Pulse.ng : ICRC, NDA sign MoU to enhance humanitarian law, promote human rights

By Sani Idris

The International Committee on Red Cross (ICRC) and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance humanitarian law and promote respect for human rights.

Signing the MoU at the NDA headquartes on Tuesday in Kaduna, the academy’s Commandant, Maj.-Gen. John Ochai, said the partnership aims to integrate international humanitarian law into the improved NDA’s curriculum.

Ochai, represented by his deputy, AVM Sunday Aneke, said it would also ensure that the future military leaders at the academy were equipped to navigate complex conflicts with empathy and integrity.

Through this collaboration, Ochai said, ICRC and NDA would jointly develop training programs, workshops, and research initiatives focused on humanitarian law, human rights, and military ethics.

He added, “The cadets needed the skills of ensuring human right in order to survive in the contemporary world.

”The MoU will ensure they become topnotch while leaving the academy as officers in the field and to keep themselves and everybody out of trouble.”

The strategic partnership, the commandant said, underscored the shared commitment to promoting humanitarian values and upholding the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence.

The Team Leader of the ICRC, Mr Yann Bonzon, said the MoU marked a milestone in its relationship with the Armed Forces of Nigeria in general but more specifically with the NDA.

Bonzon, however, said the relationship has been ongoing for more than two decades and it was just being concretised through the signing of the MoU.

“This is the first ever MoU signed between the ICRC and any institution of the Armed Forces of Nigeria as a whole,”he said.

Bonzon added that the ICRC was uniquely positioned to help parties to various International Humanitarian Law (IHL) treaties to translate the laws into actual practice in the field and thus promote it respect.

With over a century of experience working in the field of IHL, Bonzon said they were inspired by its unique mandate as the custodian of the laws unilaterally given to it by the international community.

He said that the competence has been demonstrated with various other organisations like the ECOWAS Standby Force which the ICRC partnered to draft various working documents like Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Rules of Engagements (ROEs) during its formative years.

“It is common knowledge that warfare as we know it has evolved considerably.

”Belligerents are more and more leaving their battlefield to conduct their operations among the civilian population and civilian objects.

“Moreover, asymmetric warfare has led to more unconventional tactics being adopted by belligerents seeking to outdo each other.

”This is in terms of means
and methods of warfare, usually with dire consequences for the civilian population and their means of livelihood”, he added.

Speaking further, Bonzon said young officers from the NDA would be confronted with a challenging environment soon after their commissioning.

He said that the newly commissioned officers and their troops would be able to conduct their military duties within the ambits of the law/

The team leader said they needed to understand not only the text and purpose of the law, but also how they are translated into actual practices in the field.

He stressed that the knowledge would help both the commanders and their troops to develop operational plans that would help them limit the damages that come with military operations.

Bonzon explained that the process of aligning the letters of the law with practice in the field is what the ICRC referred to as ‘integration’.

He said, “In a nutshell, integration of the law is the process of making arm carriers respond to operational situations as a reflex and in accordance with the dictates of the law.”

According to him, there is no better place to build the right reflexes for soldiers than during training.

“As the premiere
training institution for military officers in Nigeria, the NDA is best placed to build the right knowledge and reflex for officers of the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” he said.

Bonzon equally said that in the course of the next five years, the ICRC would deploy its best resources to escort the integration process within the NDA.

He said it would hopefully open a new vista in the operational history of the Armed Forces of
Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the Signing of the MoU would feature a three-day symposium on IHL for the passing out cadets of 71 Regular Course and Direct Short Service course 28 (Army) and 32 (Air Force).

To be conducted by the ICRC, it would culminate with a tactical exercise without troops.

The lessons learnt in the engagement would serve as material to fine-tune the implementation of the MoU over the next couple of years.(NAN)