Annyssa Bellal
Dr. Annyssa Bellal is an international lawyer, specialized in international humanitarian law (IHL), human rights law and criminal law. She received her PhD (summa cum laude) in public international law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland) and an LLM in Philosophy of Law and History of Human Rights from the University of Lyon and Grenoble (France). She also holds a Master of Advanced Studies in International Relations and an MA in Law from the University of Geneva.
Apart from teaching at Sciences Po, she is the Strategic Adviser on international humanitarian law and a Senior Research Fellow at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. She also acted as legal adviser for the NGO Geneva Call, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs and for the International Committee of the Red Cross where she was the acting Head of the Customary International Humanitarian Law Project. In 2012, she was Assistant Professor at the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway.
Dr Bellal was awarded several fellowships for her research, notably from McGill and New York University. She is the editor and author of the War Report 2014 (Oxford University Press), 2016 and 2017 (published by the Geneva Academy) and the author of several articles on various IHL and Human Rights topics, including an award-winning article on ‘International Law and Armed Non-State Actors in Afghanistan’ (International Review of the Red Cross, 2011, SNIS Geneva Award 2011).
2018
Bellal, A., ‘Health and the law of armed conflict’, in Burci G.-L and Toebes B (eds.), Research Handbook on Global Health Law, Elgar, forthcoming 2018.
Bellal, A. (ed), The War Report 2017, Geneva Academy, forthcoming 2018.
2017
Bellal, A. ‘Welcome on Board: Improving Respect for International Humanitarian Law Through the Engagement of Armed Non-State Actors’, 19 Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law 2016, 2017, 1-2.
Bellal, A. 'Non-State Armed Groups in Transitional Justice Processes Adapting to New Realities of Conflict', in Roger Duthie and Paul Seils (Eds), Justice Mosaics: How Context Shapes Transitional Justice in Fractured Societies, (New York: Ictj, 2017).
Bellal, A. The War Report 2016, Geneva Academy, March 2017.
2016
Bellal, A. 'Human Rights Obligations of Armed Non-State Actors: An exploration of the practice of the UN Human Rights Council’, Geneva Academy, 2016.
Bellal, A., ‘Beyond the pale? Engaging the Islamic State on international humanitarian law', Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law 2015, 2016, 123-152.
2015
Bellal, A. (ed.), The War Report 2014, Oxford University Press, December 2015.
Bellal, A., ‘The work of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the implementation of the Rule of Law in armed conflicts and other situations of violence’, International Review of the Red Cross, (Cambridge University Press), n° 895, 2015, 1-20.
Bellal, A., ‘Who is wounded and sick’, in Clapham, A., Gaeta, P., Sassòli, M. (eds), Commentary of the Geneva Conventions, Oxford University Press, 2015, 757- 766.
Bellal, A., ‘Establishing the responsibility of non-state armed groups for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights violations, issues of attribution’, in Gal Or N., Ryngaert C., Noortman M., (eds), Responsibilities of the Non-State Actor in Armed Conflict and the Market Place, Brill/Nijhoff, 2015, 304-323.
Bellal, A., Giacca G., ‘Principle 25’, in Vinuales J. (ed.), The Rio Declaration, A Commentary, Oxford University Press, 2015, 585-598.
2014
Bellal, A., ‘Central African Republic: From Conflict to Chaos and Back Again?’, in Casey-Maslen S.(ed.), The War Report 2013, Oxford University Press, 2014, 411-428.
2013
Bellal, A., ‘Regulating the arms trade from a human rights perspective’, in Casey-Maslen S. (ed.), Weapons under International Human Rights Law, Cambridge University Press, 2013, 448-472.
Bellal, A., Casey-Malsen S., ‘L’interdiction des bombes à sous-munitions en droit international humanitaire’, in Chetail V. (ed.), Permanences et mutations du droit des conflits armés, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2013.
2012
Bellal, A., 'The international crime of aggression, latest developments', in Kolb, R., Scalia, D. (eds.), International Criminal Law (second edition), Hart Publishers, 2012, 499-522.
2011
Bellal, A., Immunités et violations graves des droits humains. Vers une évolution de l’ordre juridique international ?, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2011.
Bellal, A., ‘The 2009 Resolution of the Institute of International Law on Immunity and International Crimes’, Journal of International Criminal Justice, (Oxford University Press) Vol. 9, Issue 1, 2011, 227-241.
Bellal, A., Doswald-Beck L., ‘Evaluating the use of force during the Arab Spring’, Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, (Cambridge University Press), Volume 14, 2011, 3-37.
Bellal A., Giacca G., Casey-Maslen S., ‘The International Law Applicable to Armed Non State Actors in Afghanistan', International Review of the Red Cross, (Cambridge University Press), n°881, 2011, 1-33. (Winner of the International Geneva Award 2011 delivered by the Swiss Network of International Studies)
Bellal A., Casey-Maslen, S., ‘Enhancing respect for international law by armed non state actors’, Göttingen Journal of international law, vol.3, n°1, 2011, 175-197.
Bellal A., Casey-Maslen S., Giacca G., “Towards engagement, compliance and accountability”, Forced Migration Review, (Oxford University Press) Issue 37, March 2011, 4-7.
Bellal A., Casey-Maslen, S., Rules of Engagement - Protecting Civilians through Dialogue with Armed Non-State Actors, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, November 2011.
2009
Bellal, A., Chetail, V., ‘The concept of combatants under international humanitarian law’, in Bhuiyan, J., C., A.R. and Doswald-Beck L. (eds.), International Humanitarian Law: an Anthology, LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa, 2009, 57-77.
Blogs
Bellal A., ‘The issue of explosive weapons in populated area’, in Humanitarian law & policy in 2014: What are the most important issues?, International Association of Professionals for Humanitarian Assistance and Protection, http://phap.org/
Bellal A., Bartowski M., ‘A human right to resist’, www.opendemocracy.org. 3 May 2011.
