[hr-education] Education specialists meet in Vienna to strengthen teaching of IHL in European schools

9-05-2006 ICRC News 06/24

Geneva (ICRC) – Senior officials from the education ministries of 22
European countries are meeting in Vienna today with Red Cross / Red
Crescent education specialists to discuss practical ways of introducing
international humanitarian law (IHL) into the curricula of secondary
schools.

The European Education Leadership Conference on Exploring Humanitarian
Law, which will last for two days, is being held by the ICRC and the
Austrian Red Cross under the auspices of the Austrian Presidency of the
Council of the European Union.

In his opening speech, ICRC vice-president Jacques Forster stated: "We
have a choice today. We can either sit back, watch the devastation wrought
by war and try to make our children look the other way; or we can choose
to tell our children that what they see – or what they are themselves
experiencing – is not acceptable, that this is not how it is supposed to
be, and that they can behave differently, in ways inspired by deep-rooted
respect for human dignity, both in peacetime and in the midst of armed
conflict."

In 2005, following similar initiatives over the past years, the Council of
the European Union adopted guidelines on promoting compliance with
international humanitarian law. Mr Forster said that the Vienna conference
was a milestone for measuring the seriousness of the EU's and the Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movement's commitment to promoting the law among
young people.

The ICRC's Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) programme is aimed at
acquainting young people with the notion of human dignity as an inviolable
principle that must be respected both in peacetime and in wartime. "We
must start promoting humanitarian law among the younger generation and not
wait until they join the army or have to make informed decisions as
politicians, humanitarian workers or ordinary citizens," said Mr Forster.

The EHL programme comprises 30 hours of interactive classroom activities
that teachers or Red Cross / Red Crescent youth educators can adapt to
their needs. It is currently being implemented, at various stages of
advancement, in over 90 countries around the world. Teaching materials
exist in Arabic, English, French, Spanish and 25 other languages.

During the conference, participants will examine the EHL programme as a
possible way of meeting EU education priorities. Lecturers and experienced
practitioners from the EU and neighbouring countries in Europe will
discuss their different education systems and strategies for incorporating
the study of humanitarian law into secondary school curricula.

For further information, please contact:
Vincent Lusser, ICRC Geneva, tel. +41 22 730 24 26 or +41 79 217 32 64

 

 

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