The course, held at the Technical Supply Centre in Fiumicino, was attended by 28 participants including Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers from the Italian Air Force, the Carabinieri and the Vatican Gendarmerie. The course, divided into specialist sessions covering the various themes of international law applicable to armed conflicts, was organised by the Technical Supply Centre in Fiumicino with the collaboration of the Italian Red Cross (C.R.I.) and the Committee for the Dissemination of International Humanitarian Law.
The educational programme was structured into 30 hours, comprising lectures delivered by university professors and C.R.I. instructors, as well as study and the resolution of practical cases in working groups, with the assistance of qualified tutors.
The direction of the course was entrusted to Dr Anastasia Siena, Vice President of the National Commission for the dissemination of IUDs, and Dr Guendalina Conte, Lazio Regional Representative for IUDs, while the CTR guaranteed logistical and organisational support.
The course was attended by 28 participants, including Italian Air Force officers and non-commissioned officers from various parts of Italy, a Marshal of the Carabinieri and personnel from the Vatican Gendarmerie. The closing ceremony of the course, in the presence of the Course Directorate and lawyer Gerardo Di Ruocco, was chaired by Major General Giuseppe Li Causi, Head of the Support Service of the Logistics Command, and Colonel Francesco Grassi, Commander of the CTR. On the sidelines of the closing operations, during which diplomas and badges were handed out to the new international IHL operators, Colonel Grassi, congratulating the participants on their new qualification, thanked the Italian Red Cross, without whom it would not have been possible to organise such an important course. General Li Causi, in turn, highlighted the value of this activity for the preparation of military personnel on issues of absolute importance in the deployment of the military instrument in out-of-area operations within a socio-political context that, even in Europe, has profoundly changed. Precisely such developments, according to General Li Causi, have stimulated the Armed Force to make its policy increasingly dynamic, also directing it towards increasing personnel's knowledge of International Humanitarian Law. Finally, General Li Causi thanked the Italian Red Cross because such a delicate and fundamental subject can only be taught by those who combine the quality of the notions with experience and effective deployment in the field, just like the women and men of the CRI.
Dr Siena's contribution was also particularly significant, as she highlighted how one of the Italian Red Cross's main tasks is the dissemination of International Humanitarian Law and supporting the international community in legislating on IHL, which naturally must evolve in response to changing global scenarios. Dr Siena therefore emphasised that collaboration with the Armed Forces is now long-standing, pointing out that the Italian Air Force was the very first Armed Force to understand the importance of knowing the fundamentals of IHL by participating in and organising courses such as the one that has just concluded.
