GovWire

This second edition of the voluntary report was organised by the United Kingdoms National Committee on International Humanitarian Law and provides an overview of international humanitarian law (IHL) implementation by the United Kingdom. It is an updated version of the first Voluntary Report on the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law at Domestic Level which was published in March 2019 and reflects the UK governments commitment to fully comply with and implement IHL.

This second edition of the voluntary report retains the structure of the first edition, which is in the form of a questionnaire, divided into five sections:

1. general domestic implementation
2. dissemination, training, and legal advice
3. domestic jurisdiction over violations of IHL and international criminal law
4. protections
5. means and methods of warfare

The question-and-answer format seeks to provide a record of the UKs implementation in an accessible way to anyone with an interest in IHL matters. The aim is for this up-to-date voluntary report to encourage constructive and continuous dialogue amongst all those with an interest in IHL both in the UK and internationally.

The second edition of the voluntary report is not intended to represent an exhaustive account of domestic implementation. Rather, it aims to gather up to date and current examples of implementation in one document to help people understand what it means to continually give effect to IHL domestically within the context of the UKs common law system.

We hope this updated version of the voluntary report will encourage other states to publish details of their activities to implement IHL at the domestic level and to keep these publications up to date, to better identify best practice, and ultimately to improve implementation and compliance with IHL.