Advanced Training Program
On Humanitarian Action (ATHA)

ATHA’s main objective is to foster innovative responses to current challenges to humanitarian protection by capturing new approaches and insights of practitioners through informal, professional exchange, such as tailored research on practitioner questions, interactive briefings on the ATHA portal, focusing on key questions of protection, closed, online workshops on issues of interest, open podcast exchanges. ATHA aims to enhance its own contribution to critical conversations around current practices by addressing growing challenges to the protection of civilians and the implementation of international humanitarian and human rights standards; strengthening relationships among professionals engaged in humanitarian action, especially at the local level, and fostering regional communities of practice around specific contexts.

Featured Products Include:

WEBCASTS

The monthly webcast allows professionals around the world to engage with a global panel of experts and practitioners on current dilemmas of humanitarian action.

THEMATIC BRIEFS

Read in-depth analysis of key legal and policy issues facing humanitarian professionals and explore how they impact your work in the field.

BLOG

Read our weekly analysis of current trends and challenges in the humanitarian section, and explore practitioner perspectives through our Guest Blog series.

For more information, visit the ATHA portal

TRAININGS

Join us for immersive, case-based trainings and practitioner working groups, where you'll exchange with colleagues across agencies about legal and policy challenges for humanitarian protection.

E-LEARNING

Broaden your understanding of the fundamental concepts of humanitarian action through free, interactive, self-paced e-learning modules.

Featured Podcast

Resettling Syrian Refugees: The Intersection of Rehabilitation and Protection

Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the neighboring countries of Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan have collectively absorbed approximately 5 million registered refugees--not counting the untold numbers who remain unregistered. As their displacement becomes increasingly protracted and the crisis shows no signs of abating, humanitarians have highlighted the increasing need to shift focus to social cohesion and rehabilitation efforts with an eye toward long-term development.

International Humanitarian Law Distance Learning Series

Broaden your understanding of the fundamental concepts of international humanitarian law (IHL) through free, interactive, self-paced e-learning modules. In each module you will brush up on the basics, explore points of debate, and dive into operational dilemmas. The first unit covers:

Including its primary sources and development, scope of application, the qualification of armed conflict, and the interplay between IHL and international human rights law (IHRL)

Including distinction, proportionality, military necessity, precaution, and the prohibition on unnecessary suffering, as well as the rules for targeting individuals and objects under IHL

Including implementation and enforcement mechanisms, transitional justice, and challenges of humanitarian engagement with the implementation and enforcement of IHL

Team

Meredith Blake Twitter E-Mail Program Coordinator, Advanced Training Program on Humanitarian Action	Michael VanRooyen MD, MPH Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative	Anaïde Nahikian Program Manager, Institutional Partnerships for Learning and Development \| Advanced Training Program on Humanitarian Action	Julia Brooks MALD E-Mail Senior Legal Research Associate, Advanced Training Program on Humanitarian Action
Susan Tannehill Deputy Director, Finance and Administration	Sarah Schwartz Program Coordinator, ATHA	Jeremy Nelson Research Assistant