New York, 11-13 November 2019
On Monday, 11 November 2019, States formally launched the Group of Friends of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC) at the United Nations.
The President of the IHFFC, Thilo Marauhn, and Vice-President Robin McNeill Love, attended the inaugural meeting, which was kindly hosted by the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom in New York. Over the past months, the IHFFC has invited all States, which have recognized the competence of the Commission, to consider joining such an emerging Group of Friends. A number of States from a number of continents have responded favorably to these outreach efforts and declared their willingness to enhance their support for the IHFFC and its mandate through their membership of the Group of Friends.
In his briefing to the new Group of Friends, President Marauhn welcomed the emergence of the Group of Friends and thanked the States of the new Group of Friends for their much-appreciated support. He emphasized that the IHFFC, with its focus on the law of armed conflict and its operating principles of neutrality, independence, impartiality and confidentiality would appear to provide an attractive avenue to ensure respect for international humanitarian law".
The aim of the Group of Friends initiative is designed to help strengthen the visibility of the IHFFC as the only permanent and treaty-based organ mandated to restore an attitude of respect for international humanitarian law. The Group of Friends, which it is hoped will continue to expand as time progresses, is expected to help raise awareness of the IHFFC and its mandate with key stakeholders in the area of fact-finding and restoration of respect of international humanitarian law.
The President and Vice-President of the IHFFC also used the opportunity to brief representatives of the United Nations Security Council about the Commission at an informal meeting, which was kindly hosted by the Permanent Mission of Germany, on Monday 11 November 2019 prior to the inaugural Group of Friends meeting.
Furthermore, the President and Vice-President of the IHFFC attended a series of productive meetings with relevant senior interlocutors at the Office of the Secretary General of the United Nations on 11 and 12 November 2019.
Further details of all of these events will be published in due course.
