Related Rule
Mexico
Practice Relating to Rule 143. Dissemination of International Humanitarian Law among the Civilian Population
Mexico’s Army and Air Force Manual (2009) states:
The publication of this manual by the Ministry of National Defence of Mexico contributes to fulfilling the obligation undertaken by the Government of Mexico on signing the [1949] Geneva Conventions to ensure that these instruments are disseminated as widely as possible in peacetime.
Mexico, Manual de Derecho Internacional Humanitario para el Ejército y la Fuerza Área Mexicanos, Ministry of National Defence, June 2009, Foreword; see also § 137.
Mexico’s Order Establishing the IHL Commission (2009) states:
The Interdepartmental Commission on International Humanitarian Law, whose acronym is CIDIH-Mexico, is hereby permanently established as a consultative and technical organ of the Federal Government whose objective is to disseminate … the norms, principles and institutions of international humanitarian law and to advance the implementation at the national and international level of the obligations acquired by Mexico by virtue of being a party to international treaties in this field.
Mexico, Order Establishing the IHL Commission, 2009, Article 1.
The Order also states:
In order to fulfil its objectives, the Commission shall have the following tasks:
…
II. Disseminate and promote international humanitarian law … among the general population.
Mexico, Order Establishing the IHL Commission, 2009, Article 3(II).
In 2010, in its report to the UN General Assembly on the status of the 1977 Additional Protocols, Mexico stated:
The Commission is a permanent advisory and technical body of the Federal Executive branch; its main purpose is to coordinate the Federal Government’s efforts with respect to international humanitarian law by disseminating … the rules, principles and institutions pertaining to such law and facilitating harmonization of domestic law with Mexico’s international commitments.
Mexico, Report on the Status of the 1977 Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, 29 September 2010, § 7.
Mexico also stated that “the Federal Public Administration, in collaboration with ICRC, has held a number of training courses for public servants with a view to educating them about matters relating to international humanitarian law.”
Mexico, Report on the Status of the 1977 Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, 29 September 2010, § 7.
In 2010, in its written replies to the Committee on the Rights of the Child concerning Mexico’s initial report under the 2000 Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, Mexico stated:
18. The Inter-Ministerial International Humanitarian Law Commission (CIDIH-Mexico) is launching an annual nationwide course on international humanitarian law for public officials and the general public. The course covers the special protection afforded children in armed conflicts under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
19. The course is being organized to fulfil one of the promises made by the Government of Mexico at the Thirtieth International Conference of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent (Geneva, November 2007), on the promotion and respect of international humanitarian law.
Mexico, Written replies of the Government of Mexico to the list of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the initial report of Mexico under the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, 17 December 2010, UN Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/MEX/Q/1/Add.1, submitted 23 August 2010, §§ 18–19.
