Red Cross Advocates New Laws For African Armed Forces

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has advocated the need for a review of the Armed Forces Act in line with International Humanitarian Law.
The organisation believes that a review will help military personnel to protect innocent victims caught up in armed conflicts.
Senior officials of the organisation made the suggestion at a discussion on International Humanitarian Law in Abuja, where they advocated the integration of the law of armed conflicts into military training and operations alongside the adoption of some other vital rules of armed engagements as defined by the International Humanitarian Law.
It also emphasised the need for the presentation of a common position on small arms proliferation across West Africa to the United Nations from member states.
With the dawn of information technology, human rights violations are now harder to conceal, and the Nigerian Armed Forces have pledged to sensitise troops on the best practices in armed conflicts to protect human rights.