Bosnia-Herzegovina: Exploring humanitarian law

A month-long pilot programme to introduce secondary schoolchildren to the principles of international humanitarian law has just been completed in Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of the'Exploring Humanitarian Law'project currently being developed by the ICRC in more than a dozen countries worldwide.

Designed to encourage children and adolescents to think about respect for life and humanitarian principals, the project uses a participatory approach to stimulate discussion and analysis of issues such as the protection of civilians in wartime, the role of combatants, the displacement of communities, child soldiers, mob violence and other forms of civil disturbance.

The pilot programme was carried out in three different schools in Bosnia-Herzegovina and involved around 100 pupils between 15 and 16 years of age. Each of the sessions included discussion groups, exercises and role play and brought back many of the children's own memories of their experiences during three and a half years of war.  Some found the issues under discussion still highly relevant, given the country's current climate of post-conflict tension and uncertainty.

The programme, which received the blessing of the Ministries of Education, was led by school teachers in collaboration with ICRC dissemination officers, representatives of local educational institutes and personnel from the Red Cross Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, where learning by rote is still the rule – a legacy of the country's communist past – both professors and students appreciated the interactive methods used in the course. The pupils’ comments during the proje ct's evaluation showed that many of them had taken the principles of international humanitarian law to heart.

“Neutrality means stretching out a hand of friendship to anyone in need, " commented one pupil, " not because we agree with them, but because we respect them as human beings. "