India: Postgraduate course in human rights, international humanitarian law and refugee law

The Indian Society of International Law (ISIL), a research-oriented national institution for the promotion of public international law, is offering a one-year postgraduate diploma course in human rights, international humanitarian law and refugee law. The course was launched on 6September with financial and technical backing from the National Human Rights Commission, the ICRC and UNHCR.

" This is the first course of its kind in all of South Asia which combines in a single package the three distinct legal regimes intended to protect the individual and promote respect for human dignity " , said Dr D. S. Mohil, ISIL Director.

The classes on humanitarian law will be taught jointly by ICRC staff based in New Delhi and by eminent professors and practitioners. The course is designed to explore in detail topical issues such as the changing status of combatants in modern conflicts, the legal and humanitarian implications of anti-personnel mines, the impact of the International Criminal Court, the situation of vulnerable groups in armed conflicts and the development of minimum humanitarian standards. 

This issue-based approach is supplemented by an introduction to humanitarian law and an overview of the protection afforded conflict victims under the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. The course will also emphasize developments in humanitarian law in South Asia.