HASOW International Conference Report
In March 2013, the first HASOW International Conference: “The Politics of Protection and the Future of Humanitarian Practices” took place at PUC-Rio. Its participants included doctors, lecturers and specialists in the topics relevant to the project. The objectives of the conference were to: (i) evaluate the many meanings and values that underpin the mechanisms of “protection” in the context of urban violence, (ii) understand protection practices developed by humanitarian agencies and communities and how these contribute to the constitution of the humanitarian space in urban areas; and (iii) analyze the normative and operational opportunities and dilemmas of humanitarian agencies when they operate in “non-war situations” and the implications for these scenarios, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean.