icrc-annual-report-2013

AUTHORITIES, ARMED FORCES AND OTHER BEARERSOF WEAPONS, AND CIVIL SOCIETYThai authorities discuss scope of application ofAdditional Protocol IThai and Vietnamese government officials and security personnelparticipated in local IHL-related workshops jointly organizedby their Defence and/or Foreign Affairs Ministries. The Thaiauthorities made clarifications regarding Additional Protocol I,primarily its scope of application and universal jurisdiction overgrave breaches; Vietnamese officials and the National Societydiscussed and expressed support for their country’s accession toAdditional Protocol II. Cambodia ratified Protocol II to the HagueConvention on Cultural Property.Lao, Thai and Vietnamese government representatives discussedtheir plans for domestic IHL implementation at a regional seminar(see Beijing).University students test their grasp of IHL at regionalcompetitionsStudents at State-run secondary schools in Thailand continued tolearn about humanitarian principles and IHL from the ExploringHumanitarian Law programme, incorporated into the nationalRed Cross curriculum. The Education Ministry/National Societyassumed full responsibility for the programme and focused onits implementation, including by bringing together instructorsto share their experiences in teaching the subject. Plans to replicatethe programme in Cambodia and Viet Nam were no longerpursued. The Thai Red Cross Youth Bureau continued its “IHLambassador” project for out-of-school youth by training 80 mastertrainers and 600 National Society volunteers countrywide.University students throughout the region – for the first time fromthe Lao PDR and Viet Nam as well – demonstrated their grasp ofIHL at national and regional moot court competitions (see Beijing)and the 2013 Jean-Pictet Competition on IHL in Thailand. Threeuniversities in Thailand and Viet Nam included IHL in law orinternational studies courses.Military units deployed to southern Thailand are briefedon humanitarian normsIn an effort to enhance their decision-making processes,Cambodian and Thai military officers participated in national andinternational workshops on the application of humanitarian normsto military planning. Thai armed forces, primarily those already orabout to be deployed along the Cambodia-Thailand border and insouthern Thailand, heightened their awareness of law enforcementin military operations; the need to respect humanitarian principles,medical staff/infrastructure and the red cross emblem; andthe ICRC during presentations/seminars.Similar sessions – organized with the police forces and, in Thailand,with military officials in attendance – enabled senior policeofficers in Cambodia and southern Thailand to deepen theirunderstanding of internationally recognized policing standards.Topics included prison supervision, overcrowding and judicialguarantees. Lao police officers learnt more about public ordermanagement during a regional seminar (see Jakarta).Periodic bilateral meetings with and two seminars for membersof armed groups from Myanmar focused on respect for IHL andhumanitarian principles and on various humanitarian issues suchas the presence of anti-personnel mines, the recruitment of childsoldiers by weapon bearers and victims’ access to health care.Lao authorities learn more about humanitarian principles,IHL and the ICRCRegionwide, the authorities, as well as staff of diplomatic missionsand ASEAN national secretariats, and civil society actors, particularlyNGOs, academia, Islamic institutions and community/religious leaders in southern Thailand, enhanced their knowledgeof humanitarian principles, IHL and the Movement duringdissemination sessions and bilateral meetings. Lao governmentofficials familiarized themselves with these matters at a NationalSociety/ICRC round-table, while 50 people from the Institute ofForeign Affairs increased their IHL knowledge during an ICRCseminar, the first of its kind.Contacts with the media, Movement events and National Society/ICRC publications in the local languages helped raise publicawareness of the above-mentioned topics. At a regional trainingsession organized by a journalism graduate school, senior correspondentsand media representatives from South and South-EastAsia learnt more about humanitarian issues, challenges facedby humanitarian organizations and working with the ICRC whencovering such issues.RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT MOVEMENTCambodian and Thai National Societies bolster theiremergency response capacitiesThe region’s National Societies and the ICRC strengthened theirpartnerships, with a view to assisting victims of violence and vulnerablecommunities, including those in mine/ERW-affected areas(see Civilians). ICRC technical and material support enhancedthe National Societies’ ability to conduct courses on first aid,humanitarian principles, the red cross emblem, the FundamentalPrinciples and IHL (see Authorities, armed forces and other bearersof weapons, and civil society). Cambodian and Thai NationalSociety volunteers, notably in seven provinces each along theircommon border, boosted their emergency response capabilities,including by adopting the Safer Access Framework. In Cambodia,senior National Society staff and volunteers underwent trainingin restoring family links, mine-risk education and managing andassisting IDPs.The region’s National Societies participated in various Movementevents, including the 10th Annual South-East Asia Red Cross andRed Crescent Leaders Meeting in the Lao PDR, where representativesagreed on the importance of strengthening partnership andcommunication with the ICRC at the regional level.Cambodian officers familiarized themselves with IHL and theICRC at predeployment briefings.320 | ICRC ANNUAL REPORT 2013