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South Africa: Strengthening IHL and IHRL compliance

Strengthening and complying with IHL and IHRL among armed forces in the SADC region
IHL and IHRL dissemination for members of SANDF in Pretoria

In 2023, the ICRC Pretoria Regional Delegation hosted 20 workshops for members of the Defence Forces in Southern Africa. The workshops were jointly organised with various Defence Units in each country, including Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. They aimed to engaging them on the application of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) during military operations

The ICRC Pretoria Regional Delegation works with troop-contributing countries (TCC) of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to promote respect for and compliance with IHL and IHRL standards. Through pre-deployment training to military staff colleges and robust engagement with the SADC Regional Peacekeeping Training Centre (SADC RPTC) in Harare, the ICRC seeks to ensure that all levels of the armed forces understand and apply IHL and Human Rights law in their military operations, and to facilitate humanitarian action aimed to effectively protect and assist the civilians during armed conflict and other situations of violence.  

In 2023, the Pretoria Regional Delegation:

  • Supported pre-deployment briefings in Malawi and Zambia for 1,500 troops going to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic (CAR). The briefings helped ensure the troops are better positioned to apply IHL and IHRL. Further, the ICRC engaged the Malawi Defence Force Legal Services Directorate to exchange on lessons learnt from previous DRC deployments.

  • Supported the efforts of Defence forces to strengthen their IHL training capacity through conducting a Train the Trainer (ToT) Seminar for 50 IHL trainers from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) and participation in a ToT session conducted by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in which 30 IHL trainers were briefed on IHRL and humanitarian principles.

  • Participated in the Combined Joint African Exercise (CJAX) in Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe during which 220 learners were mentored on humanitarian principles and work of humanitarians in peace support operations. 

  • Conducted a session for 30 commanders and five sessions for 800 troops in Eswatini on the use of force when carrying out law enforcement operations.

  • Supported two junior staff courses at the Zimbabwe Staff College that benefited 90 participants.

  • Conducted sessions on IHRL for police and correctional services of Eswatini and Zimbabwe in which 70 participants benefited.

 

Major Lunga Ncapayi from the SANDF was optimistic that the best time to teach the rules of war is when there is no war, so prevention is better than cure. “It will be too late to train armed forces during conflicts, peace time is the best time. Armed forces must integrate both IHL and IHRL on the doctrines, rehearse them during techniques and tactics. We also deploy our members to the region as part of peacekeeping missions and we need to know the parameters of the laws which govern our operations,” Major Ncapayi noted.

“There can never be any right organization to empower our members of the Defence Force other than the ICRC as the custodians of the Geneva Conventions. The members are now equipped with information about how to conduct themselves during operations and this kind of training is beneficial to military personnel as it prepares them for things they can do or can’t do when involved in the military operations,” , said, Letsiwe Magongo, Captain at UEDF.

“The ICRC is doing a wonderful job in empowering armed forces on rules of war. Soldiers are now conversant with the rules of war. They get to know conduct which is allowed during an Armed Conflict. Law of conduct of hostilities (LOAC) now becomes part and parcel of military training, it is engraved in their tactics and military doctrine,” said Ezekiel Madovi, Captain at Zimbabwe Defence Force.

The workshops have solidified the relationship between the ICRC and the military institutions in the Southern African region and opened doors for other areas of cooperation.

The work of the ICRC Pretoria Regional Delegation with the SADC RPTC and the Defence forces of Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe provided current and prospective deployments with an understanding of the ICRC’s mandate, activities in the DRC, CAR, Mozambique while its support to staff colleges of South Africa and Zimbabwe and the SADC RPTC contributes to the continued integration of IHL and IHRL in military doctrine and education. 

20

Workshops for Defence Forces in Southern Africa

1,500

Troops supported pre-deployment briefings 

80

IHL trainers participated in the Train the Trainer (ToT) Seminar 

220

Learners mentored on humanitarian principles and work of humanitarians in peace support operations. 

IHL and IHRL dissemination for members of SANDF in Pretoria
IHL and IHRL dissemination for members of SANDF in Pretoria