Monaco and Sanremo Institute strengthen partnership to promote international humanitarian law

The Prince’s Government has reaffirmed its commitment to respecting and promoting international humanitarian law by strengthening its support for the Sanremo International Institute of Humanitarian Law’s work to disseminate and provide training on standards in this field.

The Prince’s Government understands that knowledge of international humanitarian law is vital if these standards are to be respected, and has consequently been supporting the Sanremo International Institute of Humanitarian Law’s training programme for several years. The programme is aimed particularly at military personnel, as well as institutional stakeholders and civil society organisations.

The Institute was founded in 1970 and enables military personnel from more than 100 countries to attend training courses on site in Sanremo or remotely, and to compare their understanding and their capacity to respect the standards of international humanitarian law.

With conflicts escalating and violations of international humanitarian law increasing, in 2025 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) launched a global initiative, which Monaco has joined, to “galvanise political commitment to international humanitarian law”.

“By strengthening this partnership, we are clearly demonstrating our firm belief that it is vital to protect people who are affected by armed conflict,” stressed Ms Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

The President of the Sanremo Institute, Lieutenant General (rtd.) Giorgio Battisti, was keen to emphasise that “In this particularly complex phase of human history, where we are seeing more crises and armed conflicts and a weakening of respect for humanitarian principles, training in international humanitarian law is more important than ever. For more than 50 years, the Sanremo Institute has played a key role by providing armed forces, government institutions and humanitarian organisations with the knowledge that is essential to the effective implementation of international humanitarian law. Our strengthened partnership with the Principality of Monaco offers crucial support as we pursue this vital mission to protect people affected by armed conflict.”

The agreement between the two partners was renewed for three years, with increased funding to train representatives from developing countries in international humanitarian law standards.