare no longer conforms to international law and becomes unlawful or even criminal. The difficulty in applying international agreements can lead conflicting parties to take advantage of ambiguous situations to pursue their own goals. Propaganda and intentional misinformation also cloud the issues involved and impede attempts to clarify who is responsible for criminal actions.

The lecture will first outline the main provisions of international humanitarian law that define the limits of tolerable behavior during armed conflicts. The second part of the lecture will discuss examples from recent conflicts in which these rules were violated. Based on these<ins> </ins>cases, various kinds of criminal activities will be discussed and suggestions for complementing and improving existing legal codes as a means of avoiding the escalation of violence in armed conflicts will be presented.

Dr. Gerd Hankel is an expert in international law and a guest fellow at the Hamburg Institute for Social Research whose work is funded by the Hamburg Foundation for the Advancement of Research and Culture

Moderator: Dr. Ulrike Jureit is a historian and guest fellow at the Hamburg Institute for Social Research, funded by the Hamburg Foundation for the Advancement of Research and Culture

Venue: Hamburg Institute for Social Research, Mittelweg 36, 20148 Hamburg
Time: 8 p.m.
Admission: free