[New Event] The Fourth Geneva Convention's 2025 Commentary and the 75th Anniversary of the Refugee Convention
This one-day event, entitled Protecting Civilians in Times of Conflict and Displacement: Old Treaties Facing New Realities: The Fourth Geneva Convention's 2025 Commentary and the 75th Anniversary of the Refugee Convention, organised by the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, in partnership with International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), will be organised as part of the All-European International Humanitarian and Refugee Law Moot Court Competition.
Event Details:
Time: 24 November 2026, from 17.00 to 19.00.
Venue: Golden Lecture Hall at the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, Poljanski nasip 2, Ljubljana
To register for the event, please submit the registration form, available here.
The conference brings together two foundational legal frameworks for the protection of individuals in situations of conflict and displacement: the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention and the 1951 Refugee Convention. Both were shaped by the experiences of the twentieth century but remain central to contemporary protection. The event will ask whether these established legal frameworks are still capable of responding effectively to today’s and future challenges, such as the emergence of new technologies and climate change.
The event will feature two panels:
Panel I – Protecting Civilians in Contemporary Armed Conflict: Updated Commentary to the Fourth Geneva Convention
In 2025, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) published its updated Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention, consolidating more than seventy years of State practice, jurisprudence, and operational experience into a practical reference for the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The updated Commentary reaffirms the Convention's foundational role while addressing contemporary realities, including urban warfare, attacks on essential services, and the growing impact of new technologies on the conduct of hostilities. Speakers on this panel will examine the relevance of the Fourth Geneva Convention in addressing these contemporary challenges, with particular emphasis on the role of the ICRC’s Commentary.
Panel II – 75 Years of the Refugee Convention: Protection in a Changing World of Displacement
In 2026, the international community marks the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the cornerstone of the international refugee protection regime, which has provided the legal basis for protecting millions fleeing persecution while guiding States' obligations. To mark this milestone, UNHCR is convening governments, legal experts, judges, academics, refugees and civil society to contribute to a New Agenda for Protection and Solutions, reaffirming the Convention's relevance while identifying practical responses to contemporary challenges. Speakers in this panel will address these challenges. Specific emphasis will be on access to asylum, non-refoulement, and the protection gap facing persons displaced by climate change and environmental degradation, as well as the use of new technologies and AI in migration.
More information about the All-European International Humanitarian and Refugee Law Moot Court Competition 2026 is available here.
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