May 5th, 2014, Doha ― In coordination with its Turkish counterpart and several international organizations, Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) held in Turkey, 22-24 April 2014, its first workshop on the applications of international humanitarian law and Islamic Sharia to the Syrian armed conflict.
The workshop attracted a wide range of participants from engaged parties, as well as Arab international humanitarian law and Islamic Sharia instructors and experts. A representative of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) attended the closing day of the event.
Discussions covered principles of international humanitarian law, particularly those related to protection of civilians, prisoners, women, and children, as well as relief assistance delivery in conflict zones. Participants also discussed aspects of compatibility between international humanitarian law and Islamic Sharia and how their objectives integrate.
The trainees expressed their respect to the provisions of Islamic Sharia and international humanitarian law, showing interest in arranging specialized training courses for their respective military, judicial, political, media, and human rights officials.
The instructors commended the positive interactivity of participants and the great flexibility and cooperation from engaged parties by accepting dialogue on the applications of international humanitarian law and having willingness to promote their knowledge and practice of its implications regarding the Syrian conflict.
QRC is planning for more workshops on issues of international humanitarian law in cooperation with many other Syrian factions. The organization has considerable efforts in international humanitarian law training, under the wings of the seven international humanitarian principles: Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.