Armed conflicts are increasingly shaped by rapid technological developments, including digital platforms, artificial intelligence, surveillance technologies, cyber operations, and autonomous systems. While these technologies may offer new tools for protection, documentation, and accountability, they also generate unprecedented risks for children affected by armed conflict. Children are exposed to online recruitment, digital surveillance, cyber-enabled trafficking, misinformation, and gender-based digital violence, while the use of emerging military technologies raises serious legal, ethical, and humanitarian concerns.

This advanced course, organised by the Universities Network for Children in Armed Conflict, in cooperation with the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, aims to equip participants with a multidisciplinary understanding of how new technologies intersect with international humanitarian law, international human rights law, child protection frameworks, and gender analysis. It combines theoretical foundations, legal analysis, and practical skills, enabling participants to critically assess risks, design child-sensitive responses, and contribute to prevention, protection, and accountability efforts. A gender perspective is mainstreamed throughout the course, recognizing the differentiated impact of technologies on girls, boys, and gender-diverse children in conflict settings.

The course is taking place at the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law in Lausanne and in hybrid format. 

The detailed course programme is available here, and the flyer can be downloaded here.