Actions taken:
The Czech Republic together with the National Red Cross Society (The Czech Red Cross) works on promotion of the IHL and dissemination of knowledge of IHL in the State administration, in the armed forces, police and in the integrated rescue system, mainly thorough the National Committee on IHL which is presided by the MFA. The National Committee on IHL meets regularly, at least three times a year, to discuss the implementation of IHL obligations of the Czech Republic and to raise awareness of IHL principles, inter alia by organizing annual events on relevant topics with various speakers from international courts and tribunals and other institutions. The National Committee organized a seminar on the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict on June 19, 2018, panel discussion on the safety of the humanitarian personnel and protection of humanitarian aid on June 17, 2019 and published and disseminated manual on the use of the emblem of the Red Cross in the Czech Republic.
In 2017, the Czech Republic submitted a nomination of Villa Tugendhat for granting enhanced protection under the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. At its 13th session on 7 December 2018 in Paris, the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, UNESCO, decided to include Villa Tugendhat on the List of Cultural Property under the Enhanced Protection.
Since January 2019, the Czech Republic (on the request of MFA) has been providing 18 months grant (cca 70 175,- EUR ) on the IHL issues to the Institute of International Relations Prague (independent public research institution).
The Ministry of Defence is responsible for education and training of armed forces of the Czech Republic. In line with the Geneva Conventions and Hague Conventions requirements to disseminate IHL and in cooperation with the Czech Red Cross, the Ministry of Defence organizes twice per year a specialized IHL training for members of the armed forces and civilian personnel, called “Basic Course on Law of Armed Conflict”. Furthermore, the Ministry of Defence organizes specialized IHL seminars based on current needs. In addition, in October 2018, the Ministry of Defence held a military exercise “Jus in Bello 2018” focusing specifically on the practical application of IHL in the field. To support training on the rules protecting the provision of health care and on the rights and responsibilities of health care personnel, the exercise involved also military medical personnel and several students of medical schools.
The Palacky University in Olomouc and the Czech Red Cross in cooperation with ICRC organized an expert meeting on “Health Care in Danger – a Central and Eastern European perspective”. It was a part of the annual conference “Olomouc Days of Emergency Medicine” in 2017. The meeting was attended by a variety of experts from several countries, representatives of civilian and military national authorities, academics, health professionals, and National Red Cross Societies.
Czech Red Cross in cooperation with Association of Medical Rescue Services and Ministry of Health organized a special course for crisis managers of the Regional Medical Emergency Services Directorate.
Czech Red Cross organized regularly courses for his disseminators of IHL. Trough “net of disseminators”, Czech Red Cross organized events focused to dissemination of IHL. IHL is a part of curriculum of first aid courses for public. IHL is also a part of internal education system for staff and members of the Czech Red Cross.
Czech Red Cross has presented IHL on his website www.cervenykriz.eu and on special new website for youth www.mladyzdravotnik.cz .
Czech Red Cross has also regularly published “Magazín mladého zdravotníka” which is focused to youth interested in the topic of first aid. In this publication the topic of IHL has been also contained.
Czech Red Cross also cooperates with Charles University (Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Law), Palacký University (Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Health Science), West Bohemian University (Faculty of law), University of Ostrava (Faculty of medicine), Tomas Bata University in Zlin (Faculty of Logistics and Crisis Management), University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences), and Faculty of Safety Engineering of Technical University in Ostrava to assist to include IHL into study on this ones.
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