Welcome to the website of the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV)! The institute is one of Europe's leading academic institutions to conduct research on humanitarian crises. Coming from a strong tradition of international humanitarian law and human rights law, the institute today combines high-level inter-disciplinary research from the disciplines of public law, social science, geosciences and public health.

We examine the origins of humanitarian crises; the legal parameters before, during and in the aftermath of crises; the effects crises have on people, societies and institutions; and the responses states, international organizations and non-governmental organizations give to crises. We see it as part of our mandate to promote international humanitarian law and the humanitarian principles. We publish our research results regularly inter alia in our bi-lingual and peer-reviewed journals 'Journal of International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict' (JILPAC), 'Journal on International Peace and Organization' (Die Friedens-Warte),  and in the 'Journal of Humanitarian Action' (JIHA), in our legal newsletter 'Bofaxe' that also appears at the Voelkerrechtsblog, in our 'IFHV Working Papers', in our book series 'Bochumer Schriften zur Friedenssicherung und zum Humanitären Völkerrrecht' and, together with the Bündnis Entwicklung hilft, in the annual World Risk Report. 

Researchers of the IFHV conduct research on the doctoral and the postdoctoral level, are engaged in long-term international research projects and regularly comment on current crises in the public media. You can also follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/rub.ifhv) and Twitter (@IFHV_Bochum).

We also contribute to the professionalization of the education of humanitarian aid workers. We need a new generation of committed and professionally trained 'humanitarians', if we want to master the challenges that humanitarian crises pose to us today. For this reason, more than 25 years ago we started to conduct the Network on Humanitarian Action (NOHA) Master in Humanitarian Action. This is a 2 year-long master program during which students receive the basic academic and practical education needed to become a professional humanitarian aid worker. This study program is conducted with more than 20 European and international partner universities and can be considered the leading master program in humanitarian action in Europe, if not in the world. As our newest endeavor, we contribute to life-long learning within our  Academy on Humanitarian Action.

We invite you to explore our website and hope we can trigger your interest for the world of humanitarianism.

Prof. Dr. Pierre Thielbörger

Executive Director, IFHV