Civil Military Co-operation Centre of Excellence

Based on initial talks with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for information sharing, Mr. Peter Evans, the ICRC Armed and Security Forces Delegate Europe paid a visit to CCOE.
Mr. Peter Evans presence on the 7th of December was twofold: on one hand the staff personnel of CCOE has been briefed about the mission, mechanisms and principles of ICRC and on the other hand the knowledge transfer into CCOE’s courses and publications have been outlined.
During his lecture he made very clear that ICRC – and other humanitarian aid organisations as well - have strict principles in order to remain impartial, neutral and independent. Humanity is one of the major principles which do not allow any distinction between different parties in conflict situations. In other words, ICRC serves all conflict partners, not only the western alliances. As a consequence, ICRC does not share common grounds or pursuit common goals with other institutions or entities, they remain neutral. But information sharing is very much appreciated from ICRC; this is an issue where all conflict partners might benefit. Possible information areas are location of mines, location and identities of detainees, areas of humanitarian endangerments or as a first step, teach military personnel how to approach civilian organisations, knowing their requirements and create the right expectations.
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