Report on – 33rd IC Resolution 1: Bringing IHL home: A road map for better national implementation of international humanitarian law (33IC/19/R1) – Italian Red Cross

¿ Ha incorporado el Estado/la Sociedad Nacional/la institución los empeños contenidos en esta resolución en los planes estratégicos u operativos pertinentes?

Los compromisos han sido incorporados en
estrategia
política
plan operativo

A internacional, regional, nacional, local nivel

Explicación:

As the mid-report on this Resolution previously submitted by the Italian RC covers implementation work carried out until December 2021, the present one will cover activities from January 2022 onwards. For ease of reference, we have indicated below the relevant OPs to which the listed activities relate. Some OPs are addressed to States Parties rather than National Societies; we have nevertheless listed our activities concerning a few of such OPs as well since they were carried out by the Italian RC in its auxiliary capacity to assist Italy in meeting its commitments:

• [in furtherance of OPs 2, 5, and 6] As a member of the National Commission for the study and development of IHL, the Italian RC has actively participated in its activities at the national, regional and international levels. It has indeed substantially contributed to the drafting of the Voluntary Report on the implementation of IHL in Italy, which was officially launched on 17 November 2023 through an event organized by the Italian RC at its HQ with representatives of the MFA, MoD and ICRC and which will also be presented during another event co-organized by the Italian RC and the Permanent Mission of Italy to the UN and other International Organizations at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, in Geneva, on 4 July 2024. The drafting of such a Report was also used as an opportunity to identify areas of national IHL implementation that would need further action, particularly the need for an updated Military Manual on international law for the armed forces, considering that the current one dates back to 1991. As a consequence, the Italian government considered that it was necessary to set up a working group to draft a new Military Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Operations, which was established by decree of the MoD in October 2023 and is made up of three main components: MoD and Military Justice experts, armed forces and Italian RC. Finally, the Italian RC has also contributed to the exchange of good practices among National IHL Committees at the regional level, for instance by taking an active part, along with the Chairman of the Italian National Commission for the study and development of IHL, in the Regional Conference of European National IHL Committees which took place in Vienna on 12-13 March 2023;
• [in furtherance of OPs 3, 7, 8, and 10] According to its Statute, the Italian RC continues to carry out IHL dissemination activities at the national level, directed to both external and internal audiences. Externally, particular importance is given to the training for the armed forces, for which the Italian RC organizes two main kinds of courses: the course for “Qualified Adviser for officers of the Armed Forces” and the IHL course for “International Operators”, namely Marshals, non-commissioned officers and graduates potentially involved in military missions in operational theaters. From January 2022 onwards, the Italian RC has carried out 17 training courses for “Qualified Adviser for officers of the Armed Forces” for a total of 680 trained people within the same reference period, and 67 training courses for “International Operators” for a total of 2.345 trained people within the same reference period. Other external activities that have been set up in the reference period by the Italian RC specifically target young people: for instance, based on a three-year MoU between the Italian Ministry of Education and the Italian RC, a National IHL Competition for secondary school students, composed of different gaming ‘thematic stations’ where students act in first person in fictional scenarios, has been yearly organized since 2022 at the Italian RC HQ. Additionally, the Italian RC issued in 2022 another edition of the prize “Barrile-Verri” for the two best master’s theses discussed by students enrolled in Italian universities on IHL, IHRL and IDL topics, and the announcement for a new edition for 2024 has just been published. Internally, in addition to the yearly two-week training that the Italian RC organizes for volunteers who want to gain a specialization in IHL, the Italian RC’s course catalog offers the following training, among others, for IHL volunteers willing to specialize and carry out activities on a specific IHL-related topic: protection of the RCRCRC emblem, health care in danger, raid cross, fundamental principles and values, humanitarian diplomacy, national IHL competition, protection of cultural property, nuclear weapons, refugee law, human rights. An experimental edition of the “Exploring Humanitarian Law” course also took place in 2023. Moreover, in 2023 the Italian Red Cross organized two national IHL-related conferences for volunteers specialized in IHL: a National IHL Conference in March 2023 and a Conference on the protection of the emblem in October 2023.
• [in furtherance of OP 8] At the local level, the Italian RC’s local branches, in coordination with the national branch, have carried out several activities to disseminate IHL to the general public, especially through raising awareness activities linked to the three main Italian RC’s IHL-related advocacy campaigns on the following themes:
  • protection of cultural property
  • protection of healthcare
  • prohibition of nuclear weapons;
• [in furtherance of OP4] At the international level, the Italian RC, as part of the Movement Reference Group on War in Cities and Movement Support Group of Nuclear Weapons has carried out both joint and individual advocacy activities with a view of having the Italian government endorsing/ratifying and, eventually, effectively implementing the relevant international instruments (i.e. the EWiPA Political Declaration and the TPNW) or taking concrete commitments particularly towards nuclear disarmament in the relevant fora

Ha trabajado el Estado/la Sociedad Nacional/la institución con otros asociados para poner en práctica los empeños contenidos en esta resolución?

En asociación con:
gobierno y/o autoridades públicas
CICR/Federación Internacional
otras Sociedades Nacionales de la Cruz Roja y de la Media Luna Roja
mundo académico
otros asociados

Ejemplos de cooperación:

Following the adoption of the present resolution, the Italian National Commission for the Study and Development of IHL was established in 2021 and it is also composed of Italian RC representatives. As highlighted above, since then the Italian RC has contributed at the forefront of the National Commission’s work and activities, i.e. in the drafting, publishing and presentation of the Voluntary Report on national IHL implementation. Additionally, the Italian RC has also strengthened its cooperation with other relevant authorities such as the MoD, e.g. through the project on the drafting of the new Military Manual on International Law for the armed forces, which also involves a component from academia.

Indeed, cooperation with academia has also been strengthened. Some examples include:

• the National IHL Conference for IHL volunteers of March 2023, whose organization was supervised by the IHL Scientific Committee of the Italian RC, which is composed of academic experts on IHL-related issues. Additionally, other academic experts were also involved as panelists in the Conference. Finally, the Conference provided the opportunity to present the Italian version of the ICRC IHL Handbook, which was translated by IHL volunteers under the supervision of the Italian RC IHL Scientific Committee
• organization of several thematic webinars provided by academics on IHL-related issues for IHL volunteers

The Italian RC has also renewed its partnership with the International Institute of IHL of San Remo for the period 2023-2026 and has continued its strong collaboration with other National Societies, i.e. through the ELSG, and the ICRC. For instance, in 2023, we coordinated with other European NSs for a social media campaign to address the issue of cross-border misuse of the emblem in relation to the conflict in Ukraine. In 2022, we set up, along with a few other NSs, a task force to update the Raid Cross game and create a universal version adaptable to the needs and resources of all NSs. We had ICRC representatives taking part in some dissemination activities we organized, e.g. webinars, the National IHL competition editions of 2023 and 2024, the Conference on the protection of the emblem held in October 2023, and the launch event of the Italian voluntary report on national IHL implementation of October 2023. In 2024, the Italian RC also joined the Steering Committee of the ICRC-commissioned study on emblems and other signs to protect healthcare in armed conflict and other emergencies.

¿Ha habido dificultades para poner en práctica los empeños contenidos en esta resolución?

Dificultades en relación con:
recursos humanos
falta de capacidad y/o de apoyo (técnico, financiero o de otra índole)

¿Han incidido los empeños contenidos en esta resolución en el trabajo y la dirección del Estado/la Sociedad Nacional/la institución?

Tipo de repercusión:
fortalecimiento de la cooperación entre el gobierno o las autoridades públicas y la Sociedad Nacional
desarrollo y uso de herramientas o metodologías innovadoras
formación y capacidad de los miembros del personal y de los voluntarios (en el caso de las Sociedades Nacionales);

Describa detalladamente las repercusiones:

Examples for strengthened cooperation between the Italian RC and the Italian government/public authorities include the work carried out within the National IHL Commission, the dissemination activities towards the armed forces as well as the project of drafting of the new Military Manual for the armed forces, and the collaboration with the National Association of Italian Mayors to carry out several dissemination activities at the local level, particularly relating to the Italian RC campaign on the prohibition of nuclear weapons and that on the protection of cultural property.

Innovative tools for IHL dissemination, such as interactive videos (on the application of the rules on the conduct of hostilities) and games (on the First Geneva Convention of 1864), have been developed and used mainly for activities targeting young people, such as the yearly National IHL competition for high-school students. Moreover, a podcast and blog on topics relating to the Italian RC’s “Nuclear Experience” campaign on nuclear disarmament have also been launched in 2024.

As for the training of staff and volunteers, in addition to our usual offer, since January 2022 the Italian RC official offer of specialization courses on IHL-related issues has been increased with a course on the prohibition of nuclear weapons and another course on the protection of cultural property. Additionally, the experimental edition of the “Exploring Humanitarian Law” course also took place in 2023.

5. Han incidido los empeños contenidos en esta resolución en las comunidades a las que el Estado/la Sociedad Nacional/la institución presta servicios?

Describa las repercusiones:

The IHL dissemination activities carried out by the Italian RC at the community level, including those in collaboration with the National Association of Italian Mayors relating to the protection of cultural property and the prohibition of nuclear weapons, contributed to the increase of the public and local authorities’ awareness on IHL and related issues. A concrete example is that since the launch of the Italian RC advocacy campaign on the protection of cultural property in April 2022, around 30 blue shields in 6 different regions have been affixed to Italian cultural sites and monuments, on the initiatives of the ItRC local branches and also through the involvement of local administrations and communities.

As for dissemination activities specifically targeting young people, an example of their impact at the community level is that some high-school students, after participating in the National IHL Competition organized by the Italian RC, decided to become Italian RC volunteers, while another – as part of his final exam in high-school – decided to choose as one of the topics his participation in such Competition.