Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, attended yesterday the sixth meeting of the Spanish Commission on International Humanitarian Law, which took place at the headquarters of the Ministry and during which a Working Group was launched to Monitoring of the Government’s Humanitarian Diplomacy Strategy.
The Spanish Commission on International Humanitarian Law was created in 2007 as a national mechanism for coordination and consultation on the application and dissemination of International Humanitarian Law. It is chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the meeting, Albares highlighted the “firm defense of the Government of Spain of International Humanitarian Law”, as well as its commitment to the fight “against impunity and international criminal justice”. Likewise, he reiterated the need to respect International Humanitarian Law in the Gaza Strip and to protect the civilian population and allow access for humanitarian aid.
Regarding international criminal justice and the fight against impunity, the minister recalled the requests made by Spain to the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Court to investigate the commission of possible war crimes in the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the death of Spanish aid worker Emma Igual, killed by the impact of a Russian missile while carrying out her humanitarian work in Ukraine.
Albares also made reference to the priority lines of work on the Commission’s agenda: the protection of medical missions in conflict – with the horizon of the meeting at the Ministry’s headquarters, in the month of June, of the Group of Large Donors of the International Committee of the Red Cross -, the protection of education in conflict situations and the growing use of hunger as a weapon of war.
Yesterday’s meeting also allowed the creation of a Working Group for the Follow-up of the Humanitarian Diplomacy Strategy, which will review compliance with the Action Plans in this matter.
