Côte d’Ivoire
Practice Relating to Rule 67. Inviolability of Parlementaires
Côte d’Ivoire’s Teaching Manual (2007) provides in Book I (Basic instruction):
Lesson 1. Basic notions of IHL
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The principle of distinction specifies who and what can be attacked and who and what cannot be attacked.
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- Who and what must be protected?
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- a person displaying the white flag of truce,
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Lesson 2. Identification
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II.2 Persons and objects under special protection
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- a person displaying the white flag of truce,
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Lesson 3. Rules of behaviour in combat
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[Basic Rule No. 11]:
Respect persons and objects bearing
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- the white flag of truce.
[Observation]:
These persons and objects benefit from a special protection according to the Geneva Conventions.
In Book III, Volume 1 (Instruction of first-year trainee officers), the Teaching Manual provides:
Chapter 3. Identification
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III.4. The white flag (or flag of truce)
The white flag is a customary element of war, and remains widely in use until this day. The white flag is used to indicate the intention to negotiate and to protect the persons who negotiate … Those using the white flag must not be subjected to any attack during the negotiations.
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Chapter 4. Behaviour in action
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II.4. The white flag (the flag of truce)
We have already spoken of this element of customary law; let us now see how it can be used during operations.
… The party which uses the white flag must cease firing. As soon as it has done so, the other side must do the same … A surrender is generally accepted and the enemy is treated consequently, but there is no obligation to receive a delegation of parlementaires. If a discussion with parlementaires is accepted, the members of the delegation must be protected as long as the negotiation procedures last. After the negotiations, they must be allowed to return safely to their own lines.