Operationalizing IHL: How Private Military and Defence Companies Implement the Law of Armed Conflict

The aim of this panel is to bring together private sector practitioners and academics to examine how private sector compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL) operates in practice, with a view toward identifying challenges and advancing opportunities for improved compliance. This discussion prioritizes the practical realities of IHL training within private firms and the mechanisms available to obligate private sector adherence to international legal standards. The session will provide an opportunity to explore strategies for encouraging voluntary compliance, the enforcement function of contractual clauses in upholding IHL norms, and the degree to which technology companies function as de facto participants in conflict and bear responsibility for autonomous systems operated by AI. Additional areas of focus may include the monitoring and enforcement of compliance obligations and the adequacy of whistleblower safeguards. With growing private sector involvement in weapons manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and other dimensions of armed conflict, ensuring that these actors remain bound by international law is of critical importance. Panelists: Damien Copeland, Director, Article 36 Legal Jelena Aparac, Independent expert and advisor on business and human rights; Board Member, TRIAL International; Judge Assessor, UNHCR,; former Member and Chair-Rapporteur, UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries Shahd Hammouri, Lecturer, University of Kent Richard Waring, Defense Operations Risk Attorney, Conflict Orbi Moderator: Jenna Dolecek, Independent consultant on open source investigations and international law; Prosecutor Mentor, IBA; Executive Committee Officer, ASIL’s Lieber Society