IHL discussions intensify to bridge awareness gap
By Nchendzengang Tatah
Insights into the International Humanitarian Law, (IHL) is the center of discussions at a three-day seminar for course lecturers of the Universities of Buea and Bamenda located at the core of a sociopolitical crisis since 2016.
The workshop which began June 19, at the University of Buea, was organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). According to the ICRC Head for the Buea Sub-Delegation, Sabrina Frutig, the seminar addresses a plethora of challenges stemming from misunderstanding of the IHL.
“In this context, perceptions, and interpretations of IHL are under pressure. The gap between acceptance of the law and visible compliance with it may feed doubts about its ability to protect people in contemporary armed conflicts,” Sabrina Frutig explained.
She went on to point out that, humanitarian disasters caused by armed conflicts have become one of the major problems today. In the inaugural lecture, the Head of UB’s Department for International Relations and Conflict Resolution, Prof. Kiven James Kewir, said the wars across the world coupled with technological evolutions have made the teaching of IHL complex needing a dynamic approach.
Prof. Kiven James noted that IHL protects those who do not take part in the fighting, such as civilians, and religious, medical military personnel. It also protects those who have ceased to take part, such as wounded, shipwrecked, and sick combatants, and prisoners of war. He underscored that the teaching of the IHL in universities is the best way to promote it.
The session came two months after an earlier one with postgraduate students of the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences and the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. These discussions are expected to greater inform on the provisions of the IHL for the populations of the North West and South West suffering from a political crisis for eight years and reported for various violations by the international community.
