Call for Papers: International Humanitarian Law Student Writing Competition
American University Washington College of Law’s Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law (Center), the American Society of International Law’s (ASIL) Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict and the American Red Cross International Humanitarian Law team are pleased to announce the Sixth Annual International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Student Writing Competition. This competition aims to promote interest and enhance scholarship in international humanitarian law among students as well as deepen their understanding of this important area of international law.
The Competition seeks submissions of student-written academic papers on this year’s topic of “Refugee Protections under International Humanitarian Law,” focusing on the ways in which IHL intersects with refugee issues, such as status, how refugee protections are affected by issues of gender, race, class, and nationality, the impact of IHL on resettlement and statelessness, etc. Papers may be submitted by any student currently enrolled in a law degree program in the United States or abroad. The winning author will receive a complimentary one-year ASIL student membership and have the opportunity to have his or her abstract published in the renowned Human Rights Brief, AUWCL’s premier student-run publication with over 4,000 subscribers in over 130 countries, and with thousands of unique visitors to the website each month. The winner will also appear in a video presentation to be featured as part of the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law’s Teaching International Humanitarian Law Initiative.
This Competition is part of a multi-pronged initiative to expand and support the teaching and study of IHL among both students and professors in which the Center, ASIL and the American Red Cross have been deeply involved. In 2007, the Center published a study with the International Committee of the Red Cross on Teaching International Humanitarian Law in US Law Schools. The study identified a growing need for resources to support and expand the teaching of IHL among law faculty, but also a desire to support the interest of students in learning about IHL. The IHL Student Writing Competition promotes and supports student interest and deepening scholarship in IHL by providing students with a tangible way to become more directly involved in the global discourse around IHL.
Please ask your CDO advisor about the poster that provides further details about the Competition and also look online on the Center’s website for comprehensive rules, submission guidelines and award information.
The deadline for submissions is October 5, 2016 at 11:59 pm EST.