Teacher trainer Mark Stoesz during the Mauritius "Exploring Humanitarian Law" training.

"But the 13,000 mile geographical distance was easily bridged by the many similarities that my colleagues and I notice in our students in Ellsworth and what teachers there see in their students in Mauritius as far as what interests and concerns them globally," he adds. Another commonality between the students of the two very different countries and cultures is that they all are studying the same humanitarian law curriculum.

Stoesz is part of a team of educators who train other teachers to use a curriculum Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) produced by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in association with Education Development Center. The American Red Cross is leading implementation of the EHL program in the United States as part of its broader International Humanitarian Law (IHL) dissemination efforts to the general public. Stoesz, and other educators, recently traveled to Mauritius to instruct teachers there on ways to integrate the educational program into the classroom.

The curriculum is designed for students aged 13-18 to learn about humanitarian law and principles of human dignity, outlined in the Geneva Conventions, now universally ratified.

The curriculum is being implemented worldwide, cutting across political, social, religious, and cultural contexts and varied educational systems. "It's now translated into almost forty different languages and there are 89 countries currently in some phase of implementing the program into their nations' schools," says Alicia Guajardo, the lead staffer at the American Red Cross headquarters in Washington D.C. who is in charge of implementing the program in schools across the US. "Over the past four years we have begun to introduce the curriculum to US educators at teacher conferences, educational organizations and even individual school districts," says Guajardo. "It meets national social studies curriculum standards so it meets the teaching requirements of most districts," she adds. The challenge in the US is that, unlike most countries, curriculum decisions are made at the state and local levels. So, in many ways, the word needs to spread district-by-district and teacher-by-teacher.

The EHL program aims to provide educators with learning materials and strategies that may reinforce and enrich existing educational programs. The materials are built on both historical and contemporary situations. "And it's a real teachable moment right now," Stoesz says. He cites current events in places like Lebanon, Israel, Darfur (Sudan), North Korea, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

A small group of trainers from the United States, South Africa, Seychelles, and Malaysia work together during the "Exploring Humanitarian Law" workshop in Mauritius.

Paul Frankmann, a high school teacher in Aurora, Ohio agrees. Frankmann, who also was part of the team of educators who traveled to Mauritius, has previously taught this curriculum in places like South Africa and in the U.S. "We get students to ask questions," he says. "They've asked about what if, like terrorists, world governments break the rules?" he adds. "And, we teach them the Geneva Conventions are not up for interpretation and if countries abide by them it's the strongest humanitarian treaty in the world."

But student response differs, sometimes, depending on where in the world the students live. For example, he says, U.S. students are aware of the debate over treatment of prisoners being detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He says many students also come from communities where a local citizen is serving in Iraq. Students are asked to think about whether they'd want their neighbor treated humanely if captured during war. "That level of personalization brings the issue into a very direct, personal and clear focus for them,"says Paul.

Guajardo agrees. She says that while students will gain a greater understanding of international humanitarian law and principles, the Geneva Conventions and the US role in conflict, perhaps the greatest lessons are those that come during everyday dilemmas. "Students begin to wrestle with the concept of what it means to be a bystander whether it is on the school grounds or a community street. Students gain an understanding of what it means to come forward and report something. "They gain the heightened awareness and critical-thinking skills needed to think through and understand the consequences of their actions whether it is to remain silent or to speak out," Guajardo says.

The EHL program contributes to the formation of responsible young people and specifically focuses on positive changes in:

• Awareness of humanitarian norms, limits and protections applicable to situations of armed conflict
• Understanding of the multiple perspectives of those involved in situations and armed conflict and the potential complexity in the application of humanitarian law
• Interested in humanitarian issues at the local, national and international level
• The capacity to view conflict situations at home and abroad for a humanitarian perspective that places respect for, and protection of, life and human dignity at the center of the analysis
• Active involvement in community service to protect and promote humanitarian attitudes.

The course employs a variety of tools and strategies to help students view war through the eyes of victims, witnesses, and combatants. Photographs, video clips, and first-person accounts show students both the horrors of war and the possibilities for relieving suffering. Through brainstorming, large- and small-group discussions, reflective writing, class debates, and role plays, students explore the plight of war refugees, landmine victims, and soldiers and officers caught in often agonizing dilemmas.

Like international humanitarian law itself, EHL doesn't rely on particular theologies or ideologies, but is based on behaving decently and with kindness toward the helpless. The curriculum is designed "to work with the head and the heart." Students come away from the course having exercised both. They grapple with the same issues and questions that perplex world leaders, and learn how to listen respectfully and take another's point of view; they are better able to see the humanity in others, even in their enemies.

While the material in EHL can be both emotionally difficult and intellectually challenging, most students who participated in pilot tests of the curriculum in the United States, Jamaica, Thailand, Morocco, and South Africa also found it inspiring.

"Once students are exposed to this coursework they begin to ask what they can do to get involved in their own community and make a difference in some way," Guajardo says.

For more information on IHL and the EHL program, please go to...

Introduction to International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
What are the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law?
Teach about the Geneva Conventions and IHL