At the invitation of Switzerland, the depositary state of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, the fifth diplomatic meeting was held in Bern on 8 December 2016, during which the members of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission were elected. The 76 States Parties to the first Additional Protocol of 1977 to the Geneva Convention accepting the competence of the Commission were entitled to participate in this election.
68 States took part in the meeting under the chairmanship of Ambassador Jürg Lindenmann Deputy Director of the Directorate of International Law DIL of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA and the vice-chairmanship of H.E Ambassador Antonio Trombetta, Ambassador of Argentina in Bern.
After the first ballot the following candidates were elected (in the alphabetical order of their state of origin):
| Member | Country |
|---|---|
| Mr RACHID BELHADJ | Algeria |
| Mr MARIO J.A. OYARZÁBAL | Argentina |
| Mr ALFREDO LABBÉ | Chile |
| Mr THILO MARAUHN | Germany |
| Mr STELIOS PERRAKIS | Greece |
| Mrs RÉKA VARGA | Hungary |
| Mr SHUICHI FURUYA | Japan |
| Mr JUSTINAS ŽILINSKAS | Lithuania |
| Mrs ELŻBIETA MIKOS-SKUZA | Poland |
| Mr ABDULLA RASHID S. A. AL-NAIMI | Qatar |
| Mr FRANCISCO REY MARCOS | Spain |
| Mrs ÅSA MOLDE | Sweden |
| Mrs LAURENCE BOILLAT | Switzerland |
| Mr MOHAMED MAHMOUD AL KAMALI | United Arab Emirates |
| Mr ROBIN M C MCNEILL LOVE | United Kingdom |
For the final results containing the number of votes obtained by the elected candidates including the absolute majority and the list of participants, please see below.
The newly-formed Commission was elected for a term of office of five years and will enter into function at its first annual meeting planned to take place on 20-22 February 2017 in Geneva.
During this diplomatic meeting, the 68 participating States have also unanimously adopted amendments of the Financial Procedures proposed by the Depositary. To consult these amendments, please click here.
