MANILA – The International Committee of the Red Cross and the College of Law of the University of the Philippines have organized a six-day seminar in Manila on international laws governing military operations.
Organizers said 40 civil society, government and military representatives from across Southeast and East Asia are attending the seminar which started Sunday and runs until October 18. The seminar, the eighth of its kind to be held in the region, is the first time the Philippines has hosted the event.
“The seminar will help build a broad understanding of what laws apply in armed conflicts and why they must be respected in the interests of humanity. It will also provide a rich forum for civil society professionals involved in the promotion of the law and policy surrounding humanitarian issues to debate their role,” Alain Aeschlimann, the ICRC’s head of operations for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
Experts from the ICRC, the University of the Philippines and Mindanao State University are among those who will deliver lectures on various topics, such as the methods and means of armed conflict; non-state actors in non-international armed conflicts, the enforcement of IHL through international criminal justice and protection of cultural property.
“Participants will take part in practical role-play sessions as well as more theoretical classes, providing an opportunity to deepen their learning. With representatives from 11 different countries sharing their experiences and insights, the event should serve to build an international network of people interested in humanitarian issues,” Evecar Cruz, the ICRC’s legal adviser in the Philippines, said in the same statement.
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