The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and a team of renowned experts have embarked on a major project: re-writing and updating the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977, which were initially drafted in the 1960s.  Following the official launch of the updated Commentary to the First Geneva Convention on 22 March 2016, this seminar will consist of a panel discussion on some aspects of the ­text of the commentary on the First Geneva Convention, a foundational text for international humanitarian law (IHL).  The Convention provides for the protection of the wounded and sick; the dead; medical personnel, facilities and transports; and the distinctive emblems of the red cross and red crescent. The ongoing work to update the Second Geneva Convention, dealing with maritime conflicts, will also be outlined. The panel will discuss the contribution of the commentaries to the interpretation of IHL and what it means for Singapore and South East Asia.