The War Watch podcast from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, a joint centre of the University of Geneva and the Geneva Graduate Institute, examine conflicts that demand our attention — bringing you expert documentation, legal analysis, and concrete actions you can take.
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Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
War WATCH: Episode 6 - Ukraine: The Human Cost of Drones
This is the final episode of War Watch, our series exploring armed conflicts and the laws that seek to limit their impact.
In 2024 and 2025, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine documented systematic drone attacks on civilians in southern Ukraine—attacks the Commission concluded constitute crimes against humanity. But this isn't a story about military strategy or territorial control. It's about how commercially available technology—the same drones used for racing and photography—is being weaponized to terrorize civilians. Real-time video feeds allow operators to see exactly who they're targeting. Telegram channels broadcast the attacks like video games, with threatening messages telling people "there is nowhere to hide." The result: over 3,000 civilian homes destroyed, entire populations displaced, infrastructure collapse, and a climate of terror that makes daily life impossible.
This episode examines three dimensions: how drones enable systematic war crimes and raise new legal questions; how physical terror from above combines with psychological warfare online to create forced displacement; and what role private companies—from DJI to Telegram—play in enabling these attacks. Joining us are Commissioner Pablo de Greiff from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, who led the investigation documenting these violations, and Anna Greipl, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva Law Faculty specializing in emerging technologies and international humanitarian law. Anna exceptionally serves as our legal adviser on this episode.
Reports referenced:
"They are hunting us: systematic drone attacks against civilians in Kherson Province" (May 2025
UN General Assembly Report on Ukraine (October 2025)
Both available at: ohchr.org
Resources:
Explore Ukraine violations on the War Watch portal: warwatch.ch
Learn more about the Geneva Academy: geneva-academy.ch
18 May 2026
War WATCH: Episode 5 - Iran: No Ceasefire for Civilians
In the fifth episode of the War Watch podcast, a series from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, a joint centre of the University of Geneva and the Geneva Graduate Institute, Shima Esmailian, PhD candidate at the University of Geneva and consultant and adviser on gender and international law with civil society organizations working on transitional justice in Iran, and Stuart Casey-Maslen, Senior Researcher and Head of Scientific Projects at the Geneva Academy of IHL and Human Rights, examine what the Iran conflict has meant for ordinary Iranians — caught between a government that massacred its own protesters, external strikes by the United States and Israel, and an aftermath in which repression has only intensified.
The episode covers the January 2026 crackdown, strikes on universities and water infrastructure, and a ceasefire that has brought no peace — with executions continuing and international scrutiny fading.
Iran is one of the conflicts tracked on the War Watch portal, where you can find the full legal analysis and documented violations.
Find out more at:
War Watch portal – Iran: warwatch.ch
Geneva Academy of IHL and Human Rights: geneva-academy.ch
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran: ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-iran
ICRC – Protection of civilian objects: icrc.org
ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: ohchr.org
31 Mar 2026
War WATCH: Episode 4 - Haiti: Crossing the Threshold
In the fourth episode of the War Watch podcast, a six-episode series from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, a joint centre of the University of Geneva and the Geneva Graduate Institute, host Juliette Graf meets Diego Da Rin, Haiti specialist with the International Crisis Group, and Stuart Casey-Maslen, Special Adviser to the Geneva Academy's IHL in Focus project.
Haiti's crisis has been years in the making. But in February 2024, something shifted. Two rival gang coalitions merged into a single alliance - Viv Ansanm - and launched coordinated attacks that brought Port-au-Prince to a standstill and toppled the government. The Geneva Academy formally classified Haiti as a non-international armed conflict: the violence was too organised, too sustained, and too deadly to be treated as anything else. Diego Da Rin explains how Haiti's gangs got here and what their territorial control looks like on the ground. Stuart Casey-Maslen unpacks what the classification actually changes: for accountability, for the Gang Suppression Force now deploying, and for the civilians caught in the middle. The episode also walks through what the War Watch project documented between 2024 and 2025: hospitals attacked, schools burned, mass killings, and sexual violence used deliberately and systematically.
Haiti is one of the conflicts we track on the War Watch portal, where you can find the full legal analysis and documented violations.
Find out more at:
War Watch portal – Haiti: warwatch.ch/situations/non-international-armed-conflict-in-haiti
Geneva Academy of IHL and Human Rights: geneva-academy.ch
ICG report - Undoing Haiti's Deadly Gang Alliance (December 2025): https://www.crisisgroup.org/sites/default/files/2025-12/110-haiti-deadly-gang-alliance%20%281%29.pdf
OHCHR - Human rights situation in Haiti: ohchr.org/en/countries/haiti
UNICEF - Children in Haiti: unicef.org/lac
UN Security Council Resolution 2793 (2025): docs.un.org/en/S/RES/2793(2025)
Human Rights Watch – Drone strikes in Haiti (March 2026): hrw.org/news/2026/03/10/haiti-drone-strikes-put-residents-at-risk
8 Jan 2026
War WATCH: Episode 3 - Syria: The Search for Accountability After Assad
In the third episode of the War Watch podcast, a six-episode series from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, a joint centre of the University of Geneva and the Geneva Graduate Institute, host Juliette Graf meets Mohammad Al Abdallah, Executive Director of the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC), who discusses Syria's dual accountability crisis one year after Assad's fall. Despite regime change, violations continue. They are joined by Stuart Casey-Maslen, Special Adviser to the Geneva Academy's IHL in Focus project, who explains Syria's legal obligations under international humanitarian law and what tools exist to achieve accountability. Syria is one of the conflicts featured on the War Watch portal, where you can track international humanitarian law violations and explore the conflict's classification.
Find out more at: https://www.geneva-academy.ch/
War Watch portal - Syria entry : https://warwatch.ch/situations/armed-conflicts-in-syria/
Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC): https://syriaaccountability.org/
2 Dec 2025
War WATCH Episode 2 - Mozambique: A War of Neglect and Impunity
In the second episode of the War Watch podcast, a six-episode series from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, a joint centre of the University of Geneva and the Geneva Graduate Institute, host Juliette Graf meets Joshua Niyo from the IHL Centre, who has just returned from Cabo Delgado, to discuss what the Norwegian Refugee Council calls one of the world's most neglected displacement crises. They are joined by Stuart Casey-Maslen, Special Adviser to the Geneva Academy's IHL in Focus project who will help unpack the law and its limits in every episode.
Find out more at:
https://www.geneva-academy.ch/
War Watch:
https://geneva-academy.ch/projects/war-watch/
IHL Centre:
https://www.ihlcentre.org/
Norwegian Refugee Council - Mozambique:
https://www.nrc.no/countries/africa/mozambique/
OCHA Mozambique:
https://www.unocha.org/mozambique
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - Mozambique:
https://www.msf.org/mozambique
Call for High Commissioner investigation into 2021 Palma events:
https://www.amisdelaterre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/investigation-call-to-ohchr-on-mozambique-without-names-1.pdf
Politico investigation into TotalEnergies:
https://www.politico.eu/article/totalenergies-mozambique-patrick-pouyanne-atrocites-afungi-palma-cabo-delgado-al-shabab-isis/
23 Oct 2025
War Watch: Episode 1 - Sudan: A War of Atrocities
In the first episode of the War Watch podcast, a six-episode series from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, a joint centre of the University of Geneva and the Geneva Graduate Institute, host Juliette Graf meets Mona Rishmawi,
member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, to discuss what the United Nations calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. They are joined by Stuart Casey-Maslen, Special Adviser to the Geneva Academy’s IHL in Focus project who will help unpack the law and its limits in every episode.
Find out more at:
https://www.geneva-academy.ch/
IHL in Focus Report on the Weaponization of Water in Sudan:
https://www.geneva-academy.ch/news/detail/792-water-wars-how-sudan-s-conflict-weaponizes-a-basic-human-need
Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan:
https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/ffm-sudan/index
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