BEIJING (Aug. 31) – In the framework of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Convention, the 7th Advanced International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Summer Session for Lecturers opens today in Beijing. Co-organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Institute for Human Rights, China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), the session gathers 50 lecturers, scholars and researchers from universities, military academies, think tanks and research institutions across China.
"This Session is designed to discuss basic IHL subjects and forefront IHL issues with lecturers of international law who have started or plan to start teaching IHL." said Larry Maybee, ICRC Regional Legal Adviser. "In the future, we hope to move one step further, to develop IHL teaching program at universities and law schools in China, which will include not only teaching IHL subjects, but also the methodology of developing IHL programs."
The three-day session revolves around the 1977 protocols additional to Geneva Conventions, with lectures on topics including Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts, Accountability and Repression of Breaches: Individual Responsibility and State Responsibility for Violations of IHL, and Teaching IHL in Universities: best Practices and Experience Sharing, etc.
"Participants to this edition are amongst the best experts we can find at the moment in China." said Prof. He Zhipeng, from Jilin University, who has participated in five summer sessions. "Thanks to this course, we stand at the forefront of our times. We are able to learn and discuss new developments of IHL; and back to our respective universities, we can update our lessons and students accordingly."
The ICRC regional delegation in Beijing has been organizing seminars and training events for government staff, military personnel, university lecturers and students in China, the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Mongolia, since 2005. Other events organized by the delegation include the Southeast and Northeast Asia Session on IHL, the Asia-Pacific Regional Moot Court Competition and the China National Moot Court Competition.
For further information, please contact:
Valery Mbaoh Nana, ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, Beijing, tel: +86 186 0025 3392
Michael Zhang, ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, Beijing, tel: +86 138 1003 5522
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