The International Humanitarian Fact-finding Commission (IHFFC) held its Annual Meeting from 1 to 3 April 2019 in Geneva.
Building upon the momentum reached on the occasion of the successful Eastern Ukraine mission, the 15 Members discussed ways to further capitalise on this significant development.
The Commission is grateful for the support of a number of States expressing their willingness to establish a “Group of Friends” of the IHFFC at the United Nations in New York and is looking forward to playing its part in progressing this important outreach activity. This will be part of a greater initiative to increase the visibility of the Commission.
The Commission also adopted measures to encourage even more States to recognise the competence of the Commission according to Article 90 of Protocol Additional I of the Geneva Conventions.
In view of further enhancing its operational readiness, the Commission took decisions of principle and created a number of Working Groups in order to streamline and update internal guidelines and working methods.
The Members of the Commission used the opportunity of the Annual Meeting to hold a series of exchanges with relevant stakeholders, including Member States, the ICRC and academic institutions. In particular, the Commission invited representatives of other relevant bodies, including the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria and the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen, to share experiences and insights.
The Commission agreed upon its annual Programme of Work. In addition, it adopted the Financial Report for the year 2018 and the draft budget for the year 2020 which will be submitted to Member States according to the established Financial Procedures of the Commission.
The next Annual Meeting will be held in spring 2020 in Geneva.
