Special course to teach Int'l Humanitarian Law

His Excellency Abdul Rahim Yousuf Al Awadi Assistant Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs and Head of the UAE National Commission on International Law . Photo By Ryan Lim

The UAE National Committee for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) announced its plan to further develop courses for schools and universities across the country, to disseminate and raise awareness about IHL and the UAE's cooperation with the international committees.
During a Press conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Headquarters on Wednesday, Dr Abdul Rahim Yousef Al Awadi, Chairman of the National Commission on the International Humanitarian Law and the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Legal Affairs, said IHL will be included as an independent academic course within military training programmes and university curriculums.
The programmes are for students studying law, politics and media, as well as those wishing to seek a postgraduate diploma in IHL.
The curriculums of pre-university students will also have programmes that define the content of IHL, in coordination with the Education Ministry, he added. The committee, established in 2004, is also organising courses for judges, prosecutors, diplomats and military personnel, as well as parliamentarians and competent authorities, working with the Red Cross to develop training programmes.
The 2017-2018 plans will include, collecting all legislations in force in the UAE which are relevant to IHL provisions and reviewing them in according to international law agreements acceded to by the UAE. The committee will also carry out a study on UAE ratification of agreements relevant to IHL.
On the sidelines of the conference, Dr Al Awadi told Khaleej Times how the committee plans to further spread knowledge of humanitarian work, starting with the youth. "We added the IHL in curriculums at universities (Al Ain University and Emirates University), and for the military academies, which has seen tremendous success."
The committee also developed local expertise in IHL and are cooperating with the Red Cross. So far, there are more than five trained Emiratis, representing the UAE globally within the field. "Our next phase is to focus on spreading knowledge in schools. Last year, we developed a lot of activities with schools in Abu Dhabi, and we are planning on moving to other schools across the country."
jasmine@khaleejtimes.com