Qatar: Senior officers discuss ways of better promoting humanitarian law
14-12-2013 News Release 13/225
Kuwait (ICRC) – Senior military officers representing the six Gulf States (Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman) will gather in Doha on 15-17 December to discuss ways of spreading knowledge of international humanitarian law within their respective armed forces.
The seminar is organized jointly by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Qatar Armed Forces. It is the first of its kind in the Gulf region.
"The main aim of this seminar is to ensure that all the armed forces in the Gulf region include the rules of international humanitarian law in their military training programmes and in their standard operating procedures," said Gerard Peytrignet, head of the ICRC's regional delegation for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in Kuwait.
"It is also crucial that the armed forces know about the role of the ICRC and its mandate, procedures and practices in order to facilitate its humanitarian activities," he added.
The sessions will be led by experts from the ICRC, the Qatar Armed Forces and other organizations.
Specialized delegates of the ICRC support the efforts of armed forces to raise awareness of international humanitarian law among their personnel. They also provide advice on ways of taking the rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law into account in the internal regulations and training manuals of the armed forces, and ensuring that these rules are fully embraced in military doctrine.
For further information, please contact:
Fouad Bawaba, ICRC Kuwait, tel: +965 97879434
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