In Cooperation with the University Of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina, Maat Organizes a Program for Raising the Awareness 40 Participants from 28 Countries about International Humanitarian Law
The International Humanitarian Law Unit at Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights organized a new awareness-raising workshop on International Humanitarian Law (IHL), entitled "Introduction to International Humanitarian Law" from 22 to 29 November, in cooperation with the Observatory of International Humanitarian Law, at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina, within the framework of the Maat’s interest in promoting human rights and spreading the international humanitarian law and international human rights law at the national, regional and international levels.
Over the course of 8 days, more than 40 young men and women from 28 different European, African and Asian countries, as well as from South America and the Middle East, participated in this workshop, which was designed to accommodate the diversity of the participants’ geographical and cultural backgrounds as well as their fields of work. This workshop aims at providing a wide knowledge of the serious violations of the international humanitarian law, the international crimes and the international criminal responsibility, as well as the methods and challenges of country’s implementation of the laws of IHL. 40 students and researchers, including participants from areas affected by armed conflict such as Syria - Libya - Armenia - Afghanistan – Yemen, Ethiopia have benefited from this workshop.
The participants have benefited from the expertise of 14 trainers and experts specialized in the field of international humanitarian law and international human rights law from Germany, America, Iraq, Lebanon, Argentina and Egypt.
In this context, Ayman Okeil, president of Maat, welcomed this cooperation, especially in light of the scarcity of Arab organizations concerned with the international humanitarian law. Okeil also stressed that Arab youth must be empowered and educated about the international humanitarian law as well as culture diversity, to help promoting a culture of peace, especially in light of widespread armed conflicts in a number of Arab countries. The international human rights expert also confirmed that Maat is currently working to create leaders and Peacebuilders in areas affected by armed conflict.
For her part, Nourhan Mustafa, director of the International Humanitarian Law Unit at Maat, indicated that this cooperation paves the way for promoting the rules and principles of international humanitarian law in conflict areas, as a number of young people experiencing the tragic reality of conflicts were trained and educated about the principles of international humanitarian law and its application on ground, in order to help settling disputes between states and spreading a culture of peace and dialogue among states. Participants were also introduced to the international measures to maintain international peace and security.
For his part, Dr. Emiliano J. Buis, director of the UBA Observatory of International Humanitarian Law, at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, welcomed this joint cooperation between the two institutions, and said that, "This is a great achievement, as it will pave the way for future cooperation between the peoples of the Global South in many areas of legal expertise." Buis added that this step is an indication of the great possibilities of interaction between Latin America, Africa and the Arab region, to promote common values related to human rights and the spread of a culture of peace.
