The last Round Table, held in Sanremo from 6 to 8 September 2018, addressed the issue of “Deprivation of liberty and armed conflicts: explotring realities and remedies”.
Deprivation of liberty, in particular in relation to armed conflicts, poses a range of humanitarian and legal challenges. In many parts of the world, persons deprived of their liberty face dire conditions of detention and ill-treatment, caused by structural shortcomings in justice and prison systems or violations of basic detainee protections. Such situations become more serious in times of armed conflicts, where States or other actors, face resource restraints and high numbers of detainees.
The Round Table gathered together about 200 participants coming from different regions of the world including military experts, academics, IHL experts and practitioners, representatives from governments, international organizations, red cross and red crescent societies and NGOs.
Experts had the opportunity to discuss key issus of international humanitarian law, such as the legal basis and the grounds and procedures for deprivation of liberty during armed conflicts, as well as the treatment and conditions reserved to detainees. Some specific challenges, such as the transfer of detainees in multinational operations, detention by non-state actors and migration-related detention were also addressed.
The interventions made during the Round Table will be available soon.