Resolution on the Respect for International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law in Periods of Armed Conflict

We, the participants of the Forum of NGOs participating at the 37th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the 11th African Human Rights Book Fair, held in Banjul, The Gambia, from April 27 to May 11, 2005,

Noting the increase and prolongation of armed conflicts in Africa, in particular internal armed conflicts, and the resulting human suffering and destruction;

Conscious that poverty, social injustice, economic and political bad governance frequently give rise to conflicts;

Convinced that the respect for humanitarian law and human rights helps to prevent the escalation of violence and facilitates the resolution of conflicts;

Concerned by the fact that the civilian populations have become the principal victims of the acts of violence perpetrated during armed conflicts;

Concerned by the widespread use of illegal means and methods of combat, notably the attacks against individuals who do not participate or no longer participate in the hostilities;

Seriously concerned by the illegal circulation of small arms and the recruitment of mercenaries;

Aware of the phenomenon of the use of children in hostilities;

Worried by the persistence of a culture of impunity, notably by the adoption of general or special amnesty laws;

Cognisant of the universality of the international humanitarian law and of the fundamental human rights principles and their complementary nature in situations of armed conflict;

Request:

1. The Member States of the African Union to:

1. Ratify or accede to the instruments of humanitarian and human rights law to which they are signatory;

2. Respect and ensure respect for humanitarian law under all circumstances as stipulated by Article 1 which is common to all four Geneva Conventions of 1949 relative to the protection of the victims of armed conflicts, and to guarantee the efficacy of human rights;

3. Take all the adequate legislative, regulatory and practical measures for implementing their obligations ensuing from international humanitarian law, including the imposing of criminal sanctions, and human rights instruments, in particular the Protocol to the African Charter relative to the Rights of Women in Africa and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;

4. Ensure that genocide, crimes against humanity and serious violations of humanitarian law are duly pursued and punished by the national courts, or if need be, by the International Criminal Court;

5. Ensure a wide distribution of the instruments of humanitarian human rights law within the civilian population, the security forces, soldiers and to facilitate their distribution among Opposition Groups;

2. To the conflicting Parties:

1. To ensure that the hostilities are conducted in conformity with the laws and customs of war, notably to make a distinction at all times between civilians and combatants and between civilian property and military targets;

2. To guarantee respect for humanitarian law as a means of avoiding the displacement of populations, both within the borders of the territory in conflict and towards neighbouring States;

3. To ensure that individuals of less than 18 years do not participate in the hostilities and to take adequate measures to this effect;

4. To respect and protect the victims of conflicts without distinction as to which Party they belong and in particular to ensure that detainees are not subjected to humiliating or degrading treatment and that humanitarian workers are respected and protected;

5. To guarantee the access and facilitate the coordination of emergency humanitarian activities for the humanitarian organisations responsible for providing assistance and protection to the victims of armed conflicts;

3. To the African Commission:

1. To guarantee the follow-up on the recommendations relative to international humanitarian and human rights law.

Done in Banjul, The Gambia, 27th April, 2005