Modern conflicts are focus of humanitarian law conference

Around 150 representatives of Commonwealth governments and national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies will examine international rules governing armed conflict at an international conference in New Zealand.

The Second Commonwealth Red Cross and Red Crescent International Humanitarian Law Conference is being held at Victoria University in Wellington from 29 to 31 August 2007. Delegates will discuss modern conflicts which are posing challenges to international humanitarian law.

The National International Humanitarian Law Committee of New Zealand is co-hosting the conference with the New Zealand Red Cross and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the British Red Cross.

In a videotaped message screened at the conference, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon, said: “The Commonwealth has long recognised the pivotal role that national societies and committees play, and must continue to play, in ensuring that international expectations become national reality.”

Mr McKinnon noted the concern expressed by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in Malta in 2005 over “the illicit production, illegal trade and uncontrolled availability of small arms and light weapons.”

The Secretary-General said he was heartened to see these topics on the law conference agenda.

Former UN weapons inspector to Iraq, Hans Blix, who is now Chair of the Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction, will speak at the conference. Specialists in international law from the ICRC and experts from other international bodies, governments and universities will also be present.

Tabled discussions include the protection of civilians and soldiers in armed conflicts; child soldiers; missing and enforced disappearances; prohibited weapons; cluster munitions and landmines; and the problem of small arms proliferation. The role of international tribunals and the connections between international humanitarian law and human rights law will also be examined.

Delegates will focus on the extent of national participation in various conventions, including the four Geneva Conventions that make up international humanitarian law, and how national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies can contribute to their implementation. The Geneva Conventions outline rules on warfare and the protection of non-combatants such as civilians, medical personnel and prisoners of war.

Sir Kenneth Keith, a New Zealand judge on the International Court of Justice in The Hague, will chair the conference.

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