Nigeria: Lecturers exchange ideas on international humanitarian law

16 June 2015, Source

Abuja (ICRC) – Today the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) kicked off a three-day workshop on international humanitarian law (IHL) in Abuja. At this 11th edition, university lecturers from across Nigeria will discuss the latest research and how to bring it into the classroom.

 The discussions will cover a variety of topics particularly relevant to Nigeria, such as how IHL applies to multinational forces, the Kampala convention on internally displaced people, and sexual violence during armed conflicts.

"In Nigeria, the effects of violence and fighting are increasingly plain to be seen, from the camps overflowing with internally displaced people to the dangers faced by health-care workers," said Karl Anton Mattli, head of the ICRC delegation in Nigeria. "It's more important now than ever to teach young people the rules that limit those effects and protect civilians and people no longer taking part in hostilities."

For the past 18 years, Nigerian universities have partnered with the ICRC to incorporate IHL into their curriculum. The ICRC provides teaching materials, encourages independent research and has sponsored 38 teachers to receive specialized training abroad. This is a bottom-up approach to bringing the rules of war to the students and future decision makers of Nigeria.