International Humanitarian Law

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• What is War?
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• Why Canadians Should Care About International Humanitarian Law

Why Canadians Should Care About International Humanitarian Law

10 points on why Canadians should know and care about International Humanitarian Law. 

• Canadian soldiers are regularly deployed to conflict or post-conflict areas, whether in Bosnia, Afghanistan or Haiti. They must know and respect the rules of war;
• Hundreds of Canadians work in humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross, the UN or NGOs in war-torn countries around the world. They are protected by the rules of war as is their humanitarian mission;
• Canadian lawyers are currently serving or presiding over  international criminal tribunals in The Hague and are responsible for applying or enforcing the rules of war;
• Today’s law students might be tomorrow’s international judges or prosecutors;
• The Canadian government has played a leading role in the adoption of the Ottawa treaty banning anti-personnel mines and the Statute of the International Court. The international community continues to look to Canada to continue to lead positive developments in international law;
• Many Canadians in our communities have strong family links to events and conflicts throughout the world and have a right to know the fate of their loved ones;
• In today’s world it is important that we do everything we can to shore up the moral and ethical frameworks that underpin international humanitarian law.
• In short, international humanitarian law is of vital concern to many Canadians, whether it is because they must respect these rules, they benefit from their protection or must enforce them.

Posted: August 29, 2008