Actions taken:
The protection of the environment as well as information on Finnish translation of the updated 2020 ICRC Guidelines on the Protection of the Natural Environment in Armed Conflict has been included in the IHL dissemination activities of the Finnish Red Cross in a number of ways:
• The legal advisors of the National Society have written about the subject, both in the form of a blogpost on the ICRC Law and Policy blog (https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2021/10/12/ihl-protection-environment-war/) , as well as an article for the International Review of the Red Cross in relation to urban warfare (https://international-review.icrc.org/articles/war-in-cities-why-the-protection-of-the-natural-environment-matters-924). Additionally, an article on IHL and the protection of the environment was published in the main publication of the Finnish Red Cross (Avun Maailma 1/2022). The protection of the environment will also be a special focus when the IHL blog of the Finnish Red Cross will be launched on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the 1949 Geneva Conventions on August 12, 2024. For this, the Finnish Red Cross will produce a Finnish subtitled version of the ICRC video “How nature is protected during conflict?”
• The Finnish Red Cross has participated and spoken in numerous seminars and events that have been organized on this topic both domestically and internationally.
• The protection of the environment has consistently been included in IHL trainings for members of the Finnish armed forces that the National Society has co-organised with the Finnish Defence Forces.