Gaza: IHL Virtual Academy App makes law of war more accessible

The International humanitarian law (IHL) focused content and lectures help students and teachers to learn, engage and promote IHL in Gaza which continues to be affected by armed conflict, as well as in other contexts.

IHL is a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or are no longer participating in the hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare. IHL is also known as the law of war or the law of armed conflict.

"I was pleased to participate in the IHL Hackathon and work with my winning team to accomplish the idea of the IHL Virtual Academy mobile application. I personally learnt a lot about IHL, and I learnt how to employ my digital skills in serving other key needs," said Engineer Mohammed Alwahidi, a member of the winning team of the best idea in the IHL Hackathon.

The application is the outcome of an IHL Hackathon the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) co-organized in 2021 in partnership with the Islamic University of Gaza to encourage Palestinian youth to find creative solutions for IHL education and integration at the Palestinian universities.

"We are proud of this fruitful, innovative collaboration between students and academic institutions of Gaza and the ICRC which aims to foster a better understanding, use of and respect for IHL," said Mirjam Mueller, head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Gaza.

The interactive application provides free online IHL courses for university students and gives lecturers and professors the option to register and upload their lectures and courses for free. The application is currently available for Android users only, while future efforts to make it available for all mobile users are pursued.