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

Votre État/Société nationale/institution a-t-il/elle incorporé les engagements contenus dans cette résolution dans les plans stratégiques ou opérationnels pertinents ?

Les engagements sont incorporés dans les documents suivants:
Plan opérationnel
Législation (par ex. loi, réglementation, statuts, règlement intérieur, etc.)

Au Régional, National niveau

Précisions :

The Romanian authorities have continued to promote the efforts aimed at strengthening implementation of IHL.

Adopting necessary legislative, administrative and practical measures at the domestic level to implement IHL and carrying out an analysis of the areas requiring further domestic implementation

• In 2021, the Government of Romania approved the first voluntary report on the implementation of IHL at the domestic level. The report was drafted within the National Commission on International Humanitarian Law, which offered the appropriate institutional framework to undertake such process. The voluntary report was disseminated and published on the websites of the relevant national institutions, both in its Romanian and English versions. Romania’s voluntary report on the implementation of IHL is also available on ICRC’s website.
• The Romanian authorities have also taken measures aimed at strengthening the protection of the Red Cross emblem. In this regard, the Romanian Parliament adopted Law no. 401/2023, which brings amendments to the Criminal Code related to the protection of the Red Cross emblem.
• The Romanian Parliament adopted Law no. 44/2022 on judicial cooperation between Romania and the International Criminal Court, which regulates the procedures for any form of judicial cooperation between the Romanian authorities and the International Criminal Court, in accordance with the Rome Statute.

Initiatives taken to disseminate IHL knowledge

• The Romanian authorities continued to organize various events (seminars, debates) to mark the 14th of May as day of international humanitarian law at national level. The aim of this anniversary, established by Law no. 177/2013, is to raise awareness about IHL within the Romanian society.
• The “Nicolae Titulescu” University (Bucharest) has continued to organize, each year, an inter-university contest of international humanitarian and refugee law. The UN Refugee Agency in Romania, the Romanian Red Cross, the National Commission on International Humanitarian Law, ICRC and the Center of International Humanitarian Law within the Ministry of National Defence are among the co-organizers of this event. The contest helps bolster the IHL profile and the students’ interest for this subject matter within the academic community.

Ratifying or acceding IHL treaties to which Romania is not yet party

• Romania is a party to all four Geneva Conventions (1949) and all three Additional Protocols (1977, 2005) and recognizes the competence of the International Fact-Finding Commission as established under Article 90 of Protocol I additional to the Geneva Conventions.
• In 2022, Romania has ratified all the amendments to article 8 (“War Crimes”) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
• As regards other relevant international instruments, in 2023, Romania endorsed the Montreux Document on Pertinent International Legal Obligations and Good Practices for States related to Operations of Private Military and Security Companies during Armed Conflict.

National Commission on IHL

• The composition and attributions of the National Commission on IHL were equally reinforced through legislative measures. The Romanian Government adopted the Decision no. 927/2022, which modifies the legislative framework governing the activity of the National Commission on IHL.
• Romania promotes IHL implementation through bilateral meetings of its IHL National Commission with other national committees from neighbouring countries. The Romanian National Commission on IHL had a joint meeting in Chișinău, in July 2023, with the National Commission on International Humanitarian Law of the Republic of Moldova. The cooperation between the two Commissions is an objective included in the Action Plan in the field of Justice between the Ministry of Justice of Romania and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Moldova for the period 2022-2024, signed in Chisinau, on 11 February 2022, on the occasion of the joint meeting between the two Governments, and in the annual Plans of actions of the National Commission on IHL.

IHL integration into military doctrine

• The Ministry of National Defence, through its specialized structures, gives special attention to the dissemination of the rules of international humanitarian law within the armed forces. Therefore, consolidating knowledge about IHL is part of the continuous professional training of the Romanian Armed Forces, the curricula of military educational institutions, as well as of the planning and conduct of domestic or international military operations. The Centre for International Humanitarian Law within the “Carol I” National Defence University plays an important part in the training of the Romanian armed forces in the IHL field.

Votre État/Société nationale/institution a-t-il/elle coopéré avec d’autres partenaires aux fins de la mise en œuvre des engagements contenus dans cette résolution ?

Partenariats avec :
Société nationale de la Croix-Rouge ou du Croissant-Rouge de votre pays
CICR/Fédération internationale
Universités

Exemples de coopération :

The cooperation with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement was further reinforced. On 19 March 2024, agreements with ICRC and IFRC were signed, during the meeting of the National Commission on IHL:

• The Agreement between the Government of Romania and the International Committee of the Red Cross on the privileges and immunities of the ICRC in Romania
• The Agreement between the Government of Romania and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies on the legal status and establishment of a delegation of the IFRC in Romania.

The Romanian authorities have already initiated the draft laws for the ratification of the abovementioned agreements.

The representatives of ICRC, IFRC and the Romanian Red Cross are often invited to the meetings of the National Commission on IHL.

See also the answer to point 1 related to the contest on international humanitarian law and refugee law.

Vous êtes-vous heurté·e à des difficultés dans la mise en œuvre des engagements contenus dans cette résolution?

Les engagements contenus dans cette résolution ont-ils eu une ou des incidences sur l’action et les orientations de votre État/Société nationale/institution ?

Type d’incidence :
La coopération entre le gouvernement/les autorités publiques et la Société nationale a été renforcée.
Les programmes et les opérations sont devenus plus efficaces et plus efficients.

Précisions au sujet des incidences :

The self-assessment exercise of drafting a national voluntary report on IHL implementation was very valuable and it allowed for the identification of progress and aspects in need of improvement.

On the other hand, it stimulated inter-institutional cooperation, raised the profile of IHL in the public administration and raised awareness about the importance of IHL within the Romanian society.

Please see the answer to point 1.

Les engagements contenus dans cette résolution ont-ils eu des incidences sur les communautés auxquelles votre État/Société nationale/institution vient en aide ?

Description des incidences :

Please see the answers to points 1 and 4.