Senegal: Seminar on Montreux Document and private military and security companies
04-06-2014 News Release 14/94
Dakar (ICRC) – A two-day seminar on the Montreux Document, organized by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, the Senegalese government and Senegal's Centre for Advanced Studies in Defence and Security, ended in Dakar today.
The event, organized with the support of Switzerland and the ICRC, was attended by representatives of 16 countries: 16 countries: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
"The Montreux Document reaffirms the obligation of States to see to it that private military and security companies operating in armed conflicts adhere to international humanitarian law and international human rights law," said Zakaria Maiga, deputy head of the ICRC regional delegation in Dakar.
While the aim of the seminar was to increase the number of States supporting the Montreux Document, it also provided an opportunity for experiences to be shared and for best practice to be identified in terms of national regulations of private military and security companies in sub-Saharan Africa.
International humanitarian law is a set of rules based on humanitarian principles that seek to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or no longer participating in hostilities, and restricts the means and methods of warfare.
For further information, please contact:
Dénes Benczédi, ICRC Dakar, tel: +221 77 529 71 45 or +221 33 869 14 40