Honorable guests, distinguished professors, researchers and scholars, dear colleagues,

It is a source of pride and pleasure for me and my colleagues to be present among all of you today. We are in the grand hall of Tehran University's Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, the oldest and most prestigious University and Faculty in Iran..

First, I would like to express my utmost appreciation to our friends at Tehran University's Center for Graduate International Studies,  in particular Dr. Mosaffa and Prof. Momtaz, Dr. Karimi, the Dean of the Faculty without whom, organizing this seminar would not have been possible.

I thank also our colleagues at the Iranian Red Crescent Society and the National Committee of Humanitarian Law, who like always contributed the most towards holding this event.

Special thanks go to our friends and colleagues at the Judiciary, especially at the International Affairs Department who carried the paramount task  of translating the first volume of the book. Many thanks need to be attributed at the same time to the Majd Publications.

Dear professors and students,

The International Committee of the Red Cross was given the mandate by the international community, to protect and assist victims of armed conflicts. Under the same mandate, the ICRC should also opt to promote laws governing armed conflicts, also known as the international humanitarian law.

It is for the same reason that the ICRC has, at all times, cooperated with States in establishing, ratifying and implementing international humanitarian law treaties. By the same token, the four Geneva conventions, accepted by all States, have served as the dynamic behind ICRC's cooperation with governments, not to mention the 1977 additional protocols which have been ratified by the majority of states.

In the 1990s, the international community called upon the ICRC to carry out a research on the current practices applied by states, as well as international and domestic organizations, with the aim of compiling a set of customary rules governing hostilities.

This enormous task was fulfilled as the result of a decade of full engagement, spending significant financial resources, and most important of all, joint work done by a group of internationally-recognized legal experts and professors, including Prof. Momtaz.

The end result has been that 161 customary rules were drawn from this study, 146 of which are applicable in all types of armed conflicts; both international or non-international, even if the warring parties are not members to the related treaties.

The statute of the International Court of Justice has recognized Custom as the first main source of international law. It goes without saying, that more than the legal considerations, customary rules are significant from cultural and historical points of view.

In other words, a custom can be considered as a mandatory legal rule when in addition to having the state practice, another factor called "opinio juris" also exists; a concept rooted in the culture, history and religion of human communities.

What has been achieved in the past years, in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental institutions, academic circles and religious institutions in Iran, clearly attests to the fact that Islamic instructions and Shi'ism have had a significant role in shaping of the customary humanitarian law.

Members of the scientific and religious think-tanks, Ayatollah Amid-Zanjani, a Tehran University lecturer and ex President of this University and Ayatollah Mohaghegh-Damad, present among us and who will (and we are grateful for it) give his contribution to this conference, are of the belief, that Muslims and Islamic states agree to practices which are in conformity with international humanitarian law. This is simply because such practices and regulations comply with Fiqh-based and Islamic rules.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

It's a significant moment for us to have this conference here - in Tehran University and Iran itself. - I am convinced that the history and culture of this country and its peoples have lots to offer on compassion on sense of human bonds and pride on which our dialogue is built on and this conference is part of.

To conclude please allow me to welcome again all our special guests Prof. Michael Bothe, Prof. Georges Abi Saab, Prof Paul Tavernier as well as our dear colleagues from ICRC Geneva, and you all. I truly wish, that these two coming days will be animated with positive and constructive exchanges and sharing of  ideas and wisdom.

(Judge Theodor Meron regrettably was prevented to join us in this event in the last moment)

Thank you.