On December 11, 2024, the Inter-American Defense Board's Seminar on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law was held virtually, with the theme: "The Insertion of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in the Culture of the Armed Forces: Preparing troops for their application in military operations."
As has been the case in recent years, the event was a huge success with the public, reaching an impressive figure of 14,274 registered participants, who followed the presentations virtually from 56 different countries spread across the 5 continents.
The objective of the event was to promote and strengthen respect for Human Rights (HR) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in the Armed Forces of the Western Hemisphere, stimulating the exchange of experiences, best practices and lessons learned among Member States and Observers on how to learn and discuss this topic at all levels of training, specialization and improvement of their Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers to better prepare and employ their troops in military operations. With this, the IADB achieved its purpose of providing spaces for collaboration and interaction on this topic, as well as promoting dialogue in our hemispheric environment.
The event began with a welcome provided by Major-Brigadeiro do Ar Flávio Luíz De Olivera Pinto, of the Brazilian Air Force, Director General of the Secretariat of the Inter-American Defense Board, who greeted all the authorities, speakers and virtual attendees. Later, Ambassador Claudia Escobar Mejía, Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the Organization of American States (OAS), gave the opening remarks of the seminar, where she highlighted the current situation of the topic, shared some of the processes, challenges and advances in her country, as well as the efforts made by the Guatemalan Army to integrate the regulations into its daily operations. She also reaffirmed her country's commitment to the defense, dissemination and implementation of human rights and international humanitarian law norms and principles and congratulated the IADB for the initiative of the event to promote the dissemination of the topic.
The presentations given during the Seminar were attended by important experts in the field. Starting with the representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), followed by speakers who shared the different realities of six (6) important American countries and their efforts to integrate the principles, concepts and norms that govern International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and IHL in the institutional cultures of their Armed Forces. The seminar was made up of the following speakers:
• INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS – Mr. Santiago Daniel Calderón Rodríguez, Delegate of the Armed and Security Forces of the ICRC Regional Delegation for Mexico and Central America.
• BRAZIL – Lieutenant Colonel Rodrigo Eduardo de Souza Alves, professor of Law and Military Law at the “Black Needles” Military Academy of the Brazilian Army.
• CANADA – Dr. Mulry Mondélice, Associate Professor of International Law and Diplomacy at the Royal Military College of Saint-Jean, National Defence, Government of Canada.
• COLOMBIA – Dr. Fabián Esteban Jaramillo Vásquez, Advisor to the Operational Support Command for Communications and Cyber Defense of the Colombian Army.
• UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – Commander Delicia Gonzales Zimmerman, Associate Professor of National Security Law at the Army Judge Advocate General’s Law Center and School (TJAGLCS).
• PERU – Lieutenant Colonel Henrry Alexi Vargas Santos, Professor of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at the National Defense University »General Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez».
• DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Commander in Chief of the FAP, Benjamín CA Enríquez Quinde, Instructor at the Center for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights of the Armed Forces of the Ministry of Defense of Peru.
The closing remarks of the Seminar were made by Ambassador Benoni Belli, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the Organization of American States (OAS), who gave the attendees a lecture on international humanitarian law, as well as Brazil's efforts to promote this topic, highlighting the recent creation of the National Commission for the Dissemination and Implementation of IHL, which has been relevant to the dissemination and discussion of the topic in Brazilian society. The Ambassador also highlighted the efforts of the IADB to keep the dialogue on these issues alive.
Finally, Major General of the Mexican Army Staff Marco Antonio Álvarez Reyes, President of the IADB Council of Delegates, expressed his gratitude for the conclusion of the seminar, reaffirming the Board's commitment to fulfill the mandate of disseminating and promoting dialogue on human rights and international humanitarian law in the Western Hemisphere.
The full recording of the Seminar can be found on the IADB's YouTube channel, through the IADB website, under the YouTube icon or directly through the address https://www.youtube.com/@inter-americandefenseboard2201/.
