KoGuan Law School (Shanghai Jiao Tong University) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (Regional Delegation for East Asia) are pleased to jointly host a two-day symposium on Chinese perspective on contemporary international humanitarian law and action and invite abstract proposals from interested academics and practitioners.

The symposium will be held at the KoGuan Law School on 31 October – 1 November 2015. Reflecting on the relevance of the subject to China’s growing international role, the symposium seeks to promote academic and expert research and exchanges and will host multi-disciplinary discussions on theory and practice of contemporary humanitarian law and action. Writings on Chinese perspectives and practices are especially encouraged. The abstract can be submitted in Chinese or in English.

* The deadline for submitting abstracts is15 August 2015. The word count of an abstract should be approximately 800 English words/1500 Chinese characters. The author should also append a brief biography that includes professional affiliation and contact details.

** Successful candidates will be notified by mid-September 2015. The organizers will cover the domestic transport and accommodation for the panelists to the symposium.

*** By submitting an abstract, all conference attendees agree in principle to submit a full paper. The papers can be written in Chinese or in English. The deadline of submitting papers is 31 December 2015. Papers of sufficient quality will be recommended to Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Review or International Review of the Red Cross for publication.

Style guide for Chinese papers: http://law.sjtu.edu.cn/Article150105.aspx

Style guide for English papers: https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/2014/irrc-instructions-contributors-2014-07-07.pdf

Submission and Contact Details: To submit abstracts or for any queries regarding the symposium, please send email to IHLsymposium2015@163.comor contact

Ms SONG Tianying, Legal Adviser

ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia

Phone: 010-8532 3290-151 (ICRC)

Topicscould include, but are not limited to:

I: Humanitarian Action and International Humanitarian Law

• Law and ethics in humanitarian action
• Neutrality and independence of humanitarian action in today’s conflicts
• Access to victims of armed conflicts and sovereignty
• Medical law and ethics in armed conflicts and other emergencies
• Emblems of humanitarian protection
• Integrated military operations and humanitarian assistance
• The State as a humanitarian actor
• IHL and the Red Cross / Red Crescent Movement
• Observing compliance with IHL in a digital and connected world
• A historical perspective on humanitarian action and IHL

II: The protection of persons detained in the context of armed conflicts

• Legal basis for detention in the context of non-international armed conflicts
• Current issues in the transfer of detainees in multinational operations
• Detention and restrictions on the liberty of movement and the fight against terrorism
• Fundamental guarantees and protection of persons detained on security grounds in the context of armed conflicts and other situations of violence
• “Non-refoulement” and international humanitarian law
• Detention in peace-keeping/peace-support operations
• Monitoring mechanisms on the treatment of persons detained in the context of armed conflicts and other situations of violence

III: Use of force in armed conflicts and other situations of violence

• The scope of the modern battlefield
• Law enforcement in armed conflict situations
• Law enforcement, counter-terrorism and armed conflicts
• The regulation of PMSC in armed conflicts and other situations of violence
• Framework(s) for the use of force in peace-keeping/peace-support operations
• Applicable standards for the use of force in maritime law enforcement operations
• Distinguishing combatants and civilians in hostilities
• Assessing proportionality in attacks
• Distinguishing/identifying military objectives in contemporary conflicts

IV: Means and methods of warfare

• The development of IHL and new weapons
• Autonomous weapons and IHL
• Cyber-operations and the law of armed conflicts
• Humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons
• The international regulation of arms trade
• The integration of weapon-related IHL treaties in military doctrine and practice