Registration

10 September 2025, 12.30 pm

Opening ceremony

10 September 2025, 2.00 pm (Italian time). The session will last 45 minutes.

Welcome address

Keynote speech

The Role of the Development of IHL in Safeguarding Peace

10 September 2025, 3.15 pm (Italian time). The session will last 90 minutes. .

This panel will discuss how disseminating IHL provisions can serve as a crucial measure to avoid the escalation of violence and the bursting outbreak of armed conflict, ensuring that both military and civilian decisionmakers at different levels understand the potential impact of war and, at the same time, are well-educated on IHL principles to foster compliance during potential future conflicts. In addition, the development of IHL necessarily draws attention to the human cost of war, and, hence, the importance of avoiding it. This approach not only can help in maintaining the international community peaceful but also plays a significant role in preventing the escalation of tensions during preparations for armed conflict.

Humanitarian Disarmament and Its Value for Peace

11 September 2025, 9.00 am (Italian time). The session will last 90 minutes.

Disarmament and arms control play a pivotal role in fostering peace. By examining multilateral disarmament and arms control measures driven to a significant extent by humanitarian considerations, the panel will discuss how conventional weapon-specific agreements, such as the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Arms Trade Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, can contribute to preventing and addressing human
suffering from armed violence, building trust among States and parties to armed conflict, fostering stability and mitigating the risk of renewed conflicts by curtailing the availability of weapons or providing the framework for their eradication. It will also address specific issues of field disarmament as a key factor to reducing the risk of renewed violence.

Conflict Classification, Hybrid threats, use of Proxy Groups, and the Risk of Escalation

11 September 2025, 11.00 am (Italian time). The session will last 90 minutes.

Panel 3 will examine the evolving challenges in applying IHL to contemporary armed conflicts. It will address the difficulties in defining armed conflicts amidst modern warfare trends, such as hybrid threats and the use of proxy groups in conflicts, and how these complexities affect the legal classification of a situation and the application of IHL on the ground. The discussion will also explore the legal and operational impact of emerging technologies, such as autonomous weapons, artificial intelligence, and cyber operations, on the intensity thresholds of non-international armed conflict, reflecting the factual difficulty today of disentangling the facts on the ground and applying the law, in particular as geopolitical tensions continue to be exacerbated and the risk of escalation persists.

The Role of IHL Compliance during Armed Conflict and in Negotiation

11 September 2025, 2.00 pm (Italian time). The session will last 90 minutes.

This panel will explore the critical role of IHL compliance in mitigating long-term humanitarian and societal challenges arising from armed conflicts. By examining how adherence to IHL can limit displacement, reduce resettlement complexities, preserve infrastructure, and support post-conflict justice and reconciliation, the discussion will highlight its far-reaching benefits. The panel will also reflect on the most relevant strategies to safeguard detainees and resolve cases of missing persons, considering their impact on facilitating conditions conducive to easier post-conflict negotiations. Along with these topics, the role of mediators in integrating IHL principles into peace agreements and mitigating civilian harm during active conflicts will be also addressed, including the use of IHL-neutral terminology to foster dialogue between governments and non-state actors. Finally, the specific role of women in mediation will be emphasized by stressing their role in both upholding IHL during armed conflicts and influencing negotiations for peace. Women play vital roles as combatants, mediators, human rights advocates, and leaders in post-conflict resolution, ensuring that IHL principles are integrated into peace processes.

If the Sea Becomes the Key: the Growing Importance of Maritime Scenarios in Waging War

11 September 2025, 4.00 pm (Italian time). The session will last 90 minutes.

Panel 5 will focus on the importance of ensuring respect for IHL in the maritime domain to prevent the targeting of civilians and civilian objects at sea and to mitigate medium- and long-term harm. It will address the rapidly evolving nature of maritime warfare, emphasising the need to reaffirm IHL’s relevance considering new weapons technologies, emerging armed actors, and accountability challenges. Discussions will also explore the vulnerability of sensitive underwater infrastructures and the critical impact of their destruction or damage on the civilian population, highlighting the necessity of establishing peacetime legal boundaries and reaffirming applicable IHL rules and principles.

When the Guns Fall Silent: the End of IHL Applicability in the Aftermath of Armed Conflict

12 September 2025, 9.00 am (Italian time). The session will last 90 minutes.

This panel will delve into the complexities of defining the cessation of armed conflict, focusing on the practical and legal criteria for determining the end of a non-international armed conflict (NIAC) and the implications for parties’ obligations under international law. The discussion will also examine the role of IHL and weapon specific treaties (APMBC, CCM, CCW PV) in preventing and addressing harm in immediate post-conflict settings, considering how adherence to IHL duties such as the repatriation of prisoners of war, addressing missing persons, facilitate family reunification, and upholding the prohibition of war crimes can reduce the likelihood of a resumption of hostilities and foster lasting peace. It will also try to assess specific situations where the presence of UN or multinational peacekeeping forces facilitates IHL compliance in post conflict or not.

From Conflict to Closure: IHL Obligations After an Armed Conflict

12 September 2025, 11.00 am (Italian time). The session will last 90 minutes.

This panel will explore the critical intersection of transitional justice and accountability in post-conflict settings, focusing on mechanisms such as truth commissions and tribunals to address IHL violations. It will investigate the application of Article 6(5) of Additional Protocol II (AP II) concerning amnesties, alongside humanitarian law obligations related to the clearance of weapons and remnants of war following the end of armed conflicts. The debate will also address obligations related to the treatment of the deceased and their remains, as well as the responsibilities of parties under IHL to search for and identify the missing and facilitate family reunifications wherever possible.

Final session

12 September 2025, 12.30 pm (Italian time). The session will last 30-45 minutes.

Concluding remarks