International Law Day: International Humanitarian Law or the Effort to Humanise War
Bern, 19.10.2012 - The Directorate of International Law (DIL) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) held its traditional international day on 19 October in Bern. The 2012 edition focused on international humanitarian law and was inaugurated by Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, head of the FDFA, who emphasised the challenges that international humanitarian law is facing in its efforts to improve protection for the victims of armed conflicts.
The annual DIL conference was held in the Grand Council chamber of the Canton Bern. The topic chosen was: International Humanitarian Law or the Effort to Humanise war. A vibrant debate on international humanitarian law took place between representatives of the federal and cantonal administrations, academics, holders of political office and parliamentarians, students and practitioners. International humanitarian law is particular because it has to regulate a situation, i.e. war, which is itself prohibited in international law.
The function of this law is to protect those who are not taking part, or no longer taking part, in hostilities. It is a central aspect of Switzerland's commitment. Because of its dual role as the depositary state and as a state party to the Geneva Conventions, Switzerland has a particular legitimacy and particular responsibility to ensure that international humanitarian law is respected because of the high number of victims in armed conflicts, Mr Burkhalter stressed in his opening speech.
In this speech Mr Burkhalter emphasised that the most pressing task is not to clarify or to develop new norms in this area but to ensure greater compliance with existing norms by all actors. If all the rules of international humanitarian law were perfectly respected, the majority of current humanitarian problems would not arise and there would be far fewer victims.
To respond to this major challenge, at the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent at the end of 2011, Switzerland jointly launched a diplomatic initiative together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Its goal is to identify concret mean to strengthen compliance with international humanitarian law and to reinforce the dialogue between States on questions of international humanitarian law. The first meeting of States in this connection took place in July 2012 and another will be organised in 2013.
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Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
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