The Week That Will Be

Event Announcements (More details on the Events Calendar)

Monday, September 8th at 9 am: The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will host Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert on the Asia-Pacific Rebalance. Admiral Greenert has recently returned from visiting his counterpart, Admiral Wu Shengli of the People's Liberation Army Navy in Beijing. During the most recent visit, the two navy heads continued their discussions on ways to improve cooperation, and steps to increase their mutual confidence. Admiral Greenert will share his thoughts on the U.S. Navy's relationship with the People's Liberation Army Navy. Douglas H. Paal will moderate. RSVP here.

Monday, September 8th at 10 am: The United States Institute of Peace hosts an event entitled Countering Terrorism in Pakistan's Megacities: Exploring the Role of the Pakistan Police. With violence from terrorism, secessionist insurgency, sectarian conflict and ethnic turf escalating in Pakistan's megacities, the panel will discuss ways to increase the capacity of Pakistan's local police to counter terrorism in the nation's urban centers.Tariq Parvez, Ambassador Robin Raphel, Robert Perito, and Moeed Yuseuf will speak. RSVP or watch the live webcast here.

Monday, September 8th at 6 pm: In New York City, Fordham University will host a conversation on Terrorism Prosecutions: Lessons Learned and Future Challenges. What are the major challenges today facing terrorism investigations and prosecutions? How have counterterrorism strategies evolved? Have the criticisms of human rights advocates and civil libertarians about the way these cases are handled made an impact on the strategies of law enforcement? Panelists will address these and other questions. Seth DuCharme, Linda Moreno, John Dolan, and Andrea Prasow will speak. Register here. 

Tuesday, September 9th at 9:30 am: At the Atlantic Council, Daryl Kimball, Stephen Rademaker, and Barbara Slavin will provide an Iran Negotiations Update: Verification vs. Breakout Capacity. For more information or to RSVP, visit the Atlantic Council website.

Tuesday, September 9th at 12 pm: The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation will host an event entitled Resolving Cross-Border Internet Policy Conflicts. In a new report to be released at this event, ITIF President Rob Atkinson and Senior Analyst Daniel Castro argue that the dominant approaches to Internet policy, which typically calls for either universal rules applied to all nations or a complete free-for-all among countries - fail to provide a pragmatic path forward to resolve the inevitable conflicts that arise. Instead, will suggest a new framework for evaluating cross-border Internet policy conflicts that respects both the global nature of the Internet and national laws and norms. Register here. 

Wednesday, September 10th at 2 pm: The Institute of World Politics will hold an event entitled Ukraine: Summer's Over. Having explored the crisis-riven Central and Eastern European country in July, Dr. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz will share his observations on the situation in post-Maidan Ukraine, including the eastern Donetsk region plagued by a Russian-supported irredentist insurgency and the area of the MH17 crash site. RSVP here. 

Wednesday, September 10th at 3 pm: Among the many atrocities of the Syrian civil war, the use of chemical weapons stands out as particularly brutal. The Assad regime's accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention last year and the subsequent destruction of its declared chemical arsenal has helped reduce the risk of chemical weapons use again in that region. Destroying that arsenal quickly, securely and safely in a war-torn country, however, presented huge challenges. Thomas Countryman, Laura Holgate, Andrew Weber, and Sharon Squassoni will provide an assessment of Destroying Syria's Chemical Weapons: One Year Later  at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Please RSVP to the Proliferation Prevention Program at ppp@csis.org or 202-741-3921.

Wednesday, September 10th at 4:30 pm: Author Joshua Muravchik will discuss his new book, "Making David into Goliath: How the World Turned Against Israel" at the Institute of World Politics.  His, we presume controversial, new book traces the process by which material pressures and intellectual fashions reshaped the world opinion of Israel. You can find more information here. 

Wednesday, September 10th at 6:30 pm: In New York City, the New York City Bar will host a panel conversation on The Legality Under International Law of Targeted Killings by Drones Launched by the United States. The event will be held in the Great Hall of the Association, at 42 West 44th St., New York, NY. Rory O. Millson will moderate a conversation between John B. Bellinger III, Sarah Knuckey, James Ross, and Scott Shane.

Thursday, September 11th at 12 pm: Turkey's Presidential Elections 2014: What do they mean for Turkey's democratization process, the Kurdish question and Turkey's foreign policy? The Woodrow Wilson Center will host a round table discussion on these questions and more with Etyen Mahcupyan, Mesut Yegen, Gonul Tol, and Marina Ottaway. For more information or to register, please visit with Woodrow Wilson Center's website.

Friday, September 12th at 9 am to 5 pm: The Middle East Institute will host an all-day event at the Park Hyatt Hotel entitled Egypt: Facing Challenges, Harnessing Potential. This will be MEI's second annual conference on Egypt, and will include panels on Reforming the State, Fostering Inclusion, Unlocking Egypt's Economic Potential, and Engaging Youth in the Future of Egypt. For a listing of times and a directory of panelists, visit MEI's event announcement.

Employment Announcements (More details on the Job Board)

ORGANIZATION: International Committee of the Red Cross LOCATION: Geneva DEADLINE: September 30, 2014 STARTING DATE: November 1, 2014

The Arms Unit of the Legal Division has an opening for a Military and Technical Adviser in Geneva (male or female) – 100% occupancy rate

Purpose of the post

The Arms Unit of the ICRC’s Legal Division serves the ICRC objectives in the legal, operational and communications fields by the provision of expertise and analysis, from a humanitarian perspective, on arms and weapons-related technology employed in armed conflict and other situations of violence. The unit represents ICRC policy and positions in multilateral for on arms and international humanitarian law. It also supports ICRC operational, legal and communications work by providing or coordinating the provision of technical, legal, medical/health and policy analysis on weapons used in armed conflicts and other situations of violence and on relevant scientific advances.

The Military and Technical Adviser plays a key role in the achievement of institutional objectives in the field of arms and international humanitarian law. The incumbent contributes military and technical expertise to the ICRC’s policy, legal and operational responses to arms issues arising from ICRC field experience and new scientific and technological developments. The incumbent will also have primary responsibility for at least one major file of the Arms Unit. The post reports to the Head of the Arms Unit in the Legal Division of the ICRC.

Main responsibilities

• Advise and contribute military and technical analysis on a range of arms issues being addressed by the Arms Unit (e.g. use of explosive weapons in populated areas; cluster munitions; anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines; incendiary weapons; operationalization of the Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War; remote-controlled, automated and autonomous weapons) and on issues pertaining to the conduct of hostilities carried out within the Legal Division.
• Contribute to legal and operational analysis of issues arising from the deployment of specific weapons with armed forces in armed conflict and other situations of violence including peacekeeping and law enforcement.  Provide military and technical analysis to ICRC units and delegations in response to the use of specific weapons and methods of warfare in armed conflicts and law enforcement situations.
• Maintain and develop links between the ICRC’s arms unit and relevant military and technical experts and organisations.
• Develop “fact sheets” presenting the military role, technical details and anticipated humanitarian impacts of a range of weapons.
• Provide additional capacity for research, writing, representation and outreach to internal and external audiences on arms issues.
• Represent ICRC views and positions in a variety of external fora.
• Provide expertise on means of identification for medical transports in accordance with the relevant provision of international humanitarian law.
• Serve as the institutional focal point for the International Telecommunications Union.

Training and experience required

• Advanced military training and service with in-depth knowledge of targeting procedures and conventional weapons including explosive munitions. Good knowledge of arms control regimes is an advantage.
• A degree in the physical sciences (e.g. physics, engineering) and/or military disciplines.
• Knowledge of the general rules of international humanitarian law, in particular in relation to the conduct of hostilities. Specialised training in international humanitarian law and/or international relations is an asset.
• Professional experience working in multilateral processes, preferably in the arms field is an advantage.
• Field experience with the ICRC or another humanitarian organisation is an asset.

Skills and qualifications

• Excellent analytical and political judgement.
• Excellent oral and written English, the capacity to work in French. Additional languages are an advantage.
• Good communication skills.
• Openness to dialogue and good interpersonal skills.
• Strong motivation and aptitude for work within a highly integrated team.

Minimum length of assignment: 2 years (extendable)

Starting date: 1 November 2014

If this post interests you and you meet the requirements set out above, please send your application by the 30th of September 2014 at the latest, to application_hq@icrc.org mentioning “DC/JUR/ARMES - Application – Military & Technical Adviser” in the subject of your message. Only applications via this e-mail will be considered for this campaign. If you don’t receive a reply to your application within one month, please consider that your file has not been shortlisted.

The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security seeks an intern for the Fall semester 2014.  Unpaid internship will include research and writing in preparation for the 24^th Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law Conference in Washington, DC.  Intern will also have the opportunity to attend and provide summaries of pertinent Congressional hearings, and participate in monthly breakfast programs featuring prominent speakers in the area of national security law. Fall applicants may be undergraduates or currently in law school. (full or part time)   Deadline for submission: September 10, 2014. Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to:  Holly McMahon, Staff Director ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security 1050 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036 Holly.McMahon@americanbar.org CC: John.Cummings@americanbar.org