Events

Events

Event Date

May 13, 2019

Venue

Overseas Development Institute

The UK’s Role in Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict

Dmytro Chupryna and Chloe Skinner, Airwars respective Deputy Director and UK based Conflict Researcher and Advocacy Officer, are attending a roundtable discussion on ‘The UK’s Role in Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’, hosted by Save the Children and the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute. The discussion will be attended by representatives from the FCO, DFID, and the MOD, as well as many of our partner NGOs, including Every Casualty, Amnesty International, Crisis Action and Action on Armed Violence. While the FCO is in process of updating the existing Protection of Civilians (PoC) strategy, the aims of the discussion are to build cross-government and civil society support for the new strategy, and create space for the discussion of concrete steps toward a more comprehensive PoC strategy.

Event Date

April 24, 2019

Venue

Frontline Club

New Reporting Frontiers: OSI, Airstrikes and Civilian Harm

Airwars Director Chris Woods is presenting at the Frontline Club talk ‘New Reporting Frontiers: OSI, Airstrikes and Civilian Harm’ alongside with world’s leading Open Source Investigations teams to discuss the groundbreaking techniques being used to support and strengthen reporting of civilian harm in conflicts worldwide. From the Skripal poisoning to the Battle of Mosul, Open Source Investigations are bringing information to the public by harnessing the phenomena of mass communication. The panel will focus on how OSI teams and monitoring groups are working to strengthen our power to report, and uncover stories of civilian harm in the world’s bloodiest conflicts. Chris Woods will be joined by Times senior foreign correspondent Anthony Loyd, Bellingcat’s Yemen reporter Rawan Shaif and Milena Marin, project lead for Amnesty Decoders.

Event Date

March 20, 2019

Venue

European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Berlin

Germany’s involvement in the Anti-IS Coalition: the air strike on Al-Badhiya IDP-Shelter in Syria

Maike Awater, Airwars’ Netherland based Advocacy Officer and Conflict Researcher presents at a panel discussion commemorating the second anniversary of the Al-Badhiya air strike’s in Syria. The most worst known air strike of the Anti-IS Coalition with over 150 civilian casualties took place on 20 March 2017 when it targeted a shelter for internally displaced people. Germany, part of the coalition, has acknowledged its role in the strike by providing images of the target site to the coalition command, as well as battle damage assessment flights after the attack. Participants will aim to analyse how an estimated 150 civilian fatalities or more could have been prevented. They will also address the legal obligations of states to investigate right to life violations under human rights law; the need for public transparency; and the question of how to better protect civilians in armed conflict.

Event Date

February 26, 2019

Venue

Palace of Westminster

The human cost of airstrikes: are we counting civilian deaths?

Airwars Director Chris Woods is presenting at the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones session ‘The human cost of airstrikes: are we counting civilian deaths?’ The Ministry of Defence has been the second-largest contributor to the anti-ISIS Coalition. However, in over 1900 strikes in Iraq and Syria from 2014-2018, it has reported only one civilian casualty. Participants aim to explore why the military’s estimate of civilian deaths is so much lower than outside tallies; and what can be learned from recent Pentagon developments for progressing civilian protection from the UK and other militaries.

Event Date

January 15, 2019

Venue

Palace of Westminster

Global Islamist Terrorism: Oral Evidence Session at Defence Select Committee

Airwars’ Director Chris Woods is presenting at Oral Evidence Session, organised by  UK Parliament’s Defence Select Committee, on the theme of UK actions in the war against so-called Islamic State, and the broader issue of civilian harm, based on the recently published report. Airwars continues to challenge the Ministry of Defence over its claims of no civilian harm from UK actions – despite more than 1,000 targets reportedly being struck. The report contains a number of recommendations to help improve UK monitoring and reporting of civilian harm in future conflicts.

Event Date

January 11, 2019

Venue

Università degli Studi di Catania

Armed drones at Sigonella: Legal issues and tensions between right to life protection, transparency obligations and military strategy

Airwars will be participating in the conference organised by ECCHR to outline civilian harm caused by the US in Libya from airstrikes which supposedly take off from Sigonella, Italy. Both Airwars and New America will present findings from their joint Libya project, detailing incidents of civilian harm in the North African country and providing a larger perspective on the global drone war.

Event Date

December 17, 2018

Venue

Tivoli Vredenburg

Our long-range war in Syria and Iraq

Airwars in a collaboration with Intimacies of Remote Warfare and PAX is organising a discussion on the application of remote warfare and the risks it involves. Participants aim to engage on the issue of civilian casualties; the legal basis for attacks and support for non-state actors; and whether there is enough political and public debate about this?

Event Date

December 13, 2018

Venue

ICRC delegation in London

ICRC Protection Reference Group meeting

Airwars is participating in a gathering of humanitarian practitioners and experts to discuss and reflect upon work undertaken in relation to conflict-related deaths and the significant push behind transparency and accountability with regard to monitoring and reporting on civilian casualties and damage to essential infrastructure. The event also addresses perceived responsibility for the humanitarian consequences of conflict by States who increasingly rely on inter-state support and partnerships among themselves and with armed groups.