The human rights officers and focal persons of the Western Mindanao Command participated in an advocacy seminar held at the unit’s conference room in Camp Navarro, Calarian, Zamboanga City on November 11, 2020.
The International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Human Rights (HR) Advocacy Seminar and Workshop was initiated by the Human Rights Office of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in coordination with the Office of the Assistant Chief of Unified Command Staff for Civil-Military Operations, U7.
This activity is in line with the renewed commitment of the AFP to protect the citizens caught in the middle of armed conflict and give total respect to their human rights as stipulated in the IHL.
The International Humanitarian Law or the law of armed conflict protects those who are not or no longer participating in hostilities and aims at minimizing the effects of conflict by restricting the means and methods of warfare.
In his message read by WestMinCom Deputy Commander for Operations Brig. Gen. Camilo Balutan, Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, Jr. said, “We need this kind of activity as we continue to integrate IHL in our operations.”
“This refresher will serve as our reminder particularly to those at the forefront to always adhere to the IHL while carrying out our organizational mandates,” Lt. Gen. Vinluan, Jr. added.
Due to the current situation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, attendees from the lower units participated in the seminar/workshop through Video Teleconferencing (VTC) via Zoom.
During the activity, the lecturer reviewed, revisited, and updated participants on matters relating to HR/IHL, and explained the process of filing cases.
(Source: Press release from Western Mindanao Command)