The application of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law to UN-mandated forces raises many questions. Several of these were discussed by a panel of academic experts, representatives of governments and international organizations, military legal advisors and ICRC lawyers in Geneva on 11-12 December 2003.

The meeting was divided into three sessions. Two were devoted to the application of international humanitarian law, and one to the application of international human rights law to UN-mandated forces, according to the following framework:

• Working session I: General application of international humanitarian law;
• Working session II: Application of the law of occupation;
• Working session III: Beyond IHL: Aspects of the application of international human rights law.

The meeting only addressed the case of UN-mandated operations, whether under UN, national or regional command and control. Multinational forces acting without a mandate from the UN Security Council were not a focus of the discussions.