“To make peace and gain our rights, we need to induce positive and non-violent conflict that respect the rights of others”, said Fadi Abi Allam, president of the Permanent Peace Movement (PPM) on Monday 1 September, during the opening of the 4^th edition of the annual Summer School on Law and Armed Conflict, organized by PPM in partnership with Amel Association. Between 1 and 12 September 2014,35 participants, active in society from Lebanon and Syria and refugees from Palestine, will learn the principles of international humanitarian law (IHL) and the protection of civilians, of women and children in armed conflict, the methods and means of warfare in accordance to international law, and about the challenges in our region for respect and implementation of IHL.

The Summer School is organized with the support of the Swedish organization Diakonia. Diakonia started implementing the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) programme in 2004 in the Middle East with the aim to increase respect for and further implementation of international law, specifically IHL, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Summer School features contributions of experts from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Humanitarian Law Bureau of the Lebanese Army, Human Rights Watch, Geneva Call, Lebanese NGO Justice without Borders, and local and international legal experts.