33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent
Side Event:
Military IHL Manuals in the 21st Century
Tuesday, December 10, 2019 (1:30PM – 2:30PM)
Room Montreux
Conference Center of Varembé
Geneva, Switzerland
Co-sponsors: United States and Denmark
Additional sponsors: Argentina, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Morocco, Norway, Singapore, Togo, and the United Kingdom.
Military manuals are a key tool used by many States to disseminate international humanitarian law (IHL) effectively and to facilitate IHL implementation by their armed forces. This event will provide an opportunity to hear from IHL experts from States that have successfully published and/or updated military IHL manuals in recent years, or that are in the process of doing so. Experts will share their good practices and lessons learned with respect to disseminating IHL to their armed forces, including how they have taken advantage of digital technologies. The event will be of interest to scholars and researchers looking to gain a better understanding of States’ views on IHL and State practice in disseminating IHL and implementing IHL in military operations.
States International Humanitarian Law Manuals and Other Related Materials (by country)
Denmark:
- The Danish Military Manual: https://www.fmn.dk/eng/allabout/Pages/military-manual.aspx
Norway:
- Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict (original): https://fhs.brage.unit.no/fhs-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/194213/manual_krigens_folkerett.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
- Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict (unofficial English translation) PDF.
United Kingdom:
- Joint service manual of the law of armed conflict (JSP 383): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jsp-383-the-joint-service-manual-of-the-law-of-armed-conflict-2004-edition
- Captured persons (JDP 1-10): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jdp-1-10-second-edition-captured-persons-cpers
- Legal support to joint operations (JDP 3-46): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jdp-3-46-legal-support-to-joint-operations-2nd-edition
- Implementation of International Humanitarian Law at Domestic Level: Voluntary Report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementation-of-international-humanitarian-law-at-domestic-level-voluntary-report
United States of America:
- Department of Defense Law of War Manual (June 2015, Updated December 2016): https://ogc.osd.mil/images/law_war_manual_december_16.pdf
- Official Treaty Documents Related to the Law of War: https://ogc.osd.mil/LoW_Treaties.html
- Other Official Documents Related to the Law of War: https://ogc.osd.mil/LoW_Practice.html
- “The DoD Law of War Manual: Why, What, and How,” excerpted chapter from “The United States Department of Defense Law of War Manual: Commentary and Critique”: Chapter-2-The-DoD-Law-of-War-Manual-Why-What-and-How.pdf
