Iraq
Practice Relating to Rule 31. Humanitarian Relief Personnel
At the First Periodical Meeting on International Humanitarian Law in 1998, the Iraqi representative requested that “urgent measures be taken to protect relief personnel”.
On the basis of the reply by Iraq’s Ministry of Defence to a questionnaire, the Report on the Practice of Iraq states:
Protection of relief personnel is an absolute principle, without any restriction, for they must be allowed to perform their activities without impediment, even if the matter necessitates the request for holding a temporary armistice to make room for them to carry out their humanitarian roles. The personnel include staff of the International and National Red Cross and Red Crescent.