As the preparation year for the World Humanitarian Summit, 2015 witnessed renewed attention to challenges in humanitarian responses. While humanitarian actors engaged in a flurry of discussions and consultations, humanitarian principles and protection gaps in armed conflict received surprisingly little attention. Throughout the year, HERE has consistently tried to bring these issues to the fore through a series of events, starting with an expert-panel event, on the topic of assessing the application of humanitarian principles on the ground. Coorganised with the ICRC on 24 February, the debate was held at the Humanitarium, and moderated by Helen Durham (Director of the Department of International Law and Policy at the ICRC).