Peace, Security and Conflict

Specialist Group Chair :
Karen Hulme

Goals of the Specialist Group

• Serve as the source of legal expertise on issues related to peace, security and conflict to IUCN and partners
• Expand the community of legal experts on issues of peace, security and conflict
• Participate in, and provide expertise to, intergovernmental organisations and other fora seeking to advance legal protections related to peace, security and conflict issues
• Expand broader understanding of the environmental harms posed by armed conflict and threats to security

Karen Hulme

Karen Hulme is a professor of law at the University of Essex, UK, and researches on issues related to the protection of the environment during crises, notably during armed conflict and post conflict, as well as environmental human rights. Karen has also worked with the Essex Business and Human Rights Project (EBHR) on a number of reports and consultancies on the environmental impacts caused by the extractives industry, including drafting legislative amendments and advising on human rights impact monitoring, and, in particular, on issues of environmental law and environmental human rights. In 2013 EBHR was commissioned to advise on necessary amendments to Afghanistan’s new Mining Code and Regulations for Global Witness, A Shaky Foundation: Analysing Afghanistan's Draft Mining Law, and in 2013 by Amnesty International (Netherlands) to advise on necessary amendments to Senegal’s (Gold) Mining Code in order to ensure compliance with their ECOWAS obligations. In 2009 Karen contributed, alongside the International Committee for the Red Cross, to the report for UNEP on Protecting the Environment during Armed Conflict: An Inventory and Analysis of International Law.

Karen frequently engages with the work of the civil society organisation, the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS), formerly the Toxic Remnants of War Project (TRW), and with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Law Commission’s Special Rapporteur, Marja Lehto (working on conflict-related environmental protections), and UNEP on issues related to protection of the environment during armed conflict. Karen has a range of scholarly publications covering topics such as armed conflict, security, environmental human rights and specific weapons, as well as focusing on issues related to climate change, biodiversity and oceans.

"I am delighted to take up the post of Chair of the WCEL’s Specialist Group on Peace, Security and Conflict. Our group has a wide remit in relation to threats to the environment in times of crises, such as during armed conflict and in the aftermath of crisis and conflict, as well as from broader security threats, such as those posed by the impacts of climate change, migration and unsustainable development.

The Specialist Group would like to give sincere thanks to the previous Co-Chairs of the Group, Professor Michael Bothe and Carl Bruch, who will continue to provide their expertise to the Group as Chairs Emeritus. Carl and Michael served the Group for many years and through their tireless work have ensured that the issue of environmental damage, security and conflict is on the global agenda."

Chair Emeriti 

Michael Bothe	Carl Bruch