August 12 marked the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, the cornerstone of international humanitarian law (IHL) which regulates the conduct of armed conflict to preserve humanity and reduce suffering, even in the worst of wartime.
The first page of the Geneva Convention of August 22, 1864. (The original document is in the Federal Archives in Bern.)
Ratified by all States, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 embody the universal recognition that wars must have limits, and that, regardless of the circumstances, the actions of parties to an armed conflict must be guided by respect for human dignity and compassion.
The Geneva Conventions form the core of international humanitarian law which protects people who are not, or are no longer, taking part in the fighting. They represent a shared interest in a humanitarian imperative to regulate the behaviour of warring parties and to set limits to violence in war. In the context of the devasting humanitarian impact of armed conflicts and polarised public opinion, this consensus must be embraced, not cast aside.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Switzerland to Sri Lanka and the Maldives and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) held an event, themed “75 Years of the Geneva Conventions: Global and Sri Lankan Perspectives” on August 14 in Colombo to mark this significant milestone.
At the event, the finalised Sinhala and Tamil translations of the Geneva Conventions were handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be adopted, with the aim of promoting wider knowledge of international humanitarian law, reflecting the obligation on the State parties to the Geneva Conventions to ensure the dissemination of their content. A panel discussion was held at the event with the participation of experts in international humanitarian law, on “Preserving our shared humanity: IHL as a national and international political priority”. A photo exhibition which began at the BMICH on Thursday will conclude on August 25 and is open daily from 9.00 am to 9.00 pm.
The exhibition consists of three parts: ‘Dialogues in Humanity’, a collaboration with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Photo Elysée, museum for photography in Lausanne and the ICRC; a selection of photos from the ICRC’s audio visual archives on the history of the Geneva Conventions and the protections afforded by them; and a collection of photographs illustrating Sri Lanka’s role in the dissemination and development of international humanitarian law and regional cooperation.
