Email 
Print 
Gambia: new agreement to include international humanitarian
law in military training
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
The signing ceremony was chaired by General Langtombomg Tamba, chief of staff of the Gambian armed forces, in the presence of military and civilian authorities and Gianni Volpin, the deputy head of the ICRC regional delegation in Dakar.
International humanitarian law is a set of rules that aim to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting those not, or no longer, taking part in hostilities and by restricting the choice of methods or means of warfare.
As a State party to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 – the basic treaties of international humanitarian law – Gambia has committed itself to respect and ensure respect for the provisions of this body of law, including the obligation to disseminate its principles and rules as widely as possible, in time of peace as in time of war, and in particular to include the study of international humanitarian law in programmes of military instruction.
For over 10 years the ICRC has been supporting the Gambian authorities' efforts to spread knowledge of international humanitarian law.
The memorandum of understanding will result in the law being included in military training and exercises and in tactical manuals.
The ICRC is the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, which it has a mandate to promote.
Through its Dakar regional delegation, which covers Gambia, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal, it stands ready, now as always, to support the Gambian armed forces in their efforts to incorporate the study of international humanitarian law into their training programmes.
For further information, please contact:
Mame Ibrahima Tounkara, ICRC Dakar, tel: +221 77 529 71 44
Wolde-Gabriel Saugeron, ICRC Dakar, tel: +221 77 529 71 45
Marçal Izard, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 2458 or +41 79 217 3224
See also ICRC media contacts
This article on www.icrc.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
