Eritrea: Senior officers take part in ICRC seminar on rules of war
26-07-2002 News Release 02/30
Eleven senior officers of the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) and three of the country's senior police officers took part in a seminar on international humanitarian law, which lays down the rules of war, on 18 July in Asmara.
The seminar, which was the first ever of its kind to be held for EDF officers, focused on the introduction of humanitarian law into EDF training courses. It was organized by ICRC staff based in Asmara and Nairobi.
Teaching humanitarian law to members of the armed forces is an obligation for all States party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, to which Eritrea acceded in August 2000. By restricting the means and methods of warfare, that law protects wounded, sick and shipwrecked military personnel, prisoners of war and civilians who do not take part in the fighting.