Actions taken:
Over the past few years, Brazil has supported the intergovernmental process on strengthening compliance to International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The Brazilian delegation participated actively and constructively in the six formal meetings of that mechanism, such as by presenting a proposal to create a platform (“IHL Special Event”) to facilitate inter-state dialogue between international conferences. While the intergovernmental process has ended, Brazil remains engaged in promoting compliance to IHL. The Brazilian delegation has maintained contact with all groups interested in finding alternatives to ensure continued intergovernmental dialogue on the subject.
At the national level, the Brazilian Ministry of Defense have updated since 2015 its courses and manuals to incorporate norms derived from IHL treaties and conventions to which Brazil is party, as well as declarations and other non-binding instruments that we endorse. IHL is also the subject of a six-week course taught annually by the Superior School of War in Brasilia, entitled “Course on International Law of Armed Conflicts (DICA, in Portuguese)”. IHL standards have also been incorporated into the preparation of Brazilian military deployed with United Nations peacekeeping missions. The Joint Peace Operations Center of Brazil (CCOPAB) in Rio de Janeiro offers this training.
We continue to hold periodic meetings (every semester) of the National Commission for the Dissemination and Implementation of International Humanitarian Law (CNIDH, in Portuguese). This collegiate body has been established by Decree 27/2003 to ensure the implementation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols in Brazil, as well as to facilitate the widespread dissemination of IHL throughout the country. The CNIDH proposes to competent authorities measures necessary for the implementation and dissemination of the Geneva Conventions in Brazil; monitors progress of relevant legislative projects; presents initiatives for education and training in IHL; and coordinates Brazilian positions in international fora related to this issue, most notably in the International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. In October 2019, at the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, the Brazilian government will hold an international seminar in partnership with the ICRC and the Swiss Embassy in Brasilia to contribute to the dissemination IHL among government officials and academia.
