Panel Discussion on the Occasion of Launching the Updated Commentary on the Third Geneva Convention

The ICRC in Cairo and Rabat, along with the League of the Arab States and the National Committee on IHL in the Kingdom of Morocco, is co-organizing a panel discussion on the occasion of launching the updated Commentary on the Third Geneva Convention. The panel discussion will bring together a group of Arab experts who contributed to the development of the updated Commentaries of the First, Second, and Third Geneva Conventions of 1949. They will share their experience and reflect on the role of the Conventions in providing the necessary protection and humane treatment to the sick, wounded and shipwrecked not taking part in hostilities as well as prisoners of war, taking into account the existing practices and challenges facing the application of the Conventions in the battlefield.

The Geneva Conventions and their updated Commentaries

In 2011, the ICRC and a team of renowned experts embarked on a major project: updating the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977, which date back to the 1950s and 1980s respectively. Since the initial Commentaries were published the Geneva Conventions and Protocols have been put to the test, and there have been significant developments in how they are applied and interpreted in practice. The new Commentaries seek to document these developments and provide up-to-date interpretations.

The updated Commentary on the Third Geneva Convention deals with issues important to anyone engaging with detention in armed conflicts. The updated Commentary on the First Geneva Convention was presented in 2016, and the updated Commentary on the Second Geneva Convention was presented in 2017.

 The panel takes place 01:00 pm Cairo time 

Speech of Dr. Farida Khamlichi

opening_statement_moroccan_ncihl_farida_khamlichi_eng.pdf

Speech of Ms. Rania Machlab

en_opening_statement_icrc_rania_machlab.pdf

Statement of the League of the Arab States

en_opening_statement_league_of_arab_states_sara_obeid.pdf