The objective of the Working Group was to have an overview of the Observations and Recommendations, to share considerations on this document's relationship to the process launched by the ICRC on The Missing, and to comment upon and clarify its text. The Working Group was not intended to be a forum for negotiations, nor the Observations and Recommendations to be a legally binding document. There was a common understanding that the Observations and Recommendations should not be interpreted in any way as undermining existing legal standards. The Observations and Recommendations should be seen as an operational tool containing practical measures.

Protéger la dignité humaine est à la fois un objectif simple et un défi immense. L'objectif est simple parce qu'il est au cœur du droit et de l'action humanitaires. Le défi est immense en raison des multiples menaces qui planent sur l'être humain et sur l'humanité tout entière, en particulier de la nature des conflits armés contemporains.

Thirty-five years ago the International Conference on Human Rights held at Teheran adopted a resolution entitled “Human Rights in Armed Conflicts”. In political terms, the 1968 resolution signalled the international community's recognition that armed conflicts “continued to plague humanity” despite the United Nations Charter's prohibition on threats or use offeree in international relations. By dealing with human rights in armed conflict, the resolution also put an end to more than two decades of United Nations reluctance to address issues of ius in bello for fear of undermining the Charter's provisions on ius ad belium. In legal terms, the adoption of the Teheran resolution opened the way for a fresh look at the relationship between international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the protection of persons affected by war.

Today, I speak on behalf of our 181 National Societies around the world that make up the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. I also speak on behalf of the millions of volunteers and members who every day work selflessly to protect the lives, livelihoods and dignity of vulnerable people everywhere. They are indispensable in our efforts to build a better world. So, I consider it an honour, and a responsibility to be before you today. I hope I can convey clearly the strong sense of solidarity and unity among the members of the International Federation in our collective commitment to the theme of this Conference “Protecting human dignity”.

The Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia was adopted by the National Assembly on 18 April 2003 and published on 2 May 2003. It entered into force on 1 August 2003. The Code establishes a comprehensive system for the repression of war crimes, in accordance with the country's international obligations under the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols of 1977. It does not distinguish between acts committed in internal and in international armed conflicts and contains general principles of repression such as universal jurisdiction, command responsibility, no impunity on grounds of superior order, no statutory limitation. The Code also contains, in a Special Part, a separate chapter on the repression of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (Part 13, Chapter 34).

Le Groupe de travail avait pour objectif d'obtenir un aperçu général des Observations et Recommandations, d'échanger un certain nombre de considérations sur la relation entre ce document et le processus engagé par le CICR sur les personnes portées disparues, de commenter ce texte et d'en preciser certains aspects. Le Groupe n'a pas été constitué dans l'intention d'en faire une enceinte au sein de laquelle auraient lieu des négociations, le document discuté n'est pas juridiquement contraignant. Il était entendu que les Observations et Recommandations ne devraient pas être interprétées comme diminuant les normes juridiques existantes. Celles-ci doivent être considérées comme un instrument opérationnel comportant des mesures pratiques.

According to the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the primary role and mandate of National Societies is to carry out humanitarian activities in their own countries. In addition, within the scope of their resources, they bring aid internationally to victims of various types of emergencies; they do so through the National Society of the country concerned, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. They also contribute to the development of other National Societies which require such assistance, in order to strengthen the Movement as a whole. International activities of the components of the Movement are organized in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, the Movement's Statutes and the relevant resolutions adopted by the Movement's statutory bodies, in particular the Agreement on the Organization of the International Activities of the Components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (“Seville Agreement”, 1997) and the Strategy for the Movement (adopted by the Council of Delegates in 2001).

The International Criminal Court Act 2002 was assented to on 27 June 2002 and entered into force on 26 September 2002. The object of this Act is to facilitate compliance with Australia's obligations under the 1998 Rome Statute of the ICC, which the Act contains as a schedule to it. The Act determines the procedure to be followed in case of request by the Court, including requests for arrest and surrender of persons (Part III) and other requests, such as identifying, locating or questioning persons, taking evidence or producing documents or articles, or facilitating the voluntary appearance of persons as witnesses or experts before the ICC (Part IV). It further contains provisions dealing with investigations or sittings of the ICC in Australia (Part V), search, seizure and powers of arrest (Part VI), information provided in confidence by third parties (Part VII), protection of Australia's national security interests (Part VIII), enforcement in Australia of reparation orders made and fines imposed by the ICC (Part X) and forfeiture of proceeds of international crimes (Part XI), as well as enforcement in Australia of sentences imposed by the ICC (Part XII).

It is an honour and a great pleasure for me to welcome you on behalf of the Standing Commission to the 28th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. I am delighted to see so many participants gathered here this evening. It is of particular value and importance at a time when we live in a polarized, anxious world with so much suffering. A troubled world far removed from the high humanitarian ideals of Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Conformément aux Statuts du Mouvement international de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge, les Sociétés nationales ont pour mission première et pour mandat de mener des activités humanitaires au sein de leur pays. En outre, dans la limite de leurs ressources, elles apportent leur aide, à l'échelon international, aux victimes de situations d'urgence diverses et ce, par l'intermédiaire de la Société nationale du pays concerné, du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) ou de la Fédération internationale des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge. Pour renforcer le Mouvement tout entier, elles contribuent également au développement des Sociétés nationales qui ont besoin d'assistance. Les activités internationales des composantes du Mouvement sont organisées conformément aux Conventions de Genève, aux Statuts du Mouvement et aux résolutions des organes statutaires du Mouvement, notamment l'Accord sur l'organisation des activités internationales des composantes du Mouvement international de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge (Accord de Séville, 1997), et la Stratégic pour le Mouvement (adoptée par le Conseil des Délégués de 2001).

Many States have set up National Committees or similar bodies on international humanitarian law (IHL). To assist these bodies in their task of advising and assisting governments in promoting and implementing IHL, the Advisory Service on IHL of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has now launched an electronic Forum.

The objective of this new tool is to facilitate the exchange of information and experience between the Committees, to strengthen contacts between them, and to thereby encourage States to take national IHL implementation measures.