A) Objectives of the pledge:
We, Governments in the Southern African Region, including Indian Ocean Island States, are committed to enhancing compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), specifically through:
- Establishing and strengthening existing National IHL Committees;
- Capacity building, including training, of stakeholders on IHL such as relevant government ministries, defence and security agencies, judiciary, parliament, and civil society;
- Including IHL sensitisation activities at educational institutions; and
- Exchanging views on the development of an international legally binding instrument on Autonomous Weapons Systems and other IHL related issues.
B) Action plan:
Action plan
Considering the foregoing, we hereby endeavour to:
- Enhance networking and engagement between and among National IHL Committees in between annual Regional Seminars to strengthen their work through the sharing of best practices;
- Develop IHL dissemination action plans for engagement with educational institutions;
- Initiate engagement on the exchange of views on the development of an international legally binding instrument on Autonomous Weapons Systems;
- Develop and execute capacity-building and training programmes for IHL stakeholders such as relevant government ministries, defence and security agencies, the judiciary, parliament and civil society; and
- Continue to broaden engagement on IHL at the national level.
C) Indicators for measuring progress:
N/A
D) Resource implications:
N/A
