Thursday, November 28, 2019

With the participation of...

With the participation of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Shari‛ā and law experts meet to discuss the protection of human dignity under armed conflicts

     Al-Azhar and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) held a workshop entitled “Protecting Human Dignity under Armed Conflicts within the Framework of International Humanitarian Law and Islamic Jurisprudence”. The workshop was held in coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Committee for International Humanitarian Law on the 26th and 27th of November 2019 at Al-Azhar Conference Center in Nasr City, Cairo.

     In a joint statement, Prof. Naẓīr ‛Ayyād, Secretary-General of the Islamic Research Academy, and Ronald Ovtinger, Head of the ICRC delegation in Egypt, said, “There is an important role that religious leaders should play in alleviating the suffering of victims of armed conflicts. For example, they can call for respecting the basic humanitarian principles and the international humanitarian law”.

     Over the two days, the workshop participants discussed three main themes: the protection of civilians, the humane treatment of detainees, and respecting the dead bodies and proper handling with them.

     The workshop discussed the unprecedented human suffering caused by armed conflicts which protracted in the Middle East and the Muslim world in general. This suffering has been experienced since World War II. Hundreds of thousands were killed, about 20 million refugees were left homeless, cities were destroyed and the basic infrastructure was devastated.

     The workshop also addressed the main causes of this suffering, the most important of which is the lack of respect for international humanitarian law. The humanitarian rules of this law are supposed to be safeguarded and protected by the legal and ethical rules set forth in all religions and civilizations, including Islam.

     The workshop aims to enhance the universal receptivity level to the international humanitarian law, and to shed light on the rulings of protection in accordance with the human values set forth in Islamic jurisprudence. Experts participated in a humanitarian academic discussion on the rulings of these two fundamental legal frameworks.

     The workshop was attended by professors of Shari‛ā and law from Al-Azhar University and other Egyptian universities, scholars from Morocco, Iraq, Libya, and experts in the international humanitarian law.


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