China: Bond University wins 15th Red Cross IHL Moot in Hong Kong

Beijing (ICRC) - After four days of competition, Bond University, from Australia, was proclaimed the winner of the 15th Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot in Hong Kong, followed by the University of Hong Kong as the runner-up university Wu Ting-yu, from National Taiwan University, has won the Best Mooter.

The annual inter-university competition is jointly organized by the Hong Kong Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in collaboration with The University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. This year, it was held from 8 to 11 March.

"There is no doubt that the academic community has an important role to play in the promotion and development of International Humanitarian Law (IHL)." said Pierre Dorbes, Head of the regional delegation of the ICRC for East Asia. "Through activities we hold with students and academics, the ICRC seeks to create greater awareness of IHL in today's world. It endeavours to ensure that future decision-makers and opinion-leaders understand the relevance of IHL in protecting victims of conflicts."

Originally a local event in Hong Kong, the competition has grown into a regional edition involving more and more teams from across the Asia Pacific region.

"It started from two teams in HK to now, 24 teams from 21 cities in the Asia Pacific region," said Edward K M Tam, Deputy Secretary General of the Hong Kong Red Cross. "One of the responsibilities of the Red Cross Movement is to encourage the understanding and respect of IHL. One of the ways to advocate for that is to organize moot competitions among student."

"It's important to have an understanding about the rules and regulations of IHL. This branch of Law ensures respect for humanity and human life during times of armed conflicts," said the Honorable Mr. Justice Patrick Chan, Non-permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong, who has been acting as a judge for the regional moot for 14 years. "It is so important to promote the rules that ensure respect for human life, human values and humanity through the study of the IHLamong students, particularly the younger generation."

Mr. Chan also said that he hoped in the future the Asia Pacific regional competition can become a global event.

In cooperation with the national societies and the academic circles, the ICRC works to raise awareness and spread knowledge of IHL. Moot-court competitions are one way of achieving this aim.