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Linking Project Citizen to EHL (Exploring international
Humanitarian Law) an ICRC program
By Boubacar Tall
Civitas World Congress
Cape Town
South Africa
May 2009
Focus
• Why does the chicken cross the street?
Session goals
• To be aware of central questions that underlie humanitarian law
• To be aware that some of the questions that arise in exploring humanitarian law have no easy answer
• To construct a preliminary definition of human dignity
• To take note of the EHL program• To link EHL to Project Citizen
Introductory exploration: images and perception
• What are your images of armed conflict?
• What do you think of attempts to limit the suffering that results from it?
• What is human dignity?
Please respond in group to the following questions
• Is everything allowed during an armed conflict?• Doesn’t making laws for how to behave in war in fact
legitimize war?• Don’t rules make war like a game?• Why not just outlaw war instead?• What should be preserve during an armed conflict?• What should be preserve in times of peace?• What is Human Dignity? How would you define it?
Introduction to EHL program
• “We have a choice today. We can either sit back, watch the devastation wrought by war and try to make our children look the other way; or we can choose to tell our children that what they see – or what they are themselves experiencing – is not acceptable, that this is not how it is supposed to be, and that they can behave differently, in ways inspired by deep-rooted respect for human dignity, both in peacetime and in the midst of armed conflict."Jacques Forster, ICRC Vice-President, European Leadership Education Conference on Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL), Vienna, May 2006.
What is EHL
• Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) is an international education program for young people between the ages of 13 and 18. It was designed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in close association with Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC).
What is EHL
• EHL is a resource pack for teachers that:
• provides 30 hours of activities and,• introduce young people to the basic rules of international humanitarian law (IHL)
What is EHL
• The learning materials:
• Are based both on historical and contemporary situations,
• Show how IHL aims to protect life and human dignity during armed conflict and reduce and prevent the suffering and destruction that result from war
What is EHL
• EHL aims to foster in students:
• An awareness of the necessity of humanitarian norms
• An understanding of different perspectives
• An interest and responsible involvement in local and international events
What is EHL
• Is EHL explicitly concerned with:
• Peace?
• Tolerance?
• mutual understanding?
• prevention of violence or conflict resolution? That’s a controversial issue!
What is EHL
• EHL definitely emphasizes the positive changes in students attitude that can evolve from the ideas of:
• Respect for life and human dignity
• Civic responsibility, and
• Solidarity
What is EHL
• Thus, EHL can be incorporated in a wide range of different subject areas that fall under the broad heading of citizenship education
What is EHL
• The content of EHL is linked to academic subjects such as:
• Civics• social studies• Philosophy• History• Law• and literature
What is EHL
• EHL teaching methods reinforce many important academic and life skills such as:
• Communication• Disagreeing respectfully• Reasoning• Research• Problem-solving and• Critical thinking
Implementation of EHL
• Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) was developed to assist governments in their efforts to spread knowledge of international humanitarian law (IHL), as required by the Geneva Conventions.
• Currently the program is implemented all around the world
Implementation of EHL
• In Africa:
• Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Mauritius, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa
Implementation of EHL
• In Americas:
• Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay
Implementation of EHL
• In Asia:
• Australia, China (including Hong Kong), India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Thailand
Implementation of EHL
• In Europe:
• Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, UNMIK/PISG Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Implementation of EHL
• Middle East and North Africa:
• Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Mauritania, Palestinian autonomous/occupied territories, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen
Rationale for teaching EHL • Why learning the IHL is relevant
and meaningful for young people in all societies regardless of a particular country's experience of armed conflict or other situations of violence?
Rationale for teaching EHL
•Armed conflicts and other situations of violence are taking place in many parts of the world today and young people are increasingly affected by them.
Rationale for teaching EHL
•Many societies appear to be becoming more prone to various forms of violence.
Rationale for teaching EHL
• Young people, in greater numbers than ever, are exposed to media coverage of such violence as well as to forms of entertainment that downplay the effects of violence.
Rationale for teaching EHL
• In times of acute social and political tensions, such as post-conflict situations or periods of social reconstruction, education programs such as EHL may have an indirect pacifying effect
Rationale for teaching EHL
• States party to the Geneva Conventions have an obligation, both in times of peace as in times of war, to spread knowledge of international humanitarian law (IHL)
Structure of EHL
• The Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) resource pack contains one introductory exploration, five core modules and a closing exploration . Each module has a central theme and consists of a number of explorations, or lessons.
Structure of EHL
Module 1: The humanitarian perspective
Exploration 1A: What can bystanders do? (2 sessions)
Exploration 1B: Looking at humanitarian acts (1 session)
Exploration 1C: A bystander's dilemma (1 session)
Structure of EHLModule 2: Limits in armed conflict
• Exploration 2A: Limiting the devastation of war (2 sessions)
• Exploration 2B: Codes and traditions over time (1 session)
• Exploration 2C: Focus on child soldiers (3 sessions)
• Exploration 2D: Focus on weapons (2 sessions)
• Exploration 2E: Widespread availability of weapons (2 sessions)
Structure of EHLModule 3: The law in action
Exploration 3A: Identifying violations of IHL (1 session)
Exploration 3B: From the perspective of combatants (2 sessions)
Exploration 3C: Who is responsible for respecting IHL? (1 session)
A case study: My Lai - What went wrong? What went right? (3 sessions)
Structure of EHL
Module 4: Dealing with violations
• Exploration 4A: Rationales and options for dealing with IHL violations (2 sessions)
• Exploration 4B: Judicial options (3 sessions)
• Exploration 4C: Non-judicial options (2 sessions)
Structure of EHL• Module 5: Responding to the consequences of
armed conflict
• Exploration 5A: Needs that arise from the devastation of war (1 session)
• Exploration 5B: Planning a camp for people displaced by war (1 session)
• Exploration 5C: Focus on protecting prisoners (2 sessions)
• Exploration 5D: Focus on restoring family links (1 session)Exploration 5E: Ethics of humanitarian action (1 session)
The closing Exploration is the link with Project Citizen
• EHL is not concerned with mastering facts and memorizing historical dates. Instead, it emphasizes the application of concepts about respect for and protection of life and human dignity to real armed conflicts and other situations of violence. It involves students in ethical considerations that may challenge their values, traditions, expectations and the idea that there is one correct answer to every question
The closing Exploration is the link with Project Citizen
• Students improve their:
• communication and critical thinking skills.
• Life skills
The closing Exploration is the link with Project Citizen
• The closing Exploration is entitled: • “Now , where do we go from here?”• It is a planning and project time for students :• To apply something of what has been learned
to planning a project that promotes human dignity
• To carry out a project that promotes human dignity
The closing Exploration is the link with Project Citizen
• In Senegal EHL students use Project Citizen as their closing exploration tool to promote Human dignity by identifying a Human Dignity Public Policy issue for a portfolio oral presentation before their decision makers and communities.
Sample EHL -Project citizen themes studied in Senegal
• Personal landmines• Talibe: children begging in streets • Poverty of retreated seniors• Conditions of life of prisoners in Senegalese prisons• The problem of Displaced people in Casamance• The problem of Refugees from Mauritania
• Child soldiers
