UWindsor’s Faculty of Law collaborates with the Canadian Red Cross to host conference on Urban Warfare

The University of Windsor’s Faculty of Law will be hosting a conference with the Canadian Red Cross titled: War in Cities: An International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Perspective.  

The conference will focus on Urban Warfare. It is a free, public conference held at Canterbury College. It features experts and academics to teach about the pressing issues surrounding International Humanitarian Law. 

Urban warfare has been a common feature of many conflicts since the second world war. It is estimated that about 50 million people today suffer the consequences of such warfare- from Ukraine to Syria to Armenia to the Philippines. The conference will make the case that modern conventional weapons are devastating to population centers- and offer a way for International Humanitarian Law to mitigate the impact of these weapons.  

The first Keynote speaker will be the UofT’s Faculty of Law Professor Chile Eboe-Osuji. Before his academic career, Professor Osuji was the 4th President of the International Criminal Court (from 2018 to 2021). He was a judge there from 2012 until 2021. Before this, he’d taken part in tribunals related to the Rwandan Genocide and the Sierra Leone civil war.  

His speech will review the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects. It will also highlight the need to rethink military objectives in their continued place in the context of wars of aggression.
 

The second presentation will be more specifically related to certain conflicts. For instance, the Israel/Palestine conflict and the war(s) in Gaza. Next will be the 2020-Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and its parallel to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There is a case before the International Criminal Court regarding this war, though its outcome is uncertain. 
 

Daanish Shah, the head of the International Law Society, said students will find the conference very informative.  

‘’First and foremost, for the law student new to International Humanitarian Law, I hope this event serves as an introduction to the field. It is an important legal framework that governs conduct during war times. The world of IHL can be daunting, and it is helpful to engage with people that have crafted superb careers in this space.’’ 

He said the International Law Society and the Transnational Law and Justice Network helped promote the event, but it’s the brainchild of the Canadian Red Cross.  

Edmund Shakur, a current UWindsor law student, says he is attending the event “to learn more about the Red Cross’ reaction to ongoing urban conflicts and their involvement in the Ukraine-Russia and Armenia-Azerbaijan conflicts.” 

To register for the event, visit the event page here: link 

You can learn more about IHL here.