Strengthening compliance with international humanitarian law: The work of the ICRC and the Swiss government (2015-2019)
Following a resolution adopted by the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, between 2015 and 2019 Switzerland and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) jointly conducted an intergovernmental process aimed at improving compliance with IHL. The main objective was to reach consensus on the establishment of a forum for dialogue among States on IHL, and on ways to make better use of the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent as well as regional forums. In the current multilateral environment, the intergovernmental process was not able to reach consensus. Nevertheless, the process did underline the universal validity of IHL. Furthermore, a wide range of ideas on how to improve the implementation of international humanitarian law were put forward, which can be further pursued.
