The International Relations Program at Webster Geneva will host its 29^th Annual International Humanitarian and Security Conference (IHSC) on Thursday 21 November 2024 at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG) located at 17 Rue de Varembé. The theme of this year’s conference will be “The Resurgence of Conflicts: Challenges to Existing Security, Humanitarian and Human Rights Frameworks.”

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and other more recent conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and Asia have had a profound impact on international affairs, most notably regarding the maintenance of international peace and security, and the respect and application of international humanitarian and human rights law. 2024 also marks the 75^th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions concerning the protection of civilians and victims of war. In view of recent events, Europe and the Western world are critically reassessing their security policies and adopting new defense strategies that include greater military expenditures, the expansion of their armed forces and acquisition of new weapons systems. Concomitantly, the events in Ukraine and other conflicts have led to reassessments of defense policies in East Asia, the Middle East and other parts of the world in view of these ongoing conflagrations and perceived threats emanating from China, North Korea, Iran and other state and non-state actors. These recent developments have also had an impact on the observance of international law and international humanitarian law, as witnessed in the Israel-Gaza conflict, and may have future ramifications in both regards.

The aim of the conference will be to assess the nature and impact of these crises on security and defense policies, and their implications for international law and international humanitarian law. The conference will address how the West and the international community are responding to these multifaceted challenges at present, and critically analyze their various dimensions and future ramifications.

The 2024 conference will consist of keynote speeches and four panels:

• The Russia-Ukraine War: Will Europeans Take their Own Defense Seriously?
• Merchants of Death: Conflicts and the Arms Trade/Trafficking in the Global South and Beyond
• Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity: The Prospects and Efficacy of International Justice
• 75 Years On: Have the Geneva Conventions Failed to Protect Civilians and the Victims of War?

As has been the case over the past twenty-eight years, the 29^th IHSC is being organized in cooperation with a number of major international organizations, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and the student-led NGO, the Webster Humanitarian Association (WHA).