Agenda

As armed conflicts increasingly extend into cyberspace, the imperative to protect medical and humanitarian digital infrastructure has become more urgent than ever. The protection of medical and humanitarian activities are among the oldest rules of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and requires parties to conflict to not only refrain from attacking them - but to respect and protect them. The distinctive emblem of the Red Cross, Red Crescent, and Red Crystal signals this specific protection in the physical world - but today, there is no way to signal it for digital assets. 

The need for internet standards that allow for the signaling of specific IHL protections is becoming increasingly clear. Significant work is currently taking place at the Internet Engineering Task Force, where IHL emblems - and a need for them to be complemented by digital equivalents - is a key discussion within the DIEM Working Group.

During this working session, the two leads of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s (ICRC) Digital Emblem Project — Samit D'Cunha (Legal Adviser and Legal and Policy Lead), and Mauro Vignati (Technical Adviser and Technical Lead) — will first present the project - including the history, motivations, and key milestones for this work that sits at the intersection of technology, international humanitarian law, and cybersecurity. The discussion will be moderated by Joelle Rizk (ICRC Digital Threats Adviser).

Thereafter, the working session will turn to participants to engage in discussion on key issues including standardization, awareness-raising, technical development, and diplomatic outreach. The discussion will be designed to explore means of supporting continued work on the project, as well as sharing lessons learned from engaging states, tech companies, and cybersecurity experts.