IHFFC contacted by Médecins Sans Frontières [08/10/2015]
The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC) has been contacted by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) in relation to the events in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on 3 October 2015.
The IHFFC stands ready to undertake an investigation but can only do so based on the consent of the concerned State or States. The IHFFC has taken appropriate steps and is in contact with MSF. It cannot give any further information at this stage.
The IHFFC was created pursuant to Article 90 of Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, agreed by the international community in Geneva in 1977. When parties to a conflict are accused of violations of international humanitarian law, the Commission’s experts investigate the allegations. They offer their good services to further compliance with international humanitarian law. Unlike a court, the Commission restricts itself to establishing the facts: it does not deliver a verdict. The Commission informs the relevant parties of the results of its investigation and makes recommendations for improving compliance with international humanitarian law and its application. The Bureau of the Commission consist of the President of the IHFFC, Gisela Perren-Klingler (Switzerland), First Vice-President Thilo Marauhn (Germany), Vice-President Mohamed Mahmoud Al Kamali (United Arab Emirates), Vice-President Jeannette Irigoin Barenne (Chile) and Vice-President Shuichi Furuya (Japan).
· 02 June 2015
Date for the Annual Meeting 2016 [02/06/2015]
The 2016 Annual Meeting of the IHFFC will take place from the 22 - 25 of February 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland.
· 21 April 2015
The IHFFC deeply regrets the passing away of Major General (rt'd) Anthony Rogers [21/04/2015]
It is with deep sorrow that the IHFFC has to announce that Major General (rt’d) Anthony Rogers, a former Member of the Commission (2002-2006), passed away on Thursday 16 April 2015. Major General Rogers had a remarkable career as a Solicitor and in the Army Legal Services of which he retired as Director of Army Legal Services in the rank of Major General in 1997. Major General Rogers joined then the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge where he taught the law of armed conflict in the Cambridge LLM course. He was furthermore Associate Lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex. In 2005 he was appointed chairman of the UK Group of the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War. Major General Rogers had served as an esteemed Member of the IHFFC for four years. His colleagues always valued his courtesy and his expertise in the field of IHL.
· 19 March 2015
The IHFFC deeply regrets the passing away of Pr. Ghalib Djilali [19/03/2015]
It is with deep sorrow that the IHFFC has to announce Prof. Ghalib Djilali, a former Member of the Commission (1991-2013), passed away at age 79, on 14 March 2015. Prof. Djilali had a remarkable career as war surgeon, catastrophe surgeon, and head of the General Surgery at the Aïn Taya University Hospital in Algiers. He was also a member of several national and international scientific societies and was part of numerous international missions, and further acted as a Court expert in Algeria. Prof. Djilali had served as an esteemed Member of the IHFFC since the Commissions foundation in 1991 and acted as its first Vice-President.
Annual meeting of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission: 16-18 March 2015 [19/03/2015]
The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC) held its 2015 annual meeting from 16 to 18 March in Geneva.
· 12 March 2015
Annual Meeting 2015 [12/03/2015]
The members of the IHFFC (term 2012-2016) will gather in Geneva between 16 and 18 March 2015 for the Annual Meeting of the Commission.
· 28 April 2014
St. Kitts and Nevis has become the 76th State Party to the IHFFC [28/04/2014]
The IHFFC is very pleased to announce that St. Kitts and Nevis has recently become the 76th State to recognize its competence, in accordance with article 90 of the Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
St. Kitts and Nevis is the fourth State to do so since April 2013 and thus follows Kuwait, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as Malawi.
· 27 March 2014
Annual meeting of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission: 24-26 March 2014 [27/03/2014]
Please click here to read the summary of the Annual Meeting of the Commission.
· 17 February 2014
Annual Meeting 2014 [17/02/2014]
The members of the IHFFC (term 2012-2016) will gather in Geneva between 24 and 26 March 2014 for the Annual Meeting of the Commission.
The IHFFC deeply regrets the passing away of Dr. Árpád Prandler [17/02/2014]
It is with deep sorrow that the IHFFC has to announce that Dr. Árpád Prandler, a former Member of the Commission (1996-2006), passed away at age 84, on 5 February 2014. Dr. Prandler had an illustrious career both as a diplomat, scholar, former senior official of the United Nations and ad litem judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. For 10 years, he was also a very important and dedicated Member of the IHFFC. His colleagues always valued his humbleness and respect towards others’ views. The IHFFC will remember him as a great humanitarian.
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