In this talk, Chantal Joris will explore how information warfare and digital threats increasingly characterise modern conflicts, while civilians rely more than ever on connectivity and access to information for their safety. She will discuss how international human rights law can complement existing protections under international humanitarian law to address challenges like surveillance, online censorship, internet shutdowns, and the use of sophisticated ‘information manipulation’ and ‘hate speech’.

The talk will also highlight the pivotal role of private technology companies in modern conflicts and explore the steps they should take to reduce harm to human rights and protect civilians from digital threats.

About the speaker

Chantal Joris is a Senior Legal Officer at ARTICLE 19, an international human rights organisation dedicated to protecting and promoting the right to freedom of expression and information around the world. Her work focuses on freedom of expression in armed conflicts and digital rights.

Before joining ARTICLE 19, she practiced at a public international law firm, where she represented States and private entities before international and domestic courts and tribunals, including the International Court of Justice. She also advised on a wide range of public international law matters, including international trade law, international criminal law, international human rights law, State immunity and the protection of foreign investments.

She holds a law degree from the University of Zurich (Master of Law) and an LLM from King’s College London, where she focused on public international law and international human rights law. She was admitted to the Swiss bar (Zurich) in 2018.

Chair

Dr Maria Varaki is a Lecturer in International Law in the Department of War Studies at King's College London. Before moving to London, she held research positions at the Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights in Helsinki and at the Law Faculty of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She was also an Assistant Professor of International Law at Kadir Has University in Istanbul.

Maria holds a PhD in International Law from the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway, Ireland, and two LLM degrees in International and Comparative Law from Tulane University and New York University School of Law. She is currently a Research Associate on the Three Generations of Digital Human Rights ERC project (2023-2028) at Hebrew University’s Faculty of Law.

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