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Implementation of international humanitarian law: The work of Latin American international humanitarian law committees

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2022

Oscar G. Macias Betancourt
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Abstract

Respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) in the battlefield is contingent on the measures undertaken in peacetime. Indeed, satisfactory compliance with IHL rests in the implementation of multiple measures at the domestic level crossing different spheres, including legislative, administrative and educational. In most latitudes, governments and other stakeholders coordinate these measures in what is known as National Committees for the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law. The article addresses the practice of these bodies in Latin America and provides alternatives to enhance their work.

Keywords

domestic implementation of international humanitarian lawNational Committees for the Implementation of International Humanitarian Lawcultural propertyenhanced protectiondissemination1954 Hague Convention
Type
Research Article
Information
International Review of the Red Cross , Volume 104 , Issue 920-921: How International Humanitarian Law Develops , August 2022 , pp. 2013 - 2026
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the ICRC.

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Footnotes

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The author would like to thank Romina Morello and the editorial board for the very helpful suggestions. All mistakes are my sole responsibility.

References

1 Pellandini, Cristina, “Ensuring National Compliance with IHL: The Role and Impact of National IHL Committees”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 96, No. 895/896, 2014Google Scholar.

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4 Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua Case, Merits, Judgment, 1986, para. 218.

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10 See Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland Legal and Treaty Department, IV Report on the Implementation and Dissemination of International Humanitarian Law in the Republic of Poland for 2012–2018, available at: https://www.gov.pl/attachment/17464f70-4973-4755-9f55-d0e339cf86c2.

11 For committees with diverse composition, see the cases of Australia, Belgium, Costa Rica, France and Namibia.

12 Index of National Committees, above note 9.

13 Ibid.

14 See Argentina, Executive Decree No. 933/94, 16 June 1994; Chile, Decree No. 1229, 31 August 1994; Costa Rica, Executive Decree No. 32077-RE, 21 May 2004; Peru, Supreme Resolution No. 234-2001-JUS, 1 June 2001; Mexico, Presidential Decree, 12 August 2009.

15 Other diverse committees in the region are those from Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, whereas Mexico and Peru contemplate permanent membership exclusively to ministries.

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19 GC I, Art. 47; Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 85 (entered into force 21 October 1950), Art. 48; Geneva Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 135 (entered into force 21 October 1950), Art. 127; Geneva Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 287 (entered into force 21 October 1950), Art. 144; Protocol Additional (I) to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, 1125 UNTS 3, 8 June 1977 (entered into force 7 December 1978) (AP I), Art. 83; Protocol Additional (II) to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts, 1125 UNTS 609, 8 June 1977 (entered into force 7 December 1978), Art. 19.

20 See Convention for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Event of Armed Conflict, 216 UNTS 3511, 14 May 1954 (entered into force 7 August 1956) (1954 Hague Convention), Art. 7.

21 See ICRC, Implementing International Humanitarian Law: Report 2018/2019, Geneva, 2020, p. 38 (Report 2018/2019).

22 See ICRC, “ICRC Report on IHL and the Challenges of Contemporary Armed Conflicts”, Geneva, 22 November 2019, available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/icrc-report-ihl-and-challenges-contemporary-armed-conflicts; Report 2018/2019, ibid., p. 38.

23 See Report 2018/2019, above note 21.

24 All ICRC's tools can be found at ICRC, “Learning and Teaching IHL”, available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/what-we-do/building-respect-ihl/education-outreach.

25 Report 2018/2019, above note 21, p. 35.

26 ICRC, “Academia lanza el primer anuario iberoamericano de DIH”, 19 June 2020, available at: https://www.icrc.org/es/document/academia-lanza-el-primer-anuario-iberoamericano-de-dih-colombia.

27 Survey on file with the author.

28 Bates, Elizabeth Stubbins, “Towards Effective Military Training in International Humanitarian Law”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 96, No. 895/896, 2014, p. 804CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

29 Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck (eds), Customary International Humanitarian Law, Vol. 1: Rules, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005 (ICRC Customary Law Study), Rule 38, available at: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule38.

30 1954 Hague Convention, Arts 3, 7 and 25.

31 Ibid., Art. 4.

32 Ibid., Arts 16 and 8.

33 Ibid., Art. 8.1(a).

34 Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict 1999, 249 UNTS I-3511, 26 March 1999 (entered into force 9 March 2004) (1999 Second Protocol).

35 1999 Second Protocol, Art. 10(c).

36 Henckaerts, Jean-Marie, “New Rules for the Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict: The Significance of the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict”, in Dutli, María Teresa, Martignoni, Joanna Bourke and Gaudreu, Julie (eds), Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict: Report on the Meeting of Experts, ICRC, Geneva, 2002, p. 41Google Scholar.

37 From 1954 to 1999, only Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the Holy See listed cultural sites. See United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection, 23 July 2015, available at: http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/pdf/Register2015EN.pdf.

38 ICRC, Implementing International Humanitarian Law: Report 2012/2013, Geneva, 2013, p. 21 (Report 2012/2013).

39 Celina Ganuza Durán, Mario Guillermo Navarro and Ana Mercedes Salazar, Guía para la fase inicial del proceso de señalización de los bienes culturales de el salvador, con el emblema de protección en caso de conflicto armado. Convención de la Haya de 1954, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y el Arte, CONCULTURA, 2006, available at: https://www.transparencia.gob.sv/institutions/capres/documents/254996/download.

40 Report 2012/2013, above note 38, p. 20.

41 Report 2018/2019, above note 21, p. 32.

42 ICRC, Implementing International Humanitarian Law: Report 2016 and 2017, p. 29. All episodes from Motivados por la historia are available online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9lO_t0a1wA.

43 Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (México), Señalizan nueve sitios arqueológicos mexicanos para protección especial de la UNESCO, 1 October 2015, available at: https://inah.gob.mx/boletines/2155-senalizan-nueve-sitios-arqueologicos-mexicanos-para-proteccion-especial-de-la-unesco.

44 See Arbornoz, Mariana Salazar, “The Work of Mexico's Interministerial Committee on International Humanitarian Law”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 96, No. 895/896, 2014, p. 1057Google Scholar.

45 1999 Second Protocol, Art. 29.

46 See UNESCO, “1954 Convention Second Protocol Committee Emphasizes Protecting Heritage for Peace”, UNESCO Press Release, 5 January 2021, available at: https://en.unesco.org/news/1954-convention-second-protocol-committee-emphasizes-protecting-heritage-peace.

47 See UNESCO, List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection, 2017, available at: http://www.unesco.org/culture/1954convention/pdf/Enhanced-Protection-List-2017_EN.pdf.

48 See GC I, Art. 49; AP I, Art. 85.

49 ICRC Customary Law Study, above note 29, Rule 158.

50 See Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, UN Doc. A/CONF.183/9, 17 July 98 (entered into force 1 July 2002), Arts 1 and 17.

51 Sharon Weill, “Building Respect for IHL through National Courts”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 96, No. 895/896, 2014, p. 863.

52 Dieter Fleck, “Implementing International Humanitarian Law: Problems and Priorities”, International Review of the Red Cross, No. 281, April 1991.

53 Ley que Regula el Uso de la Fuerza para Miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas dentro del Territorio Nacional [Law Regulating the Use of Force for Members of the Armed Forces within the National Territory], available at: https://leyes.congreso.gob.pe/Documentos/Leyes/29166.pdf.

54 Decreto Legislativo que establece reglas de empleo y uso de la fuerza por parte de las Fuerzas Armadas en el territorio nacional N° 1095 [Legislative Decree that Establishes Rules of Employment and Use of Force by the Armed Forces in the National Territory], 2015, available at: https://www.icnl.org/resources/library/decreto-legislativo-1095-que-establece-reglas-de-empleo-y-uso-de-la-fuerza-por-parte-de-las-fuerzas-armadas-en-el-territorio-nacional.

55 Tania Elizabeth Arzapalo Villón, “Peru's National Committee for the Study and Implementation of International Humanitarian Law”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 96, No. 895/896, 2014, p. 1066. For other contributions from this NCIHL, see: https://www.minjus.gob.pe/conadih/#:~:text=La%20Comisi%C3%B3n%20Nacional%20de%20Estudio,y%20desarrollo%20del%20Derecho%20Internacional.

56 ICRC, Implementing International Humanitarian Law: Report 2014 and 2015,

57 Ecuador, Código Orgánico Integral Penal (Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code), Official Registry No. 180, 10 February 2014, Art. 111.

58 ICRC Customary Law Study, above note 29, Rule 59.

59 The law concerning the use and protection of the Red Cross name and emblem is available at: http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LUPDECR.pdf.

60 Quijano, Cristina, Ruiz, Ricardo, Roberts, Camila and Guerrero, Eduardo, “Implementación del Derecho Internacional Humanitario en Ecuador”, USFQ Law Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, August 2018, p. 274CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

61 ICRC, Resolution: Bringing IHL Home: A Road Map for Better National Implementation of International Humanitarian Law, 33IC/19/R1, 33th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Geneva, 9–12 December 2019, available at: https://rcrcconference.org/app/uploads/2019/12/33IC-R1-Bringing-IHL-home_CLEAN_ADOPTED_FINAL-171219.pdf.

62 All pledges presented at the 33th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent are available at: https://rcrcconference.org/pledge/pledge-on-promotion-and-strengthening-of-the-work-of-the-national-committees-on-international-humanitarian-law-as-well-as-for-the-exchange-of-information-among-them-promesa-sobre-promocion-y-forta/.

63 ICRC, “Online Community for National Committees and Similar Entities on IHL”, 28 May 2020, available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/online-community-national-committees-and-similar-bodies-ihl.

64 ICRC, “Ecuador: Regional Meeting of National Committees on IHL and Other Similar Entities of the Americas”, 24 February 2021, available at: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/ecuador-americas-regional-meeting-between-national-committees-and-similar-bodies-ihl.

65 Foreign & Commonwealth Office (United Kingdom), Voluntary Report on the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law at Domestic Level, London, 11 March 2019, p. 5, available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/784696/Voluntary_Report_on_the_Implementation_of_International_Humanitarian_Law_at_Domestic_Level.pdf.