RULE 1

1. The Committee works to promote respect for international humanitarian law and refugee protection. It monitors ratification of relevant international instruments and their implementation at the national level and raises awareness in parliament on issues requiring parliamentary action.

2. The Committee shall undertake missions, as required, to gain an understanding of the situation on the ground of certain humanitarian crises and promote an effective parliamentary response to those.

3. The Committee shall serve as liaison between the IPU and the ICRC and UNHCR, its traditional partners since the Committee’s establishment, and other organizations working in the field of international humanitarian law.

4. The Committee shall submit a written report on its work on issues related to international humanitarian law and refugee protection to the Governing Council.

RULE 2

1. The Committee shall be composed of twelve members (two from each of the geopolitical groups active within the IPU). Members shall be elected by the Governing Council for a term of four years. The members shall be elected on the basis of their interest and expertise in the subject matter and of their availability to attend all sessions.

2. Each geopolitical group will be represented by one man and one woman.

3. If a member of the Committee dies, resigns or ceases to be a parliamentarian, an election to replace that person shall be held at the next session of the Governing Council. A retiring member shall not be eligible for re-election for two years.

4. If a member of the Committee fails to attend more than two consecutive sessions, he or she shall be replaced through an election by the Governing Council.

RULE 3

1. The Committee shall meet in ordinary session at each Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The Secretary General shall fix the place and date of its ordinary sessions. It will hold in camera sessions at each Assembly and one open session at one Assembly per year.

RULE 4

1. The President of the Committee shall be elected by the Committee members for a one-year term renewable once or till the end of his or her mandate.

2. The President shall open, adjourn and close the meetings, direct the work of the Committee, ensure respect for the Rules, call upon members to speak, put matters to the vote, announce the results of the voting and declare sessions closed. The President's decisions on these matters shall be final and shall be accepted without debate.

3. The President may entrust Committee members with preparing reports for submission to the ordinary Committee sessions at the following IPU Assembly.

4. The President may also propose that the Committee hold hearings with experts.

5. In the absence of the President, the Committee shall elect a provisional chair for its meeting.

RULE 5

1. The provisional agenda of each session shall be fixed by the Secretary General in agreement with the President. It shall be communicated to the members of the Committee at least one month before the opening of each ordinary session.

2. A member of the Committee may request the inclusion of supplementary items in the agenda.

3. The definitive agenda of each session shall be fixed by the Committee at the opening of each session.

RULE 6

1. The members of the Committee shall deliberate in camera.

2. The Committee may hold valid deliberations and take valid decisions only if half of the sitting members are present.

3. The members of the Committee shall have one vote each.

4. The Committee shall normally vote by show of hands. However, if the President deems it necessary or if one member of the Committee so requests, a secret ballot shall be held.

5. The Committee shall take all its decisions by a majority of the votes cast.

6. In calculating the number of votes cast, only positive and negative votes shall be taken into consideration.

7. In the interval between sessions, the President, acting through the Secretary General, shall, if necessary, consult the Committee by correspondence.

8. For the results of this consultation to constitute a valid decision, the Secretariat must have received replies from at half of the sitting members of the Committee within 10 days of the date of despatch of the communication by which they were consulted.

RULE 7

1. The Secretariat of the IPU shall receive or prepare all documents necessary to the deliberations of the Committee and shall distribute them to its members in English and French. It shall ensure the simultaneous interpretation of the debates in these two languages, as well as in Arabic and Spanish.

2. It shall prepare reports of its regular sessions, in consultation with the President, for submission to the Governing Council.

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