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| News| Archive |
| 2008 |
27 February 2008 Election of a new Member At the occasion of their annual meeting from 27 to 29 February 2008 and pursuant to Article 90, Paragraph 1 (e), of Protocol I the Members of the IHFFC have elected General Jose Louis Rasamoelina from Madagascar as its new Member in replacement of the late Reinaldo Botero Bedoya. General Rasamoelina is a jurist and a military officer in the Madagascan Armed Forces. |
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1 February 2008 Death of Dr. Reinaldo Botero Bedoya, Member of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission is deeply saddened to learn of the unexpected death of its member Dr. Reinaldo Botero Bedoya on 21 January 2008. Dr. Reinaldo Botero Bedoya was a Colombian national. In 2006 he was elected to the Commission by the States parties to the 1st Protocol to the Geneva Convention which have recognised the competence of the Commission. The death of Dr. Reinaldo Botero Bedoya deprives the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission of an outstanding fighter for human rights. His tireless activity on behalf of human rights and against impunity was greatly appreciated by all his colleagues. The members of the Commission express their sincere condolences to his family and friends. |
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| 2007 |
28 November 2007 IHFFC side-event to the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in Geneva with Professor Louise Doswald-Beck On the occasion of the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in Geneva at the end of November 2007, the IHFFC organised a side-event on Fact-Finding as a Means to Better Implement IHL: Current Issues. The IHFFC was delighted to welcome Louise Doswald-Beck, professor and director at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (ADH) and board member of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), who shared her valuable knowledge on this topic with the audience. Mrs. Doswald-Beck participated in the ICJ fact-finding mission in the recent conflict between Lebanon and Israel. She was therefore able to give practical examples of basic problems arising in the context of a fact-finding mission, such as the legal classification of a conflict, the security of a mission, the handling of evidence, and dealing with witnesses. Her comments were followed by an animated discussion on these issues. |
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26 October 2007 The Principality of Monaco recognises the competence of the IHFFC On 26 October 2007, the Government of the Principality of Monaco recognised the competence of the IHFFC. The Principality of Monaco is the 70th State to have done so. |
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23 October 2007 Participation of the IHFFC to the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in Geneva and Side Event The IHFFC will participate, in the capacity as observer, to the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which will take place in Geneva from 26 - 30 November 2007 On the occasion of this Conference the IHFFC will organize a Side-Event on Wednesday, 28 November 2007, from 13.00 - 14.00 in the CICG in Geneva (room 15) to which all delegates will be invited. The topic of the Side-Event will be: Fact-finding as a mean to better implement IHL: current issues. The IHFFC is delighted to announce that Lt. General Satish Nambiar from India will be the IHFFC's special guest at this event. Mr. Nambiar is a worldwide known expert in the field of military law and recently acted as chair of the Legal Expert Inquiry established by the International Commission of Jurists concerning possible violations of international humanitarian law during the hostilities in Israel and Lebanon. He will share some of his experience at this Side-Event. |
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24 September 2007 New brochure available In the past month the IHFFC-Brochure was reviewed and adapted to the latest developments and new approaches of the Commission. The new brochures are available in English and French at the Secretariat of the Commission and will be soon available online. |
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3 September 2007 It is with deep regret that the Commission has to announce that its Member Prof. Eric David was severely wounded last week, having been knocked over by a motorcycle during his usual morning bicycle run from his home to the University in Brussels. The Commission wishes Prof. David all the best for his recovery. |
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31 August 2007 The IHFFC at 2nd Commonwealth Red Cross and Red Crescent Conference in Wellington The IHFFC attended the 2nd Commonwealth Red Cross and Red Crescent Conference in Wellington New Zealand from 29 to 31 August 2007, chaired by the former President of the IHFFC, Sir Kenneth Keith. The Commission was represented by Col. Charles Garraway. The IHFFC was offered the opportunity in a plenary session to present itself to the delegates. To see the slides of the presentation, please click here. |
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20 June 2007 Participation of the IHFFC to the Regional Symposium for the 30th Anniversary of the Additional Protocols of 1977 in Beijing From 18 to 19 June 2007 the President of the IHFFC, Prof. Michael Bothe, participated and presented the IHFFC at the regional Symposium for the 30th Anniversary of the Adoption of the 1977 Protocols Additional to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949, which took place in Beijing and was organized jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People Republic of China and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Prof. Bothe took the opportunity to have contacts with number of representatives of Asia States which are not yet members of the IHFFC. |
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6 June 2007 Presentation of the IHFFC before the COJUR (EU) in Brussels The IHFFC was invited by the EU Council Working Group on Public International Law (COJUR) for a presentation during its session of 6 June in Brussels. The Commission was represented by its President, Prof. Michael Bothe, Prof. Eric David and Ambassador Christine Schraner Burgener, Secretary of the Commission. Three presentations were made: about its existence and functioning in general, current activities and logistical aspects of the potential operations. A lively discussion followed with the delegates of the COJUR. To see the slides of the three presentations, please click on the respective item below: existence and functioning; current activities; logistical aspects |
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23 March 2007 The IHFFC adopts a Plan of action Following the annual meeting 2007, which took place from 14 to 16 March in Geneva, the members of the IHFFC adopted a plan of action with the aim of reinforcing the visibility and the presence of the Commission among the international community and its position and readiness to fulfil its mandate. The Commission understands its role, as conceived by Art. 90, as meaning that it could and should be used as an effective instrument of the States Parties to comply with their obligation to ensure respect for the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols. It has the important function of ascertaining facts in order to ensure a better implementation of international humanitarian law. The Commission, by respecting the spirit of the Conventions and the Additional Protocols, has indeed taken, a proactive stance by offering its good offices whenever it deems this to be appropriate. It intends to increase its activities in this respect. |
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19 March 2007 International Humanitarian Fact-finding Commission: Fourth Constituent Assembly During its annual meeting, held in Geneva march 14 to 16, the International Humanitarian Fact-finding Commission (IHFFC) drew a balance of the efforts made to the respect of international humanitarian law by means of enquiries into alleged grave breaches of these rules. The Lebanon and Darfur crises are the most recent examples of allegations of horrendous violations of the rules of international law protecting the victims of armed conflicts. In both cases, the measures undertaken to clarify the facts in a reliable way have been the object of sharp political controversy. The IHFFC, discussing the lessons to be learned from these conflicts, concluded that impartiality and independence are a necessary condition for fact-finding which is credible and acceptable for the parties to a conflict. It repeated its ability and willingness to engage in inquiries meeting these high standards. Experience shows that inquiries of this kind are important contributions to the re-establishment of peace in a conflict area. This was the first meeting of the IHFFC members since their election, held last December, by the 69 States parties to the First Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions which have recognised the Commission's competence. The IHFFC has the task to enquire into any fact allegedly constituting a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. It also has the competence to facilitate, through its good offices, the return to a situation of respect of the Conventions and the Protocol. For that purpose, the IHFFC updated its contingency planning. The IHFFC is composed of 15 members: experts of international humanitarian law, medical doctors and military officers. It is lead by a bureau, newly elected as follows: Prof. Michael Bothe (Germany), President: Prof. Ghalib Djilali (Algeria), 1st Vice-President; Prof. Jeannette Irigoin Barenne (Chile), 2nd Vice-President; Prof. Elzbieta Mikos-Skuza (Poland), 3rd Vice-President. |
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3 January 2007 Report 2002 - 2006 The quinquennial report of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission for the period of 2002 – 2006 is now available. To read the report, please click here. |
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| 2006 |
7 December 2006 ELECTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE IHFFC At the invitation of Switzerland, the depositary state of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, the fourth diplomatic meeting to elect the members of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission was held in Bern on 7 December. The sixty-eight States party to the first additional protocol of 1977 to the Geneva Convention that have agreed to recognise the competence of the Commission were entitled to participate in this election.
The newly-formed Commission was elected for a term of office of five years and will enter into function at its first annual meeting planned to take place in the course of March 2007. |
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24 November Elections 2006 Switzerland, in its capacity as the depositary State of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and of Protocol I additional of 1977, has invited the High Contracting Parties which have agreed to accept the competence of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission in accordance with Article 90 of Protocol I additional to the Geneva Conventions to a diplomatic meeting to elect the members of the Commission for the period from 2007 until 2011. The diplomatic meeting will take place on 7 December 2006 in Bern in the rooms of the Universal Postal Union. Read the general information and the program of the diplomatic meeting. All 68 States which have recognised the competence of the Commission and are thus entitled to vote should register to the diplomatic meeting of 7 December. Please use the registration form and return it duly completed to the Secretariat of the Commission At this diplomatic meeting, the representatives of the High Contracting
Parties which have recognised the competence of the Commission will
elect, by secret ballot, the fifteen members of the Commission from
a list of candidates proposed by certain High Contracting Parties.
See the provisional list oft the nominated candidates and the draft
rules of procedure. Secretariat of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission E-mail: anne.stettler@eda.admin.ch |
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31 October Participation of the IHFFC to the 5th Assembly of States Parties to the ICC From 23 November to 1 December 2006, a delegation of the IHFFC will participate, in the capacity as observer, to the 5th Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, which will take place in The Hague. The IHFFC will be represented by its President, Prof. Ghalib Djilali and its first Vice President, Prof. Elzbieta Mikos-Skuza. The IHFFC had already been present during the United Nations Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court in Rome from 15 June to 17 July 1998. Read the general
statement of Prof. Ghalib Djilali |
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18 October Statement by the IHFFC at the 6th Committee of the UN General Assembly in New York An informal meeting of the 6th Committee dedicated to the IHFFC was held, with the support of the Chairman of the 6th Committee, H.E. Mr Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo of Mexico, following the general debate in the 6th Committee on the Status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. The IHFFC, represented by its Vice-President, Prof. Michael Bothe and two of its members, Ambassador Juan Antonio Yañez-Barnuevo and Colonel Hugo Corujo Sanseviero, took the opportunity to present itself and answer the questions of the delegations. Read the statement of Prof. Michael Bothe |
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7 September ELECTIONS 2006: INFORMATION MEETING In view of the upcoming Diplomatic Conference of 7 December 2006 in Bern for the election of the 15 members of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission, the Swiss Permanent Mission to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva will organize an Information Meeting on Tuesday, 12 September 2006, from 15.30 - 17.15 at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG) in Room 5. The Program of the Information Meeting will be as follows:
This meeting will be followed by an aperitif offered by the Swiss Mission in Geneva. |
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2 August The Republic of Montenegro recognises the competence of the IHFFC As of 2 August 2006, the Republic of Montenegro has deposited the Instrument of Accession to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the two Protocols Additional of 8 June 1977 relating to the Protection of the Victims of International and Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I and II). Together with the Instrument of Accession to Protocol I, the Republic of Montenegro has as well deposited with the Swiss Federal Council the declaration relating to its recognition of the competence of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission, in accordance with Article 90 of Protocol I. The two Protocols as well as its declaration of recognition of the IHFFC will enter into force for the Republic of Montenegro six months after the deposit of the instruments of accession, i.e. on 2 February 2007. The Republic of Montenegro will be the 69th State to have accepted
the Competence of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission. |
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8 June Side Event to the first session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission will organize a Side-Event at the occasion of the first session of the Human Rights Council on Thursday, 22 June 2006, from 13.00 – 14.00 in the CICG in Geneva (3rd Floor, Room 5). The programme of the Side-Event will be as follows:
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14 May Upcoming Elections For the fourth time since the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission became operational on 20 November 1990, Switzerland, as Depositary of the Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 will convene a Diplomatic Conference of the High Contracting Parties which have recognised the Commission to proceed to the election of the 15 members of the Commission. The Diplomatic Conference will take place on 7 December 2006 in Bern, in the building of the Universal Postal Union Bern. Beginning of May, the 68 High Contracting Parties which have currently recognised the Commission have been invited to submit the name of their candidate to the elections. |
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3 May Promotional Mission to South East Asia Pursuing its efforts towards universalisation of its recognition by States Parties to the Geneva Conventions (article 90, Protocol I Additional), the Commission will undertake a promotional mission to South-East Asia from 7 to 17 May 2006. The delegation of the Commission will be composed of Mrs Elzbieta Mikos-Skuza, 1st Vice-President, Mr. Marcel Dubouloz, Member and Mrs Véronique Haller from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs for the Secretariat. The delegation has planned to visit the Kingdom of Thailand, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Cambodia and Brunei Darussalam and to meet representatives of the governments and the national red cross or red crescent societies. In some countries also representatives of the civil society.
Meeting of the delegation of the Commission with representatives of the government of Brunei Darussalam (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice and of Defense). In the middle, Prof. Elzbieta Mikos-Skuza (Poland), head of delegation of the Commission and Mr Alaihuddin Taha, Director of the Department of International Organisations at the MFA.
Mrs Elzbieta Mikos-Skuza, vice-president of the Commission with the Senior Colonel Nguyen Trong Dac from the Minstry of Defense.
The Head of the cabinet of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cambodia, Mrs. Sophea Eat, and the delegation of the Commission, composed, from left to right by Mr. Marcel Dubouloz, Ms. Véronique Haller and Mrs. Elzbieta Mikos-Skuza. The Ambassador of Poland in Phnom Penh, Mr. Ryszard Olszewski, accompanied (to the right) the delegation. |
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15 March Election of a new President and a new Vice-President At the occasion of their annual meeting 2006 (15 March 2006), the Members of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission have elected their first Vice-President Professor Ghalib Djilali as their new President in replacement of Sir Kenneth Keith. Indeed Sir Kenneth Keith had to resign from his functions as a President and a Member of the Commission following his election as a Judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The members have unanimously elected Professor Ghalib Djilali and look forward to a good and interesting collaboration with their new President. The Members of the commission and the Secretariat also take this opportunity to announce that during the same annual meeting the Professor Michael Bothe has been elected as Vice-President. |
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| 2005 |
5-9
December The delegation had the opportunity to hold interesting and constructive meetings with a number of interlocutors from the United Nations (including Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan, Under-Secretary-General Mr. Nicolas Michel, Assistant-Secretary-General Mr. Hédi Annabi, et al.), from Permanent missions (UK president of the Security Council, high representatives of Russia, China and more) and from the academic and NGO field. The objective of the mission was to promote the existence and the field of action of the Commission as well as an exchange of views on the role of the Commission. The feedback has been very positive and the Commission looks forward to continue its work.
The United Nation Secretary - General, M. Kofi Annan, surrounded by the delegation of the Commission, composed from left to right by Véronique Haller (FDFA), Elzbieta Mikos-Skuza (Vice-President), Sir Kenneth Keith (President), Ghalib Djilali (Vice-President) and Antonio Yañes-Barnuevo (membre) |
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Rt Hon Sir Kenneth Keith new member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) The members of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission and its Secretariat, would like to warmly congratulate Sir Kenneth Keith on his brilliant election as a member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). After having been part of the New Zealand legal team that took cases before the ICJ, along with Australia, to challenge the legality of (French) nuclear tests in the Pacific, he has now been elevated to become the first New Zealander judge at the world's pre-eminent international court. It is an inestimable honour for the IHFFC to see its President called to take in such a high and prestige position. The members and the Secretariat of the Commission wishes Sir Kenneth Keith all the very best in The Hague. |
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2004 |
31 August Japan recognises the competence of the IHFFC Japan has deposited the Instrument of Accession to both of the
Protocols Additional of 8 June 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of
12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of the Victims of
International and Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I
and II). Japan has as well deposited the declaration relating to
its recognition of the competence of the International Humanitarian
Fact-Finding Commission, based on Article 90 of Protocol I. Both
Instruments of Accession and the Declaration were deposited with
the Swiss Federal Council, in its capacity as depository of the
Protocols, on 31 August 2004. |
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1 June Burkina Faso recognises the competence of the IHFFC On
24 May 2004, the Government of Burkina Faso recognised the competence
of the IHFFC, becoming the 67th State to do so. Burkina Faso is
the 11th African State Party of the IHFFC after Algeria, Togo, Seychelles,
Rwanda, Madagascar, Guinea, Namibia, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic
of the Congo, and Mali. |
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18 April The Republic of Korea recognises the competence of the IHFFC On 16 April 2004, the Government of the Republic of Korea recognised the competence of the IHFFC. The Republic of Korea is the 66th State to have done so. |
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6-21 February Promotional mission by the IHFFC to central and east Africa A delegation
of the IHFFC, including Dr. Ghalib Djiliali, 1st Vice-President,
and Ambassador Juan Antonio Yañez Barnuevo, 2nd Vice-President,
accompanied by a member of the Secretariat, Mr Daniel Derzic, have
undertaken a promotional mission to Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Niger
and Senegal. |
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