Your contributions considered
This online consultation ran from 7 July to 12 August 2009 (the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions).
Joint Action Plan
As part of a series of events marking the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Geneva Conventions, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Red Cross have produced this joint action plan. This action plan focuses on challenges to the Conventions in the next 60 years.
We invited members of the public to contribute towards this action plan by posting comments on our joint website brc.fco.gov.uk. We asked you to respond to five themes:
- Protecting Journalists
- Justice for Victims
- The Media Spotlight Dilemma
- Responding to Violations
- Working with You
We are very grateful to those of you who took the time to comment online, and by mail. You posted some pertinent and interesting comments and you provided us with a valuable opportunity to respond to the concerns of the public in addressing how we can support the Geneva Conventions in the future. You will find some of these comments and suggestions in the action plan below. Some things we need to think about a little longer and harder and consider whether there are possibilities for taking them forward.
But of course we are already engaged in supporting the Geneva Conventions. This document also highlights what we are already doing and how we are achieving our goals towards promoting respect for the Conventions.
The document refers to pledges e.g. “(P047)”. The texts of these pledges can be found on the website of the International Committee of the Red Cross: www.icrc.org; please see 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Pledges.
What the UK is already doing and plans to do in support of the 1949 Geneva Conventions
Comment: We need to enforce laws and prosecute governments and armed forces who target journalists.
Response: At the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2007 the UK Government made a pledge (P047) to take all necessary steps to ensure that civilian journalists, media professionals and associated personnel working in armed conflicts enjoy the respect and protection granted to civilians under international humanitarian law (IHL). We also pledged to promote international humanitarian law principles and rules applicable to journalists, etc, through training to members of the armed forces and national security forces and to provide information on the need to preserve their independence. We furthermore pledged to ensure that those responsible for serious violations of IHL against journalists, etc, are prosecuted and brought to justice. This complemented a pledge by the British Red Cross (P105) to initiate discussions with practising journalists and editors on key provisions of IHL, current debates around IHL issues and the application of IHL to situations and events with a view to promoting a better understanding of IHL among journalists and editors.
Comment: We must focus on bringing perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice.
Comment: We must encourage as wide a number of countries as possible to enshrine in law provisions for those who have violated the Geneva Conventions.
Comment: We need to take a consistently robust approach to offences, no matter where they take place, and encourage others to do so as well.
Response: The UK Government remains committed to ensuring that those who perpetrate genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are held to account. We welcome all efforts to make significant advances in the fight against impunity and believe that our strong support for international criminal tribunals through practical cooperation, institutional assistance as well as through political support demonstrate this. We believe that the strengthening of the institutions themselves, especially achieving the widest possible jurisdiction for the International Criminal Court (ICC), to be a key aspect of our continued support for international criminal justice. Pledge P042 at the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent affirms this, stating that we will continue to encourage States to become party to the Rome Statute of the ICC and to put in legislation to give that statute effect. The British Red Cross will continue to support training seminars and other meetings, in particular, for countries with a common law legal system, designed to encourage countries to enact legislation related to violations of the Geneva Conventions and to become parties to the ICC Statute.
Comment: We must ensure that UK military personnel should be taught the salient points of IHL during their induction.
Response: The UK Government already ensures that members of the UK armed forces (and foreign officers attending military academies) receive training in IHL. The Ministry of Defence and British Red Cross Society work closely in this regard and will continue to develop IHL and related training for UK Defence Medical Services and other parts of the Armed Forces, and government officials. Our commitment towards this remains strong and was reinforced by ensuring that it was a key pledge, made jointly with the British Red Cross, at the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (Pledge P048).
Comment: When considering supporting foreign forces (such as through funding for training or support for inclusion on peacekeeping missions), HMG should check if basic training on IHL is conducted – and understood.
Response: In cooperation with the EU, the UK Government will continue to promote dissemination and training of IHL, in particular to military and civilian personnel, involved in EU crisis management operations. Pledge P051 at the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent agreed to continue to expand the co-operation between the Government and the British Red Cross in the field of IHL, including promotion, dissemination, implementation and development, within the United Kingdom and internationally as appropriate.
Comment: We need to emphasise the importance of IHL education in schools.
Response: The provision of IHL training in schools is another priority and was reinforced by Joint Pledge P048 at the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. IHL is included in the English school curriculum as part of citizenship education.
Comment: Teaching of IHL in schools needs to be extended to all parts of the UK and teachers need support and adequate training.
Response: As noted previously in “What the UK is already doing…”, IHL is taught as part of the curriculum in English schools. Guidance for teachers is included on the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) website. We will work with the DCSF to ensure that current guidance is appropriate and adequately meets teachers’ needs. The British Red Cross also provides materials and training aids to assist teachers. We will also explore ways of furthering the teaching of IHL, including its inclusion in the curricula of other parts of the UK.
Comment: We need to promote better the UK Government’s existing IHL legislation.
Response: The UK has played a leading role in the Diplomatic Conferences which have led to treaties in this field and is a party to most of them, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the 1977 Additional Protocols and the 1997 Landmines Convention. Where our international humanitarian law obligations necessitate changes in domestic law, we have enacted legislation. The Act to enable us to ratify the Third Additional Protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions received Royal Assent on 2 July 2009. We expect the Protocol to be ratified before the end of 2009. We also expect the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions to be ratified next year and we will ensure that both of these are adequately publicised in digital media and in future relevant IHL publications (such as the Foreign & Commonwealth Office booklet “United Kingdom andInternational Humanitarian Law, which was produced in 2001 and will be updated next year). We will also endeavour to promote and publicise better other legislation relating to IHL issues.
Comment: We should ensure that progress and verdicts of cases heard before the ICC and other ad hoc tribunals receive media attention around the world so that victims can follow and gain reassurance from the legal process.
Response: We agree that this is a very worthwhile undertaking. In Cambodia the UK Government has funded the “Duch On Trial” TV programme which seeks to explain the legal proceedings taking place at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) to an ordinary, rural Cambodian audience, who otherwise would have little access to information on the trial. Initially funding was allocated for the first 8 weeks of the trial, however, the success of the show has led to further funding being provided by the FCO that should allow the programme to continue broadcasting for the duration of Duch’s trial. We have also funded an outreach project in Sierra Leone, broadcasting updates from the Special Court for Sierra Leone on the BBC World Service. Broadcasts like these offer a valuable way of keeping the population informed of trial developments and allowing them to see that justice is being done. We will continue to explore ways of exploiting media opportunities to raise awareness of cases being heard in the various Special Courts and Tribunals (ICTY, ICTR, SCSL, STL & ECCC) and to bring them to public’s attention. The IHL information sessions for media professionals, described in our first response, may also be helpful.
Comment: We should consider peer education projects such as adverts on Facebook and other social networking sites. A more targeted and interactive approach will encourage young people to learn about IHL.
Response: The UK Government already uses Twitter to send out short Foreign Policy messages, including updates on IHL related issues. The use of social networking sites is a very interesting suggestion. We see merit in creating a page on social network sites which we can use to disseminate IHL related messages and raise awareness of issues. We will aim to have a page up and running within the coming months. We will work with the British Red Cross on these matters.
Comment: Little is known about the red crystal emblem. We need to raise awareness of this emblem.
Response: We will make better use of media (including social networking sites as noted above) to promote the red crystal alongside the existing red cross & red crescent emblems.
Comment: The UK should commit greater financial support for the International Criminal Court’s Trust Fund for Victims and encourage other EU States to do likewise.
Response: The UK Government has in the past supported the Trust Fund for Victims and fully supports the excellent work it does in providing financial reparations to conflict victims. We will consider how we can raise the profile of the Fund and how we can support it in the future. We will also consider how best to encourage EU and Commonwealth partners to do the same.
Comment: The international community must develop the infrastructure for an effective early-warning system to identify and monitor volatile situations that may develop into ethnic conflict or genocide.
Response: We fully support the development of an effective early-warning system to identify and monitor volatile situations that may develop into ethnic conflict or genocide. We are aware of a number of bodies who are active in this role.
Comment: Hand in hand with an effective early-warning system there should be a rapid response system to take quick action when potential genocides have been identified and to provide assistance to victims and communities in its aftermath.
Response: We agree that a speedy response is fundamental in preventing conflict and genocide, and is essential in providing urgent assistance in its aftermath. The UN Security Council is responsible for sending peacekeeping missions to conflict areas and the UK is a permanent and influential member of this Council. Many organisations, including the different components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, do excellent work in providing aid and assistance to civilians in conflict zones, both during and after the fighting. The UK has long been supportive of these efforts and our commitment will not wane. We are also aware of a number of organisations who travel to post conflict zones in the aftermath of a conflict and provide assistance to victims, such as the Justice Rapid Response (JRR) mechanism, who aim to deploy international experts to conflict zones to help rebuild systems and infrastructures. The UK Government will consider how we can help and support organisations such as the JRR to help them operate effectively.