The OSCE-ODIHR, DCAF and EUROMIL are pleased to invite you to their web-based seminar which will focus on the topic of “COVID-19 and the Military Personnel’s Right to Health” on Thursday 28 May at 13:30 PM CEST. The duration will be approximately one hour. Participation will be ensured through Q&As.

With COVID-19 the military has been called up to supplement civilian health emergency response measures across the OSCE during the past months at an unprecedented scale, performing tasks unaligned with traditional military training and preparedness. Defence forces have had to devise new strategies and practices to protect the health of their soldiers and to guarantee good and safe working conditions. Access to healthcare and swift evacuations for soldiers, as well as access for oversight bodies to conduct monitoring and inspections are among the critical elements in applying the rights to health of armed forces personnel in this new context.

As a pre-launch event to the new edition of the ODIHR-DCAF Handbook on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed Forces Personnel, this webinar will discuss the right of armed forces personnel to both physical and mental health during and after health emergencies, including different implications of measures for men and women in the armed forces. With our panel we will explore a range of urgent questions, including:

• To what extent may public health justify restrictions to certain rights of armed forces personnel, including freedom of association?
• What are some of the challenges and emerging good practices to ensure that women and men in the armed forces have safe and healthy working conditions, including in closed environments such as aircraft carriers during the current health crisis and beyond?
• What are some of the mechanisms and practices, both existing and needed, by states to ensure that personnel are properly trained and equipped to fight this and future pandemics?
• Which problems do military personnel concretely face in this crisis as regards to safe and healthy working conditions and which lessons could be learned to improve health care and response to mental health needs in the military?

Panelists:
Emmanuel Jacob, President of EUROMIL
Rain Liivoja, Associate Professor at the University of Queensland’s School of Law, TBC
Tamar Gabiani, Head of the Department of Human Rights Defense in Georgia, Public Defenders Office of Georgia
Colonel Dr. Johannes Backus, Bundeswehr Medical Service Command (Germany)

Registration:
Please register by Wednesday, 27 May here.
After completing registration, a link will be sent to participants to join the meeting.

For any further information from EUROMIL, please contact Caroline Henrion at euromil@euromil.org.