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Switzerland: Report on Support of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC)

Statutory Meetings / International Conference / Pledges / Support of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC) / Pledge Report / Switzerland: Report on Support of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC)

Actions taken:

  • Switzerland provides the Secretariat of the IHFFC. This entails day-to-day administrative support for the Commission, the management of its budgetary and financial processes, the organization of the Annual Meeting in Geneva as well as support to its members during missions abroad.
  • In 2016, Switzerland, in its capacity as Secretariat of the IHFFC, convened a diplomatic conference of the then 76 Member States in Bern in order to elect the 15 members of the IHFFC. The next diplomatic conference is scheduled for 2021.
  • In its capacity as Secretariat of the IHFFC, Switzerland provided substantial support to the Commission with regard to its successful independent forensic investigation mandated by the OSCE in relation to the incident of 23 April 2017 that occurred in Pryshyb (Ukraine).
  • As a High Contracting Party to the Geneva Conventions and Protocol Additional I, Switzerland regularly raises awareness of the IHFFC in multilateral fora, encourages States to recognize its competence and resort to the Commission, and supports meaningful references to the Commission in resolutions, for instance in the 6th Committee of the UN General Assembly. In bilateral contacts with relevant States, Switzerland advocates for the recognition of the competence of the Commission.

Switzerland seized the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the two Additional Protocols I and II as well as the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions to encourage States having not yet done so to join the Additional Protocols and recognise the competence of the IHFFC as a significant step to reinforce respect for international humanitarian law. This recognition can be made by depositing a simple declaration (available on the website www.ihffc.org) with the Depositary.

Implementation completion:

No
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