A) Objectives of the pledge:
The Belgian authorities are convinced that the more efforts are made to disseminate and train international humanitarian law in time of peace, the more the law will be complied with in time of armed conflict.
Therefore, in line with the 33rd International Conference’s resolution “Bringing IHL home: A road map for better national implementation of international humanitarian law” and following their obligation under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols regarding the dissemination and training of IHL, the Belgian authorities, under the direction of the Ministry of Defence, pledge to work towards the development of a revised operational law manual for their armed forces.
This manual will address the main legal issues at stake in military operations with the aim of providing the Belgian armed forces with a comprehensive overview of the legal framework to be complied with during military operations, including international humanitarian law as applicable.
B) Action plan:
The Ministry of Defence will:
– draft an operational law manual that should be available in both French and Dutch;
– coordinate the content of the manual with all relevant Belgian authorities (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, etc.);
– consult the Belgian Red Cross for comments on the IHL part of the manual;
– further disseminate the manual within the Belgian Defence staff and armed forces, as well as to other relevant external stakeholders;
– provide the manual as part of the training package of the course for advisors in the law of armed conflict.
C) Indicators for measuring progress:
Number of copies of the manual distributed:
The revised operational law manual will be distributed, inter alia, within the legal department of the Ministry of Defence and the Defence staff, to all unit commanders and advisors in the law of armed conflict within the Belgian armed forces as well as to other external stakeholders (such as other Ministries involved, the Office of the Federal Prosecutor, the Belgian Red Cross, etc.).
Number of people trained in IHL using the manual:
The manual will be part of the training package of the course for advisors in the law of armed conflict. This three-week course held on a regular basis at the Royal Military Academy aims to provide the designated unit advisors in the law of armed conflict with an in-depth introduction to IHL.
D) Resource implications:
The costs associated with this pledge will be covered by the Ministry of Defence’s budget.
