on women involved in armed conflict as
as a tangible, positive shift in both mindset
well
violations. The security sector constitutes the
and
most strategic group in the prevention of IHL
relationship of government and civil society about
violations. lts compliance will
IHL in particular, and human rights in general.
extenl on how extensively and deeply IHL
principles and the rule of the law permeate
military doctrine and operational thrust
and guidelines. Education on international
humanitarian law must also extend to the
general public, especially to communities
and peoples Iocated in existing conflict
Prof Roque said that civil society, once excluded,
is now considered as a genuine paftner of
government
in the implementation of
state
obligations under IHL The development puts
the country in a better position to discharge our
obligations to investigate and punish those who
commit international crimes. The task at hand
requires that the domestic legal system is able
to investigate, prosecute and punish those who
to a large
areas.
lssues and Points Raised:
o
Review of the AFP manual on human rights
and IHL
commit war crimes and crimes against humanity.
o
On the other hand, it was also pointed out during
the discussions ihat the devil is in the details-in
rely,
Standardization of an IHL curriculum and
manual for various sectors and levels
o
Harnessing the barangay for IHL education
the actual realization of the spirit and letter of the
in communities, and the media to reach out
law. Difficult and lingering challenges have
been identifled in three thematic work areas-
to the general public
IHL
I
H
umanita ria n i nteruention.
What is needed for real IHL compliance is no
longer just a listing of issues and action points,
but the delineation of specific tasks, who will do
them, when and how, and how people will relate
to and work with each other. As Judge Santos
explained, we must reach for the next higher
stage, starting with the framing of a National IHL
Action Plan that will harmonize Ihe activities of
IHL multi-stakeholders. 0f course the ultimate
challenge, as afticulated by Commission on
Human Rights Chair Loretta Ann Pargas-Rosales,
is how we can transform IHL from a 'purely
academic field of study'' and strive for the day
when armed conflicts have ceased to be and
lasting peace is achieved with and through social
justice.
D. Reports on Thematic Work Areas
1.
EDUCNION, INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION ON IHL
This thematic work area is viewed as the
main preventative measure against IHL
Research
for development of
appropriate
IHL materials
L ed ucation, information a nd com mu nications;
monitoring, investigation and prosecution; and
h
o
o
Convening a technical working group that
will be responsible for thematic area of work
2. IHL
MONITORINC,
INVESTICATION
AND PROSECUTION
Although mainly reactive, this work area
is partly preventative, since the swift
and successful prosecution of IHL cases
overcomes the curse of impunity. The biggest
challenge in this work area is exactly thatto prepare for and successfully conclude
the actual prosecution of selected break
through cases. Unfortunately, handling
RA
9851 related cases is a relatively complicated
and unfamiliar ground for those
charged
with their prosecution. lt requires additional
study, preparation of appropriate manuals,
launching of special trainings, and actual
test cases.
Points and Recommendations:
o Designate IHUHR courts, train special
prosecutors, and file cases in areas where
there are large numbers of skirmishes
and violations of rights of civilians or noncombatants (Regions 2, 5, 8 and Mindanao).
Itaguyod ang IHL: Sibilyan Pangalagaan