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| Personal background |
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The International Humanitarian Law Pro Bono Project is a venture of Lawrence J. Gist II (a/k/a "Lance"), a dedicated pro bono attorney, adjunct professor of business and law, a member of the board of directors of the Institute of Indigenous Knowledges, and a United States Marine Corps veteran. Lance Gist currently uses his 20 years of combined activist experience in the areas of:
o International Humanitarian Law,
o International Human Rights Law,
o Federal Civil Rights Law,
o Federal/State Due Process Administrative Law, and
o Legislative Advocacy.
The IHL Pro Bono Project shall attempt to facilitate collaborative interdisciplinary research and to create a forum for enhancing a greater dialogue between the scholarly community, policymakers and those working in the field. By engaging in legal research of the highest level of scholarship, the Project aims to address some of the most contentious and difficult areas of law and make a significant contribution to the clarification and development of the law. Further, the Project is committed to the generation of materials that will be of practical value to policymakers and suggest ways in which the law can best secure and promote policy objectives that aim to protect the victims of war or armed conflict.
The Project recognizes the growing severity of unmet legal needs and acknowledges the obligation of lawyers to participate in "pro bono" activities limiting the suffering caused by war. The Project was developed to serve individuals and communities impacted by war or armed conflict, as well as the organizations addressing their needs. The Project seeks to accomplish these goals by promoting international humanitarian law (IHL) within the larger human rights framework. It is within this context that one of the Project's priorities is to ensure that its work will be of practical benefit to its target audience. The fate of victims of armed conflict depends on the knowledge and understanding that soldiers have of the rules of IHL as well as the extent to which policy makers have a firm grasp of IHL principles since they are responsible for its application. It is equally vital that the legal profession and the media are well versed in IHL for each have different roles to play in holding individuals and states to account in meeting their legal obligations. Lastly, the academic community has a crucial role to play in providing a deeper understanding of the law and how the principles are translated into rules that can be effectively implemented to protect the vulnerable in armed conflict. |
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