HAC2 Monitoring Patterns of Violence
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Knowing whether humanitarian action is effective requires feedback loops. Until now, these are predominantly of qualitative nature. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) currently relies on observations, interviews and status reports compiled by field analysts to monitor its work. This has several shortcomings: (1) status reports are heavily dependent on personal assessment and thus fluctuate between different analysts; (2) the reports are in unstructured, textual form making it difficult to extract information; (3) although a large organization, the ICRC does not have the human resources to monitor incidents of armed violence across entire countries. To address these issues, we propose incorporating large amounts of data, quantitative measures of conflict intensity and automated, machine-based event analysis. Such data can be matched against the ICRC’s data on its protection work that aims to influence armed forces and groups to fight in accordance with international humanitarian law (IHL). This would allow the ICRC to monitor the impact of its actions and facilitate more informed, data-driven decision-making in planning future actions.
Credits Main Image: ICRC./ Khalid Hawre / 02.06.2018/ Mosul
As leader of the EPFL EssentialTech’s Humanitarian Division, Greg works at the interface of research and humanitarian action. He is leading several large-scale partnerships between EPFL and the ICRC (Engineering for Humanitarian Action), the UNHCR (The Geneva Technical Hub) and the Graduate Institute (The Future of Humanitarian Design). He is also developing executive trainings for humanitarian practitioners on the responsible use of technology in humanitarian setting, as well as about cybersecurity in the sector. Prior to working at EssentialTech, he led the Innovation Coordination at MSF (Doctors Without Borders) Switzerland, aimed at harnessing the power of medical, humanitarian and digital innovations to meet the needs of patients and others affected by disasters. He previously worked several years as a manager for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in various regions affected by armed conflicts (Afghanistan, Colombia, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire) and later as Deputy Director for the Antenna Foundation, an NGO that incubates innovative solutions to meet the basic needs of people living in poverty. He is the co-founder and current President of the Board of Watalux SA, a social startup developing innovation for safe water and better hygiene in hospitals, and Board Member of SwissSolidarity, a leading Swiss philanthropic foundation. He holds a PhD in Life Science from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland).
Dr. EmelineDarçot is a project manager at the EssentialTech Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, which harnesses innovation in support of sustainable development,humanitarian action and peace promotion. She is currently coordinating the Engineering Humanitarian Action programme within the Humanitarian Division.
She holds a PhD in Life Science from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). After a PhD and a postdoctoral position in biomedical imaging at the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), Emeline joined the EPFL EssentialTech Centre in 2021 as a project coordinator on the Ren’All Care project. She then joined the EPFL Research Office in 2022 as project manager and coordinates since then the Engineering Humanitarian Action programme within the Humanitarian Division of the EssentialTech Centre.
Integrated Settlement Planning