A Discussion on International Humanitarian Law

A seminar on “A Discussion on International Humanitarian Law” was organized in collaboration with International Committee of the Red Cross on August 26, 2008. The day long seminar was aimed at highlighting the role of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in the current turbulent phase of history when the humanity faces scores of conflicts in various parts of the world.

A seminar on “A Discussion on International Humanitarian Law” was organized in collaboration with International Committee of the Red Cross on August 26, 2008. The day long seminar was aimed at highlighting the role of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in the current turbulent phase of history when the humanity faces scores of conflicts in various parts of the world.

Making his opening remarks, Khalid Rahman, DG IPS said that the wars and conflicts had been the bitter reality since the inception of humanity. The history of human race substantiated that it could not be averted absolutely; rather the mechanism should be chalked out to minimize the human and material loss during any conflict, he opined.

Speaking on the occasion the spokesperson of ICRC Marco Succi briefed the audience about the three major areas of relief work of ICRC, namely “protection of civilians, medical and economic assistance for victims and preventive action through dissemination and awareness programs”. Mr. Succi maintained that the ICRC was doing its best to cope with the challenges across the world including Pakistan.

Dr. Syed Anwar, Advocate, expressing his views on IHL and Islam, emphasized that Islamic legal system could be accepted and considered as an independent source of International law. Islam talked about the complete protection of civilians and non-combatants and commanded its followers to respect women, children and older people while at war even when they belonged to enemy nation, he noted.

Dr. Anwar elaborated in detail the Islamic perspective related to the treatment of prisoners of war and wounded combatants, concept of proportionate use of force, ecological and environmental protection, punishment for the violation of principles of war etc. He also proposed certain protocols for improving the IHL and countering the violations of the convention.

Prof. Khurshid Ahmad, Chairman IPS highlighted the deteriorating human rights situation and deplored the violations of IHL in the modern warfare. Appreciating the efforts put forth for the development of IHL, he maintained that it was an ongoing process and so many areas, including its proper implementation, needed further improvement. “We need to rediscover and redefine the role of civil society, media and opinion makers as a deterrent to the aggressions on human rights made by the governments for their political benefits,” he concluded.

Chairing the session, former General Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Akram Zaki, said that ratification of international humanitarian law as codified in the Geneva Conventions by all the 194 states of the world was the major development in the recent past.

Discussing the evolution of IHL, He said that like every other branch of law, IHL had also evolved as a result of human experience throughout the centuries. “As warfare has essentially changed as a result of scientific developments and stimulated philosophical debates, ICRC needs to redefine its domain,” he opined.

Earlier, Salah-ud-Din, Project Manager, ICRC, Islamabad, elucidating the aims, principles, sources and mechanism for repression of IHL Violations, brief the audience about the genealogy and raison d’etre of IHL and the challenges it faces in the contemporary world.  Sitara Jabeen, Communication Officer, ICRC, Islamaba, made a presentation on the introduction, evolution, mandate and nature and scope of activities of ICRC.