The Department of International Law (Secretariat for Legal Affairs) of the OAS and a member of the Inter-American Juridical Committee were invited to participate virtually in the regional meeting of National International Humanitarian Law Committees and other similar entities of the Americas that was held virtually from 2 to 5 February 2021.

The “Regional Meeting of National International Humanitarian Law Committees (NIHLC) and other Similar Entities of the Americas”, was an event co-organized by the National Commission for the Application of International Humanitarian Law of Ecuador (CONADIHE) (by its acronym in Spanish), which is chaired by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Ecuador was the host country.

The meeting had the objective to promote the implementation and respect of IHL in the continent and to discuss the mechanisms and processes to reach the said goal. It provided a space for exchanges on the role and work of the NIHLC and other similar entities, their future role and the modalities of cooperation among them and the ICRC. Furthermore, it was an important opportunity to deepen the understanding on important issues such as the difference between non-international armed conflicts and other situations of violence, sexual violence and gender violence as well as IHL and cyber operations. The Regional Conference of NIHLC and other similar entities was also a space to follow up of the commitments made during the XXXIII International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

Dr. Mariana Salazar Albornoz, Member of the Inter-American Juridical Committee and rapporteur on the application of international law to cyberspace, gave a presentation on the: “Exchange on IHL and cyber operations during armed conflicts as a new challenge to IHL”. In her presentation explained that it is a new topic and mentioned the importance of strengthening the capacities of the OAS Member States on this regard. She concluded by recalling that the OAS has sent a questionnaire on this topic to all OAS Member States and that 9 countries have responded so far. In this sense encouraged the participants to contribute, to the extent of their possibilities, with the responses to said questionnaire.

» You will find the Meeting schedule from the following link.

» You will find the resolution approved during the Meeting from the following link.

» Additional information on recent developments in the Committee's work can be seen on this link.