Caracas Is More Dangerous than Baghdad: Rethinking the Health Response to Armed Violence

Caracas Is More Dangerous than Baghdad: Rethinking the Health Response to Armed Violence
Date
Fri November 2nd 2018, 12:30 - 1:20pm
Event Sponsor
Center for Latin American Studies
Location
Bolivar House, 582 Alvarado Row, Stanford, CA
Speaker:

This discussion will address the growing ineffectiveness of traditional health and humanitarian strategies to protect and serve civilian populations caught up in violent conflict. Of special concern are the challenges generated by the protracted nature of civil or non-international armed conflict and particularly, the failure of current approaches to countries with high rates of violence but that do not fall into traditional definitions of countries at war. These forms of conflict have traditionally raised difficult issues for the effective application of International Humanitarian Law, compliance with the Laws of War, and efforts to protect and care for civilian populations. The apparent erosion of international norms that have traditionally provided access to populations in need and protection for humanitarian health workers is also generating concern among humanitarian responders. Recent analyses of these issues and proposed analytic initiatives as well as opportunities for student involvement will be discussed.

Dr. Wise is dedicated to bridging the fields of pediatrics, public policy, and international security studies to address the needs of highly vulnerable children in the United States and areas of violent conflict and political instability around the world.  He is the Richard E. Behrman Professor of Child Health and Society and Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy at the Stanford University School of Medicine.  He is a Senior Fellow in the Center for Health Policy, the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, and the Center for International Security and Cooperation, Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University.  Dr. Wise has worked for many years in highland Guatemala and is a member of the CLAS Faculty Advisory Committee. 

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