Graduate Institute Professor Andrew Clapham spoke Tuesday at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights’ opening press conference at the Geneva Press Club. His presentation focused on one of the major recent accomplishments in the field of human rights, the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers.

Professor Clapham discussed how the initiative has made rapid progress toward establishing an effective mechanism for the prevention and punishment of human rights abuses by private security companies who have been in the international headlines in recent years due to abuses in Iraq and other conflicts.

A long-standing member of the festival’s direction committee, Professor Clapham is also co-Director of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, one of the festival’s sponsors and one of the facilitators in the establishment of the Code of Conduct initiated by the Swiss Foreign Ministry.

The Code of Conduct is complicated but innovate, Professor Clapham said. “It goes above and beyond the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has already proven a useful framework for addressing abuses”. Giving some examples, he stated that the Code, adopted on 9 November 2010 and signed by 58 companies on that date, has already been invoked in Afghanistan and the government of the United Kingdom has said it will not establish new contracts with any companies who have not signed it.

The International Code imposes on private security companies the obligation to respect human rights principles by notably providing guidelines on the use of force, apprehension of people, detention and more. It also prohibits company employees from engaging in torture, sexual violence, human trafficking and other violations.

One of the key innovations of the Code is that it is to be integrated into companies’ contracts and violations can be immediately punished by the contracting government refusing to pay fees as well as other commercial and legal means. The Code was developed by members of the private security industry along with the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs, the US as well as the UK Governments and the process was facilitated by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces and the Geneva Academy.

The Code of Conduct is the subject of one of the Festival on Human Rights’ events entitled “Private Security Companies, Above the Law?” At the event Professor Clapham will participate in a debate on the private security sector with Swiss Ambassador and Graduate Institute Alumnus Claude Wilde and others. The film “The Devil Operation” by Stephanie Boyd will also be shown at the event which will take place on 12 March in the Arditi Auditorium at 7:00 pm.

Several other Graduate Institute faculty and community members will participate in the festival’s numerous debates.

Honorary Professor Georges Abi Saab will participate in a debate at the opening ceremony on 4 March at the Arditi auditorium at 7:00 pm entitled “Solidarity with the people of Tunisia, Egypt, Iran…” Also present will be Micheline Calmy-Rey, President of the Swiss Confederation in 2011 and Graduate Institute Alumna, Navy Pillay, UN High Commission for Human Rights and others.

Jacques Grinevald will participate in a debate on 6 March at 3:30 pm at the Grütli theatre entitled “Development that kills” at the screening of the film “Rainmakers”.

Vincent Chetail will take part in a debate on 10 March at the Grütli theatre entitled “A Refuge for Reflection on Migration” at screening of “The Invisibles” at 5:15 pm.

Member of the Institute’s Foundation Board, Robert Roth will moderate a debate entitled “Justice in the Face of History” at the screening of “Impunity” on 11 March at the Alhambra theatre at 8:30 pm.

Most debates will take place in French.

The festival will be held from Friday 4 to Sunday 13 March and features 40 films delving into a number of burning human rights issues in countries and regions across the globe. More information is available in the programme.

According to Professor Clapham “The festival is instrumental in highlighting human rights violations all over the world”.

Andrew Clapham is Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute and co-Director of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Prior to joining the faculty in 1997, he was the Representative of Amnesty International at the United Nations in New York.

The Geneva Academy of International Law and Human Rights was founded by the Graduate Institute and the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva.

© Home page photo by Miguel Bueno.