The Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) at

Ruhr University Bochum The Ruhr University Bochum (, ) is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction began in ...

(Germany) is one of the leading research institutes on humanitarian law and humanitarian studies in Europe. It was founded in 1988 on the initiative of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Knut Ipsen, then rector of Ruhr University Bochum, as a means to conduct research on international conflicts and provide solutions to resolve them. The IFHV’s research is highly interdisciplinary with a focus on international humanitarian studies from a legal and social-scientific perspective. The Institute also provides high-level academic and professional training for the next generation of personnel in the area of humanitarian action. The IFHV’s interdisciplinary angle is put into practice through its Joint Master’s Programme in International Humanitarian Action, part of the European University Network on Humanitarian Assistance (NOHA). Since 2014, the Institute is headed by Prof. Dr. Pierre Thielbörger, M.PP. (

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

). Its staff consists of about 25 employees (including student research assistants) and about 10 PhD students. Current professors involved in the Institute’s work are: * Prof. Dr. Horst Fischer (IFHV) * Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Heintze (IFHV) * Prof. Dr. Pierre Thielbörger, M.PP. (Harvard) (IFHV & Faculty of Law; Managing Director) * Prof. Dr. Markus Kaltenborn (Faculty of Law) * Prof. Dr. Adelheid Puttler, LL.M. (

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) (Faculty of Law) * Prof. Dr. Ludger Pries (Faculty of

Social Science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...

) * Prof. Dr. Stefan Wohnlich (Faculty of

Geosciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

) * Prof. Dr. Michael Wilhelm (Faculty of

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

)

Research

The Institute’s research programme is based on four pillars: # Extensive research projects, often leading to major academic publications # Research seminars, conferences and summer schools # Postdoctoral research # Doctoral research Some significant current and former research areas include * questions of international and non-international armed conflicts * the

right to water The human right to water and sanitation (HRWS) is a principle stating that clean drinking water and sanitation are a universal human right because of their high importance in sustaining every person's life. It was recognized as a human right b ...

in relation to armed conflicts *

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

and humanitarian action * questions of minority rights and

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

* problems of humanitarian operations conducted by international organisations

NOHA Master

The European University Network on Humanitarian Assistance (NOHA) is an international association of universities that aims at enhancing professionalism in the humanitarian sector, by promoting humanitarian values through higher education. Its flagship Joint Master’s Programme in International Humanitarian Action was created in 1993. Its European partner universities are: *

Université catholique de Louvain The Université catholique de Louvain (also known as the Catholic University of Louvain, the English translation of its French name, and the University of Louvain, its official English name) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It ...

(Belgium) *

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

(Denmark) * Aix-Marseille University (France) *

(Germany) *

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(Ireland) *

University of Pavia The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...

(Italy) * Vilnius University (Lithuania) *

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...

(Malta) *

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

(The Netherlands) *

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

(Poland) * University of Deusto (Spain) *

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

(Sweden) The NOHA Master has been awarded the status of an

Erasmus Mundus The European Union's Erasmus Mundus programme (named after Erasmus, the Renaissance scholar) aims to enhance quality in higher education through scholarships and academic co-operation between the EU and the rest of the world. The three main objecti ...

Programme, providing EU-funded scholarships for outstanding third-country nationals. It further enables students and scholars to become part of a global framework for cooperation between the following universities: *

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

(Melbourne, Australia) *

Universidad Javeriana The Pontifical Xavierian University (in Spanish Pontificia Universidad Javeriana) is a private higher education institution founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest, most traditional, and prestigious Colombian universities, directed by the Societ ...

(Bogotá, Colombia) *

Bangalore University Bangalore University (BU) is a public state university located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The university is a part of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and affiliated by Univers ...

(India) *

Gadjah Mada University Gadjah Mada University ( jv, ꦈꦤꦶꦥ꦳ꦼꦂꦱꦶꦠꦱ꧀ꦓꦗꦃꦩꦢ; id, Universitas Gadjah Mada, abbreviated as UGM) is a Public university, public research university located in Sleman Regency, Sleman, Yogyakarta (special region) ...

(Yogyakarta, Indonesia) *

Saint Joseph University Saint Joseph University of Beirut ( French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', abbreviated to and commonly known as "USJ") is a private Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jesuit mis ...

(Beirut, Lebanon) * University of the Western Cape (Cape Town, South Africa) *

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

(New York, United States) The NOHA Master at the IFHV enjoys broad support by the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

(ICRC) and the German Red Cross in particular, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, the

European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation The European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) is an interdisciplinary centre covering the area of human rights education and research formed by 41 universities from all European Union member states. The EIUC's a ...

(EIUC) in Venice as well as many other affiliated non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and inter-governmental organisations (IGOs) and the wider international humanitarian community.

Publications

The Institute maintains a significant range of different publication series in

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

in order to provide information about long-term subjects as well as contemporary issues.

Journal of International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (JILPAC)

The

Journal of International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict The ''Journal of International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict'' (German: ''Humanitäres Völkerrecht - Informationsschriften'') is an academic journal of international law published quarterly by the Secretary General of the German Red Cross and ...

is the leading German journal for research on

international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by prot ...

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

law. It is published quarterly by the Institute in cooperation with the German Red Cross.

Bochumer Faxe (‘Bofaxe’)

Bofaxe deal with current events related to international humanitarian law. Usually making up not more than one page, Bofaxe are an instrument to provide comprised analysis on pressing matters of international concern. They are an opportunity for acclaimed experts as well as younger legal researchers to share their views on events shaping the world.

IFHV Working Papers

Since 2010, the IFHV and the Ruhr University Bochum regularly release the IFHV Working Papers.http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/ifhv/6-publications/6-workingpapers.html It offers researchers the opportunity to bring their academic work on humanitarian issues to the attention of a broader audience.

External links

Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict

European University Network on Humanitarian Assistance (NOHA)

References

{{authority control Human rights organisations based in Germany Legal research institutes Peace and conflict studies Political science organizations Social sciences organizations