In the latest in a series of meetings of experts that have subsequently been held throughout the world to consult governments and legal experts on the study's findings, Marmara University in Istanbul organized a round-table on 16 and 17 October attended by 40 Turkish experts in international humanitarian law.

Participants included State officials, members of the armed forces and a number of representatives from universities, institutes and think-tanks. Turkish-speaking experts from Iraq and Cyprus also took part in the debate, which dealt with the 161 rules of customary humanitarian law identified by the ICRC study. In anticipation of the event, an article on customary humanitarian law translated into Turkish and published in the first Turkish edition of the International Review of the Red Cross was distributed to the Turkish authorities last year.

In 1995, the 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent commissioned the ICRC to carry out the study. ICRC legal staff and dozens of experts, including academics and specialists drawn from governments and international organizations, took part in the research. The experts had backgrounds in different legal systems and were recruited from all over the world. They reviewed national practice in some 150 States and international sources of practice such as the United Nations, regional organizations and international courts and tribunals.

The Republic of Turkey, as the successor State of the Ottoman Empire, has been a High Contracting Party to the Geneva Conventions since 1865 – one year after the first treaty of international humanitarian law was adopted. During this long period of history, the territory it occupies and neighbouring areas have been affected by many armed conflicts.

The round-table discussion showed general consensus among the experts on the rules of international humanitarian law now considered customary. According to Ferit Hakan Baykal, professor of international law at Marmara University, "the Turkish armed forces know their obligations under international humanitarian law, but much remains to be done in terms of spreading knowledge of the law to other segments of the population."

Similar round-tables have already taken place in Geneva, Beijing, London, Moscow, Paris, Washington, Addis Ababa, Cairo and elsewhere. The next one is due to take place in Tehran in November 2008.