DOHA: The Gulf Seminar on the Role of National Committees for International Humanitarian Law kicked off in Doha on Monday.
Organized by the National Committee for International Humanitarian Law (NCIHL), the event intends to promote respect for and implementation of international humanitarian law, as well as to strengthen cooperation among national committees in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
The seminar was attended by Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs HE Ibrahim bin Ali Al Mohannadi, the heads and representatives of the national committees for international humanitarian law in the GCC countries, Regional Legal Coordinator for the Middle East at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Dr Omar Makki, Legal Advisor for the ICRC's mission in Kuwait, Dr Moaz Al Hadhli; alongside a number of invited guests and legal professionals from various government entities.
In his opening remarks, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice and Chairperson of NCIHL HE Saeed bin Abdullah Al Suwaidi affirmed that the seminar aims to enhance respect for and enforce international humanitarian law in the participating countries.
The humanitarian challenges in the world today impose heightened responsibilities for spreading awareness of international humanitarian law, deepening its sublime precepts, and seriously working on aligning national legislations with international obligations to ensure human life and dignity are protected in times of armed conflict and to bolster the rule of law, Al Suwaidi underlined.
He noted that the event is an opportunity to review successful activities and experiences to be further utilized and applied in the GCC countries, lauding the tangible efforts and effective initiatives the GCC countries have made in the area of enforcing international humanitarian law, whether at the level of legislation, training, or awareness promotion.
Sharing these successful experiences among the GCC countries stands as one of the principal pillars of strength in the functioning of the national committees for international humanitarian law (NCIHLs), thereby offering the opportunity to collaborate, build on accomplishments, and avoid challenges others have already encountered, His Excellency highlighted.
Al Suwaidi pointed out that the accumulated Gulf expertise is a source of inspiration and support to create the NCIHLs' work mechanisms in a way that fosters their regional and global effectiveness in this critical domain.
He asserted that NCIHL believes in collective work and effective coordination among the Gulf committees as a core pillar toward upgrading the implementation mechanisms at the national level, sharing expertise and experiences, in addition to unifying efforts in the areas of awareness, training, and rehabilitation in support of the role performed by international humanitarian law in the Gulf region.
He noted that this convention represents an incredible opportunity for productive conversation, collective thinking, and planning for the future, emphasizing that deliberations during this seminar would have a profound impact on boosting the operation of these committees and developing the required tools to serve the shared humanitarian objectives.
Participants reviewed the activities of the Gulf NCIHLs and commended the initiative of organizing this seminar as a first-of-its-kind event in the Gulf region. They highly appreciated the State of Qatar's leading role in promoting the authority of international humanitarian law.
Rapporteur of NCIHL in the State of Qatar, Khaled Mohammed Al Khamees Al Obaidli, presented a working paper outlining the idea behind establishing the NCIHL, alongside its salient initiatives, with Dr Al Hadhli presenting a similar paper on the NCIHLs and ICRC in enforcing international humanitarian law.
In addition, Dr Makki reviewed the contemporary challenges facing international humanitarian law, along with the appropriate remediation mechanisms to mitigate the humanitarian impact of wars and crises on innocent victims.