News Section Youth: Educational programmes Section on the ICRC's educational programmes and modules for young people featuring the Exploring Humanitarian Law programme (EHL), the Secondary School Programme in CIS countries, and other educational initiatives. Included are communication approaches for young people not attending school.
By ratifying the Geneva Conventions of 1949, a State obliges itself to promote IHL, especially among military personnel but also among the civilian population at large. While the ICRC has a long tradition of assisting governments in the promotion of IHL among its military and security forces, it decided in the 1990s to step up its efforts to promote IHL among young people.
Two large-scale programmes for young people in educational settings have since been launched, the secondary school programme for countries of the former Soviet Union, and the international "Exploring Humanitarian Law" (EHL) programme. See also: Children in war Children and international humanitarian law Cooperation between national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and the ICRC 28-2-2003 Legal Protection of Children in Armed ConflictFact sheet describing the obligations of States regarding the national implementation of the norms applicable to this particular aspect of international humanitarian law. (Humanitarian law\National implementation\Publications\Fact sheets) Fact Sheet Includes PDF 28-8-2009 India: schools in Jammu and Kashmir lead the way in promoting humanitarian principlesNineteen schools in Jammu and Kashmir have been trialling the "Exploring Humanitarian Law" programme (EHL), aimed at helping young people integrate the principles of humanity into their daily lives. ICRC communication coordinator Stéphanie Bouaziz met some of the creative and dedicated teachers who are finding space in their busy schedules to promote humanitarian values among their pupils. (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\India) Feature Includes Photo 31-8-1997 Teaching young people to respect human dignity -
Contribution of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement(Info resources\International Review\1997 - No. 319) International Review of the Red Cross 18-11-2007 Promotion and protection of the rights of childrenUnited Nations, General Assembly, 62nd session, Third Committee, Item 66 (a) of the agenda, Statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), New York, 17-19 Octobre 2007 (ICRC Activities\Humanitarian diplomacy\United Nations\62nd General Assembly) Official Statement 16-11-2006 Education resources for young peopleExploring Humanitarian Law Virtual Campus. The English language website EHL Virtual Campus serves as a resource centre and online community for the EHL programme. It provides support to the growing EHL community by providing ongoing EHL training and access to programme resources via internet. (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 10-8-2005 Oxfam – Generation WhyOxfam has loads of ways for young people to get involved, from sporting challenges to club nights, and from volunteering at a festival to campaigning. "Get involved with the things that you love and help fight poverty while you're at it." (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 23-2-2005 UNICEF – UN Children’s FundInformation and news by country and subject (weapons, children and war, AIDS, sanitary education, etc.). UNICEF activities. Catalogue of publications. Statistics. Press releases and declarations. Annual reports on-line. (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 18-11-2003 Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is working for the respect of human rights world-wide and is also active in the campaign to abolish the recruitment of children as soldiers (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 18-11-2003 Coalition to Stop the Use of Child SoldiersThe "Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers" is working to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers and to secure their demobilisation and reintegration into society. (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 18-11-2003 Save the ChildrenSave the Children's Emergencies and Protection Program responds to the needs of child soldiers and unaccompanied children during armed conflict. (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 6-11-2003 Human Rights EducationActivities of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 6-11-2003 European Commission Youth ProgrammeThe EU's Youth programme is a non-formal education programme targeting young people aged between 15 and 25 years. The Programme is open to youth in 30 European countries and wants to encourage young people to pursue active citizenship and boost their participation in democratic life. (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 6-11-2003 IBE - International Bureau of EducationThe IBE concentrates on the adaptation of educational content to the challenges of the 21st century, focusing on strengthening capacity-building in the area of management of curriculum change. (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 6-11-2003 UNESCOActivities of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 6-11-2003 National Red Cross and Red Crescent societies' youth web-pages(ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 6-11-2003 Programmes to combat discrimination and violenceNational Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world run a variety of activities related to the theme of reducing discrimination and violence. (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 6-11-2003 Humanitarian Principles and Values ProgrammeYouth activities stressing the Movement's principles are part of a worldwide initiative of national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and their Federation. (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Youth) Other site 8-3-2005 Ivorian children look at war and the law![]() The ICRC delegation in Côte d’Ivoire has taken the original step of asking street children in Abidjan, under the supervision of the Red Cross Society of Côte d’Ivoire, to produce illustrations relating to the basic rules of humanitarian law. The best drawings were published in a calendar. (Info resources\Photos\Africa) Photo Collection 31-3-2003 Summary table of IHL provisions specifically applicable to childrenSummary table of provisions of international humanitarian law and other provisions of international law specifically applicable to children in war (Humanitarian law\Children in war) Includes PDF |