Libya: armed forces and ICRC sign agreement
26-06-2012 News Release 12/126
Tripoli (ICRC) – The Libyan Armed Forces and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today signed a memorandum of understanding under which the ICRC will provide support for the integration of the rules of international humanitarian law in the training and operations of the Libyan Armed Forces and in the Military Act.
"The Libyan Armed Forces have expressed a clear desire to ensure that international humanitarian law and other rules on the use of force are taken into account in the way they plan and operate," said Georges Comninos, the head of the ICRC delegation in Libya. "This agreement is therefore an important step in the armed forces' continuing cooperation with the ICRC." The memorandum was signed at Libyan military headquarters in Tripoli.
The ICRC, which has carried out humanitarian operations in armed conflicts for almost one and a half centuries, has considerable expertise in promoting respect for the basic rules of international humanitarian law. To this end, it engages in dialogue with armed and security forces and other weapon bearers worldwide.
Libya is party to the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols I and II. The ICRC has been providing assistance and guidance on international humanitarian law to the Libyan Armed Forces since November 2006.
For further information, please contact:
Soaade Messoudi, ICRC Tripoli, tel: +218 913 066 198