Tajikistan: Seminar on law of war for opposition commanders

On 10 February 1998 the ICRC held a seminar in the Tajik capital Dushanbe for 20 commanders of the 25th Battalion, a unit depending on the Ministry of Defence. The battalion, which is made up of troops of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO), was recently incorporated in the government forces in application of the May 1997 peace agreement. The main objective of the seminar was to raise the UTO command structure's awareness of its responsibilities during combat operations, in accordance with the principles of the law of armed conflict and with Tajikistan's obligations under the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols.

The event took place in the framework of a series of cooperation agreements between the Tajik authorities and the ICRC, aimed at including the principles of the law of war in the training of all military personnel, including troops belonging to the Ministries of the Interior and of Security. The Russian border troops based in Tajikistan recently expressed a wish to conclude a similar cooperation agreement with the ICRC.