International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission

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The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC) is an international body that is available to perform investigations of possible breaches of international humanitarian law. The Commission may investigate matters to determine what has happened, but does not pass judgment on issues it raises.[1] In its report on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the creation of the agency, IHFFC noted that its services have not yet been exercised.[2]

IHFFC was established in 1991 and has its basis in the First Optional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, agreed in 1977. The Commission consists of fifteen experts. The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs carries out the secretariat functions. IHFFC is headquartered in Bern. 71 states have joined the body.[3]

The organization has the status of a permanent observer in the UN General Assembly.[4]

On 7 October 2015, Médecins Sans Frontières called for activating the Commission, for the first time since its creation, to investigate the deadly U.S. bombing of MSF's hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan. MSF says it does not trust internal military inquiries into the bombing that killed at least 22 people, which it considers a war crime.[5]

Members of the Commission

as per 22 February 2016

Name Position Country Member since
Dr. Gisela PERREN-KLINGLER President Switzerland 2006
Prof. Thilo MARAUHN First Vice-President Germany 2006
Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud AL KAMALI Vice-President United Arab Emirates 2012
Prof. Jeannette IRIGOIN-BARRENNE Vice-President Chile 2001
Prof. Shuichi FURUYA Vice-President Japan 2012
Col. Dr. Don Hugo CORUJO SANSEVIERO Member Uruguay 2001
Prof. Eric DAVID Member Belgium 2006
Prof. Col. Charles GARRAWAY Member Great Britain 2006
Captain Valery KNYAZEV Member Russian Federation 1991
Prof. Flavia LATTANZI Member Italy 2001
Dr. Youssef MEHDI Member Algeria 2014
Dr. Elzbieta MIKOS-SKUZA Member Poland 2001
Prof. Stelios E. PERRAKIS Member Greece 2001
Ambassador Susana M. RUIZ CERUTTI Member Argentina 2012
Dr. Justinas ŽILINSKAS Member Lithuania 2012

References

  1. ↑ "International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission", Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland.
  2. ↑ Report on the work of the IHFFC on the Occasion of its 20th Anniversary ', IHFFC, p. 5.
  3. ↑ "State Parties", IHFFC.
  4. ↑ "Intergovernmental Organizations", the United Nations.
  5. ↑ (Reuters) (BBC)

Bibliography

  • Frits Kalshoven: "The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission: A Sleeping Beauty?" In: Humanitäres Völkerrecht - Informationsschriften. 4/2002. DRK-Generalsekretariat und Institut für Friedenssicherungsrecht und Humanitäres Völkerrecht, pp. 213–216, ISSN 0937-5414
  • Erich Kussbach: The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission. In: International and Comparative Law Quarterly. 43(1)/1994. British Institute of International and Comparative Law, pp. 174–185, ISSN 0020-5893
  • Luigi Condorelli: The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission. An Obsolete Tool or a Useful Measure to Implement International Humanitarian Law? In: International Review of the Red Cross. 842/2001. Internationales Komitee vom Roten Kreuz, pp. 393–406, ISSN 1560-7755
  • Charles Garrawaya: The International Humanitarian Fact‐Finding Commission. In: Commonwealth Law Bulletin. 34(4)/2008. Routledge on behalf of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, pp. 813–816, ISSN 0305-0718

External links

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