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Report on pledge – Promotion and Strengthening of the Work of the National Committees on International Humanitarian Law as well for Exchange of Information among them

Réunions statutaires / International Conference / Pledges / Pledge on promotion and strengthening of the work of the National Committees on International Humanitarian Law, as well as for the exchange of information among them // Promesa sobre promoción y fortalecimiento del trabajo de las Comisiones Nacionales de Derecho internacional humanitario, así como para el intercambio de información entre ellas / Rapport sur l’engagement / Report on pledge – Promotion and Strengthening of the Work of the National Committees on International Humanitarian Law as well for Exchange of Information among them

Mesures prises:

At the national level, Austria works closely with the Austrian Red Cross and other relevant stakeholders (academia, civil society) to promote the observance of IHL and exchange on ongoing initiatives.

In 2021, the Austrian Red Cross Law was amended to provide for a legal basis for the Austrian National Committee on International Humanitarian Law, which had existed informally already since 1988. The new provision (Section 10a) provides that the Committee, jointly chaired by a representative of the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs and the Austrian Red Cross, shall meet at least twice per year.

The tasks of the Committee include the dissemination of knowledge on International Humanitarian Law in Austria and advising the members of the Federal Government on the fulfilment of the obligations of Austria under the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, as well as the coordination of the implementation of the pledges made by the Austria and the Austrian Red Cross at the International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

Austria also promoted the exchange among national IHL Committees. On 13 and 14 March 2023, Austria, the Austrian Red Cross and the ICRC hosted the first European Regional Conference of National Committees on International Humanitarian Law (NCIHL) in Vienna.
The conference, with about 80 participants from all around Europe, provided an opportunity for peer-to-peer exchange of best practises and reflection among NCIHLs as well as substantive discussion on topical IHL issues relevant to NCIHLs.

The closed part of the conference, addressed at NCIHLs as well as representatives of States interested in forming such a body only, included panels on the role and functioning of NCIHL and collaboration among them as well as on the resolution of missing persons’ cases, explosive weapons in populated areas, universal jurisdiction, and humanitarian exemptions to sanctions regimes. The open part of the conference discussed the issue of “international humanitarian law and new technologies”.

Achèvement de la mise en œuvre:

Non
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