among the Institute's Council members: Lieutenant General (ret.) Giorgio BATTISTI (Italy), Former Commanding General of Italian Army Training and Doctrine Command ; Dr. Helen DURHAM (ICRC), Director of Law and Policy, International Committee of the Red Cross; Brigadier General Dr. Karl EDLINGER (Austria), Legal Adviser, Austrian Armed Forces; Associate Professor Chris JENKS (USA) SMU Dedman School of Law, Dallas; Ms Claire LEGRAS (France), Director for Legal Affairs at the General Secretariat of the French Ministry of Defence; Ambassador Marja LEHTO (Finland), Member of the UN International Law Commission; Colonel Carl MARCHAND (Switzerland), Head, IHL and Human Rights Section, Swiss Armed Forces; Professor Nils MELZER (Switzerland), UN Special Rapporteur on Torture; Professor, University of Glasgow; Human Rights Chair, Geneva Academy of IHL and Human Rights; Mr. Anthony MORRIS (UNHCR), Chief Learning Officer, Global Learning and Development Centre; Mr. Johan RAUTENBACH (IOM), Legal Counsel and Director of the Office of Legal Affairs, IOM; Dr. Heike SPIEKER (Germany), Deputy Director, International Cooperation Division, German Red Cross; Brigadier General (ret’d) Jan Peter SPIJK (The Netherlands) Honorary President, International Society for Military Law and the Law of War; Brigadier General Darren STEWART OBE (United Kingdom), Head, Operational Law, British Army Headquarters; Professor Bakhtiyar TUZMUKHAMEDOV (Russia) Vice-President of the Russian Association of International Law; Giorgio Blais, Major General (Italy), Vice-President (1999-2007) Professor Gabriella VENTURINI (Italy) Professor Emerita, University of Milan; MUNICIPALITY OF SANREMO (ex officio member); ITALIAN RED CROSS (ex officio member). Members of the Institute are of different nationalities. They are persons that have particularly distinguished themselves through competence or activities in fields of specific interest to the Organisation. Institutions significantly contributing to the work of the Institute may also be admitted as members. Qualified persons and academic institutions, as also nations and international intergovernmental organisations contributing to the activities of the Institute, may be admitted as Associate members but may not vote. Training and activities The Institute provides an annual programme of training activities in International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Refugee Law and associated subjects. These activities are designed for a diverse, international and multicultural audience with participation welcomed from military personnel, government officials, diplomats, experts, representatives of non-governmental organisations and students from around the world. Our courses, often conducted in collaboration with interested international institutions and countries, are delivered in various languages (English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Portuguese) either in Sanremo or in collaboration with partner institutions around the world. Military courses