Marcos forms committee on International Humanitarian Law

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has issued an Executive Order (EO) establishing an Inter-agency Committee on International Humanitarian Law (IAC-IHL).

EO No. 77 was signed on November 22 and published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday.

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It specifies that the IAC-IHL shall be co-chaired by the Department of National Defense and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

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Its members will include the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Justice, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Trade and Industry, and other relevant agencies.

Based on the EO, the IAC-IHL shall advise and assist concerned government agencies in “implementing, developing, and raising public awareness” about IHL.

Some of the committee’s tasks are to formulate and implement year-round programs and activities for the promotion of IHL and international agreements, study and submit recommendations on the effective implementation of and compliance with IHL, and coordinate and collaborate with concerned agencies as well as non-government agencies and other groups for the promotion of IHL.

Funding of the committee, meanwhile, shall be charged against the current and available budgets of the member agencies.