Actions taken:
States that have signed the 1949 Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols commit to disseminating and spreading the norms related to International Humanitarian Law both in peacetime and during periods of armed conflict. In this field, states closely cooperate with the International Committee of the Red Cross and National Societies.
Based on the law of Georgia “About Georgia Red Cross Society”, the National Society ensures respect for the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) rules through dissemination of knowledge and facilitation of observance of these rules at the National level. According to its mandate, the National Society helps its government disseminate knowledge of International Humanitarian Law.
During the 33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent held in Geneva in 2019, the Georgia Red Cross Society undertook joint pledge with the state (National IHL Commission), the main objective of the pledge is to disseminate IHL among different target groups.
Actions taken:
– In order to promote the observance of norms of international humanitarian law, their integration and coordination of the activities of relevant agencies in the field of international humanitarian law, the Interagency Commission on International Humanitarian Law was established, which is a permanent advisory body of the Government of Georgia. The Commission is chaired by the Minister of Justice of Georgia. In June 2022, the Interagency Commission approved the 2022-2023 Action Plan for Implementation of International Humanitarian Law. One of the main objectives of the aforementioned action plan is to fulfill the pledges undertaken by the state during the 33rd Red Cross/Red Crescent International Conference, which includes raising awareness about IHL and etc; Georgia Red Cross Society is an only non- governmental organization which is involved in the implementation process of the action plan with the several ministries of Georgia.
– The representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and the Georgia Red Cross Society had several meetings in order to map the opportunities in order to fulfill the joint pledge. As a result it was decided that the resources of Georgia Red Cross Society branches would be used, especially those branches where the office space for the trainings were available.
– Within the framework of activities for the dissemination of international humanitarian law, representatives of the Georgian Red Cross and the Ministry of Justice, during 2023-2024, with the involvement of branches of the Georgian Red Cross, conducted international humanitarian law trainings as well as the trainings regarding the related topics, with target groups. The representative of the Ministry Of Justice was actively sharing information regarding the historical overview, main principles and objectives of International Humanitarian Law. During the trainings, representatives of the Georgia Red Cross Society shared information on IHL-related issues, such as disaster management, first aid, and psychosocial support.
– In total, 10 field visits were held: in Gori, Kvareli, Gardabani, Tetritskaro, Batumi, Kutaisi, Tkibuli, Kobuleti, Marneuli and Sagarejo. More than 250 people attended the trainings. It is worth mentioning that the trainings attracted a diverse audience, including students, graduating class pupils, teachers, Georgia Red Cross Society volunteers, and representatives of local municipalities.
– Georgia Red Cross Society has a small library of the Georgian versions of the Geneva Conventions. It is available/accessible for students and other publics interested in IHL. A total of 15 students used our library to prepare their master’s or bachelor’s theses. The Georgian version of the Geneva Conventions were provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
– As for the partners it has to be mentioned that the trainings were attended by the representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross. They had a status of observer and from time to time the information was shared with the ICRC Tbilisi office.
