The Alabama Process (named after the Alabama Room in the Old City of Geneva, where the first Geneva Convention was adopted in 1864) is the common title of the series of meetings composing the High-Level Expert Meeting on the Development and Reaffirmation of International Humanitarian Law. Co-organized by the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs and the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research at Harvard University (HPCR), the Alabama Process provides a dedicated opportunity to identify and address key legal and policy challenges arising from the interpretation and implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL) in contemporary conflict situations. It does so by providing a unique space for experts from diverse backgrounds to examine new challenges and dilemmas in contemporary conflicts; the methodology and analytical framework applicable to their study; and the practical and strategic options deployed to address them, if such action is warranted. To date, three meetings have been held: in Ashland, Massachusetts, in January 2003; in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in June 2004; and in Montreux, Switzerland, in May 2006.

A key aspect of the Alabama Process is the production and discussion of targeted exploratory research and analysis. A list of related research and analysis is provided below. Also provided below are the meetings’ Summaries, which outline the main themes discussed and which are produced at the end of each meeting by its respective Co-Chairs.

The First Meeting served as an occasion to explore the possibilities of fostering a mode of informal expert-based dialogue and to launch an action-oriented research agenda.  As a result of the First Meeting, a number of issues were identified for further research, including direct participation of civilians in hostilities, humanitarian access to the civilian population, and compliance with IHL and Non-state Actors.   The Second Meeting focused on three main discussion topics: computers and war; Article 43 of the Hague Regulations and peace operations in the 21st century; and improving compliance with IHL. The Third Meeting considered topics including transnational armed groups and territorial scope of enforcement and compliance, and reviewed the preliminary draft manual on IHL applicable to air and missile warfare.

Summaries of the Co-Chairs

2003 Meeting, by Peter Maurer and Claude Bruderlein

2004 Meeting, by Peter Maurer and Claude Bruderlein

2006 Meeting, by Thomas Greminger and Claude Bruderlein

Background Papers to the First Meeting

Legitimate Targets of Attacks Under International Humanitarian Law, by Marco Sassòli

Combatants, Unprivileged Belligerents and Conflicts in the 21st Century, by Colonel K.W. Watkin

The Temporal Scope of Application of International Humanitarian Law in Contemporary Conflicts, by Derek Jinks

Working Papers Relating to the First Meeting

Direct Participation of Civilians in Hostilities, by Jean-François Quéguiner

The Impact of High- and Low-Technology Warfare on IHL, by Michael N. Schmitt

Suicide Attacks Against Civilians during an Armed Conflict, by Yoram Dinstein

Humanitarian Access to the Civilian Population, by Yoram Dinstein

Compliance with IHL by Non-State Actors (NSAs), by Michelle L. Mack

Occupation and Peacebuilding, by Marco Sassòli

Background Papers to the Second Meeting

Computers and War: The Legal Battlespace, by Michael N. Schmitt, Heather A. Harrison Dinniss, and Thomas C. Wingfield

The Dilemmas Relating to Legislation under Article 43 of the Hague Regulations and Peace Building, by Yoram Dinstein

Article 43 of the Hague Regulations and Peace Operations in the 21st Century, by Marco Sassòli

Improving Compliance with International Humanitarian Law, by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)