12th meeting Arab Committees on International Humanitarian Law begins

The 12th meeting of the Arab Committees on the International Humanitarian Law started Monday in Doha with a considerable participation from different Arab countries, the Arab League, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
HE the Minister of Justice Masoud bin Mohamed al-Ameri welcomed the participants at the two-day event and stressed they will discuss key issues in the international affairs, especially the recent events in Palestine.
He pointed out that the International Humanitarian Law is concerned with military discipline during wars and armed conflicts and aims to guarantee the protection of civilians and the vulnerable putting limits to the politics of war to limit their adverse consequences of the involved people.
HE al-Ameri further stressed that Qatar has agreed to the four Geneva Conventions and the Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1977 to affirm its commitment to it’s the implementation of the international humanitarian law. Besides, the National Committee for International Humanitarian Law was established by Ministerial Decision no 27 of 2012 to enhance cooperation and coordination in this regard with all the concerned regional and international entities.
HE the Minister of Justice stressed the targeting of civilians and government organisation in Palestine in the recent conflicts breaches all the related international conventions and agreement, calling for international action to provide civilian Palestinians with the due protection.
HE al-Ameri also said the Ministry of Justice pays great importance to the outcomes of the meeting and will support all the efforts to enhance cooperation in the field among the stakeholders. He also wished the participants success in their discussions to come up with an ambitious work plan to enforce the stipulations of the international humanitarian law on the Arab level.
Sultan Abdualla al-Suwaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice and chairman of the National Committee for the International Humanitarian Law, stressed that the meeting is considered a renewed opportunity to talk and unify the efforts to achieve the joint targets as part of enhancing cooperation among the Arab countries in this area.
The official talked about the efforts of Qatar in this field and the various training and qualification courses given to officials to enhance the enactment of this law and the related conventions. He pointed out there is a need to increase protection for certain vulnerable categories of people during armed conflicts, in particular the persons with disability. Besides, the obligations and commitments of the parties of the non-international armed conflicts should be reviewed.
Ambassador Dr Al-Amin Weld Kik, assistant secretary general of the Arab League, the head of the Legal Affairs Sector, highly appreciated the efforts of Qatar on all levels political, economic, sports and legal among others. He said this meeting aimed at assess the achievements of the previous regional work plan during the past period and approve the new work plan on the Arab level for 2023- 2025.
Ambassador Dr Weld Kik further stressed that this meeting will review a number of key points on the challenges of enforcing the stipulations of the international humanitarian law that are set to give a new force for it in the coming period.
Dr Cordula Droege, chief legal officer and head of the Legal Division at International Committee of the Red Cross – ICRC, said that work on this area is a continuous effort and more cooperation among the parties should be maintained. She also expected that a number of bilateral agreements will be signed on the sidelines of the meeting.
The meeting will conclude Tuesday and approve the regional plan to enforce the international humanitarian law for 2023- 2025 on the Arab level.