President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has issued an executive order establishing an inter-agency committee on international humanitarian law (IAC-IHL), which will serve as national committee to assist relevant government authorities in adhering to sets of standards and rules to protect persons who are not directly or no longer involved in armed conflicts.
Signed on November 22, Executive Order No. 77 said that the Philippines has various laws that comply with the IHL such as the Philippine Act on Crimes Against IHL, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity and the Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Act.
The EO also cited the resolution adopted by the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2019 encouraging the Philippines and other countries to establish their respective national committees to assist authorities in implementing IHL.
The IAC-IHL will be co-chaired by the heads of the Department of National Defense and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Also part of the committee are the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Justice, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Health, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Commission on Higher Education, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity, and the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat.
Among its duties and functions are to formulate and implement year-round programs and activities for the promotion of IHL and other relevant treaties, international agreements, and other instruments to which the Philippines is a party.
The IAC-IHL shall also serve as a focal point for coordination and cooperation both within the Philippines and with external partners on IHL promotion and compliance before, during and after wars or armed conflicts.
It shall coordinate and collaborate with concerned government agencies, as well as civil society groups, the academe, and other stakeholders in promoting and complying with IHL.
The EO also provides for the commemoration of the IHL Day every August 12.
The funding of the inter-agency committee shall be charged against the current and available budgets of the member agencies. —VBL, GMA Integrated News
