On 10 August 2016, the ICRC organized a livestreamed panel discussion at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg to discuss respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) on the African continent. The panel was convened on the occasion of the bi-annual conference of the International Lawyers Association and was part of the ICRC Conference Cycle on “Generating respect for the law”.
Today, the majority of the armed conflicts being fought on the African continent are classified as non-international armed conflicts, characterized by the presence of non-state armed groups and multinational forces. In view of the perception that the rules of IHL are increasingly being violated and the absence of effective enforcement mechanisms in IHL, the panel brought together both African and international speakers drawn from the military, government and academia who will share perspectives on mechanisms to promote respect for the law.
Moderator
- Sarah Swart, Legal Advisor, ICRC
Panelists
- Maj Gen Jean Baillaud, Former Deputy Force Commander, MONUSCO
- Col. Andre Retief, Senior Staff Officer LOAC Education, Training and Development, South African Defence Force and Director of Training at the International Institute for Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy
- Col. (Prof) Dan Kuwali, Legal Counsel, Malawi Defence Force and Chairperson of Malawi National Committee on the Implementation of IHL and Extraordinary Professor of International Law, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
- Dr Sharon Weill, lecturer in international law applicable during armed conflicts at Sciences Po, Paris and the Geneva Centre for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action
The event was followed by the launch of Volume 96 Number 895/6 of the International Review of the Red Cross issue on "Generating respect for the law".