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Volume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012

Volume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012

ICRC: 150 years of humanitarian action

Editorial: The quest for humanity - 150 years of international humanitarian law and action

Vincent Bernard, Editor-in-Chief

Interview with Peter Maurer

Perspectives on the ICRC

John B. Bellinger IIISami El-hajKristalina GeorgievaAntónio GuterresAhmed Mohamed HassanBan Ki-moonTommy KohFarzana SadatMatthias SchmaleJames G. Stavridis

An institution standing the test of time? A review of 150 years of the history of the

International Committee of the Red Cross

Daniel Palmieri

Birth of an idea: the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross and of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement: from Solferino to the original Geneva Convention (1859-1864)

François Bugnion

1863: the creation of the first National Society at the beginning of the Movement's

history

Stefanie Haumer

Looking back over 150 years of humanitarian action: the photographic archives of the ICRC

Valérie Gorin

The ICRC and the detainees in Nazi concentration camps (1942-1945)

Sébastien Farré

'Organising the unpredictable': the Nigeria-Biafra war and its impact on the ICRC

Marie-Luce Desgrandchamps

Complementarity between the ICRC and the United Nations and international humanitarian law and international human rights law, 1948-1968

Katharine Fortin

New technologies and new policies: the ICRC's evolving approach to working with separated families Olivier Dubois, Katharine Marshall and Siobhan Sparkes McNamara A new challenge or a new role? The ICRC in Northern Ireland

Geoff Loane

Challenges to international humanitarian law: Israel's occupation policy

Peter Maurer

International humanitarian law, ICRC and Israel's status in the Territories

Alan Baker

Médecins Sans Frontières and the ICRC: matters of principle

Rony Brauman

Humanitarian care and small things in dehumanised places

Paul Bouvier

www.icrc.org/eng/review

Volume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012ISSN 1816-3831

Cambridge Journals Online

For further information about this journal please

go to the journal web site at: http://www.journals.cambridge.org/ircICRC: 150 years of humanitarian action ICRC: 150 years of humanitarian actionHumanitarian debate: Law, policy, action

Aim and scope

Established in 1869 the International Review of the Red Cross is a periodical published by the ICRC. Its aim is to promote reflection on humanitarian law, policy and action in armed conflict and other situations of collective armed violence. A specialized journal in humanitarian law, it endeavours to promote knowledge, critical analysis and development of the law and contribute to the prevention of violations of rules protecting fundamental rights and values. The Review offers a forum for discussion on contemporary humanitarian action as well as analysis of the causes and characteristics of conflicts so as to give a clearer insight into the humanitar- ian problems they generate. Finally, the Review informs its readership on questions pertaining to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and in particular on the activities and policies of the ICRC.

International Committee of the Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance. It directs and coor- dinates the international relief activities conducted by the Movement in situations of conflict. It also endeav- ours to prevent suffering by promoting and strength- ening international humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the International Red Cross and Red

Crescent Movement.

Members of the Committee

President: Peter Maurer

Vice-President: Olivier Vodoz

Permanent Vice-President: Christine Beerli

Mauro Arrigoni

Christiane Augsburger Yves Sandoz

Paolo Bernasconi Rolf Soiron

François Bugnion Bruno Staffelbach

Bernard G. R. Daniel Daniel Thürer

Melchior de Muralt André von Moos

Paola Ghillani

Jürg Kesselring

Claude Le Coultre

Thierry Lombard

Editor-in-ChiefVincent BernardICRC

Editorial Board

Rashid Hamad Al Anezi Kuwait University, Kuwait

Annette BeckerUniversité de Paris-Ouest Nanterre La Défense, France Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier Médecins sans Frontières, Paris, France Alain Délétroz International Crisis Group, Brussels, Belgium Helen Durham Australian Red Cross, Melbourne, Australia Mykola M. Gnatovskyy Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, Ukraine

Bing Bing Jia Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

Abdul Aziz Kébé Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal Elizabeth Salmón Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru Marco Sassòli, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Yuval Shany Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

Hugo Slim University of Oxford, UK

Gary D. Solis Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA

Nandini Sundar Delhi University, New Delhi, India

Fiona Terry Independent researcher on humanitarian action, Australia Peter Walker Feinstein International Center, Tufts University, Boston, USASubmission of manuscripts

The International Review of the Red Cross

invites submissions of manuscripts on subjects relating to international humanitarian law, pol- icy and action. Issues focus on particular topics, decided by the Editorial Board, which can be consulted under the heading 'Future Themes' on the website of the Review. Submissions related to these themes are particularly welcome.

Articles may be submitted in Arabic, Chinese,

English, French, Russian and Spanish. Selected

articles are translated into English if necessary.

Submissions must not have been published, sub-

mitted or accepted elsewhere. Articles are sub- jected to a peer-review process; the final decision on publication is taken by the Editor-in-Chief.

The Review reserves the right to edit articles.

Notification of acceptance, rejection or the need

for revision will be given within four weeks of receipt of the manuscript. Manuscripts will not be returned to the authors.

Manuscripts may be sent by e-mail to:

review@icrc.org

Manuscript requirements

Articles should be 7,000 to 10,000 words in

length. Shorter contributions can be published under the section 'Comments and opinions' or 'Selected articles on international humanitarian law'.

For further information, please consult the

'Information for contributors' and 'Guidelines for referencing' on the website of the Review: review.

©icrc

Authorization to reprint or republish any text

published in the Review must be obtained from the Editor-in-Chief. Requests should be

addressed to the Editorial Team.The Review is printed in English and is published four times a year, in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Annual selections of articles are also

published on a regional level in Arabic,

Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.

Published in association with

Cambridge University Press.

Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Vincent Bernard

Editorial assistants: Mariya Nikolova

and Elvina Pothelet

Publication assistant: Claire Franc Abbas

Book review editor: Jamie A. Williamson

International Review of the Red Cross

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Cover Photo: Protection visit in Southern

Gaza, Rafah. © CICR/Meier, Alan

Photo research: Fania Khan Mohammad,

ICRC

Humanitarian debate: Law, policy, action

ICRC: 150 years of

humanitarian actionVolume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012

CONTENTS

ICRC: 150 YEARS OF HUMANITARIAN ACTION

1195
Editorial:The quest for humanity-150 years of international humanitarian law and action

Vincent Bernard, Editor-in-Chief

1209Interviewwith Peter Maurer

President of the ICRC

Perspectives on the ICRC

1223

Observations on the 150th anniversary of the ICRC

John B. Bellinger III

1229A Guantanamo detainee's perspective

Sami El-haj1233The indispensable organizationKristalina Georgieva

1239Forced displacement and the role of the ICRC: perspectives for thetwenty-rst century

António Guterres

1243Thirty years of working within the Red Cross and Red CrescentMovement in a country affected by conict

Ahmed Mohamed Hassan

1251The ICRC and the changing humanitarian landscapeBan Ki-moon

1255The ICRC at 150: reections of an Asian admirer

Tommy Koh1190

1261A beneciary's perspective on the ICRC

Farzana Sadat

1263Reections on the ICRC's present and future role in addressing

humanitarian crises

Matthias Schmale

1269Working towards a better worldJames G. Stavridis

Articles

Turning points in the history of the ICRC and the Movement

1273An institution standing the test of time? A review of 150 years of thehistory of the International Committee of the Red CrossDaniel Palmieri

1299Birth of an idea: the founding of the International Committeeof the Red Cross and of the International Red Cross and RedCrescent Movement: from Solferino to the original GenevaConvention (1859-1864)

François Bugnion

13391863: the creation of therst National Society at the beginning of the

Movement's history

Stefanie Haumer

1349In folioLooking back over 150 years of humanitarian action: thephotographic archives of the ICRCValérie Gorin

1191

Volume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012

Articles published by the Review reflect the views of the author alone and not necessarily those of the ICRC or of the Review. Only texts bearing an ICRC signature may be ascribed to the institution.

1381The ICRC and the detainees in Nazi concentration camps

(1942-1945)

Sébastien Farré

1409'Organising the unpredictable': the Nigeria-Biafra war and its impact

on the ICRC

Marie-Luce Desgrandchamps

1433Complementarity between the ICRC and the United Nations andinternational humanitarian law and international human rights law,1948-1968

Katharine Fortin

The ICRC today

1455New technologies and new policies: the ICRC's evolving approach

to working with separated families Olivier Dubois, Katharine Marshall and Siobhan Sparkes McNamara

1481A new challenge or a new role? The ICRC in Northern IrelandGeoff Loane

1503Challenges to international humanitarian law: Israel's occupation

policy

Peter Maurer

1511International humanitarian law, ICRC and Israel's status in the

Territories

Alan Baker

Comments and opinions

1523
Médecins Sans Frontières and the ICRC: matters of principle

Rony Brauman

1192

Volume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012

Articles published by the Review reflect the views of the author alone and not necessarily those of the ICRC or of the Review. Only texts bearing an ICRC signature may be ascribed to the institution.

1537Humanitarian care and small things in dehumanised places

Paul Bouvier

Reports and documents

1551
Bringing the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions and their

Additional Protocols into the twenty-rst century

Jean-Marie Henckaerts

1557International Tracing Service:'Respect for the past, responsibility

for the future' Speech by Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, at the International Tracing Service, Bad Arolsen, on 19 November 2012

Books and articles

1563

Henry Dunant: La croix d'un homme

Corinne Chaponnière

Book review by François Bugnion

1567New publications in humanitarian action and the lawThis selection is based on the new acquisitions of the ICRC Library andPublic Archives

1585Erratum: International Law and the Classication of Conicts

Edited by Elizabeth Wilmshurst

Book review by Roberta Arnold

1193

Volume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012

Articles published by the Review reflect the views of the author alone and not necessarily those of the ICRC or of the Review. Only texts bearing an ICRC signature may be ascribed to the institution.

150 years ago, ideas were set in motion that heralded a new era of international

solidarity. The creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1863 and the adoption of therst Geneva Convention the following year mark the birth of modern international humanitarian law and action. The ICRC, together with its partners from what has become a universal the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (the Movement), endeavours to reach out to victims of armed conicts and other situations of violence-from Syria to Afghanistan, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Colombia. With its over 13,000 employees active in more than eighty countries around the world, the ICRC uses a wide range of professional expertise in domains as diverse as law, advocacy, engineering, war surgery, sanitation and logistics. The institution strives to provide humanitarian aid and protection response not only in some of the most mediatised crises of the day, but also in many of today's forgotten ones. While still relying on time-tested principles and methods, it continues to develop new, pragmatic responses to the ever-changing realities of war and violence. In addition to the Movement, and following 150 years of progressive development, hundreds of NGOs and international organisations supported by public and private donors form the humanitarian sector today. From a purely Western enterprise, this sector is becoming increasingly diverse and multipolar. After 150 years of a discrete yet persistent and sometimes obstinate presence in the most hostile environments-all violent zones of the modern era-one can only wonder at the longevity of the ICRC. What are the reasons that have made the organisation stand the test of time? What are the dynamics at work in the development of this humanitarian endeavour? How is the role of the organisation perceived by key players of the international community? How can the ICRC learn from its history to prepare for the future? These questions have guided us in the preparation of the anniversary issue of theInternational Review of the

Red Cross.

Lookingrst at the state of the world at the time of the creation of the ICRC and the Movement, we will measure in what ways the project of the founders was forward-looking and how their initial impulse allowed for the continuous development and adaptation of the organisation throughout the years while remaining faithful to the same core ideal. Finally, we will explore some of the main

challenges that the ICRC faces today.EDITORIAL: THE QUEST FOR HUMANITY150 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW

AND ACTION

Volume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012doi:10.1017/S18163831130006351195

The world at the time of the creation of the ICRC

'Murderous renements of war should have correlative renements of mercy.' 1 As illustrated by this early quote from two of the founders of the ICRC, there was a very early recognition that the unprecedented period of progress that the world was entering into was also creating new dangers and that it was necessary to anticipate and manage new risks. The acceleration of scientic and technological progress Even though life in the nineteenth century was arguably harsher and more precarious than today for the vast majority of people, it seems that this period of time was also a moment of acceleration in scientic and social progress, a transition between an old immutable order and a new era of fast changes that continues until today. Ground-breaking discoveries were taking place in every domain, opening the way for unprecedented developments. In 1863, the very limits of our own world had not yet been fully delineated: the explorers Speke and Grant located Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria that same year, and it was eventually proved to be the latter from which the river Nileowed. In 1859, Darwin published his theory of evolution in his bookOn the Origin of Species; humanity itself was an uncharted territory that was yet to be explored. At the same time, the world seemed smaller and smaller as transportation and communication technologies evolved: by 1863, the industrial revolution had spread from the United Kingdom to the rest of Europe and North America. Therst section of the London underground was opened that year, the International

Telegraph Union

2 was about to be created, and in the United States, the construction of therst transcontinental railway had just started. 3

The evolution of ideas

It was also a period of time when new ideas about social organisation, rights, and education were burgeoning and could draw overwhelming support. It seemed that such ideas could become reality for therst time in history, through new forms of social and political structures. Of course, divisions and inequalities across social classes, religious groups, and genders-many of which persist today-were still deeply rooted in all societies and were sanctioned by law. Prompted by the progress taking place in science and technology, new ideologies were being put forward, offering their own global view of

1 Louis Appia and Gustave Moynier,La guerre et la charité, Cherbuliez, Geneva, 1867, cited in Caroline

Moorehead,Dunant's Dream: War, Switzerland and the History of the Red Cross, Carroll & Graf,

New York, 1999, p. 51.

2 Now known as the International Telecommunication Union, a UN specialised agency.

3 It would eventually be completed in 1869.

Editorial

1196
how humanity should be organised. Some of these ideologies would shape the history of the next century, sometimes with the most tragic consequences. 4 In 1865, the United States, following many other nations, formally abolished slavery. 5 Despite such progress, colonial expansion was at its beginning. 'Humanity'was still very much a concept that applied narrowly only to the inhabitants of the so-called'civilised'world, even though'charitable'pretexts would later be used to justify the colonial enterprise. Until today, the humanitarian endeavour is often received with suspicion against a perceived Western imperialism. Nonetheless, the struggle for political, social, and economic rights had started, inspired by the egalitarian ideas of the French Revolution and pioneered by workers in new industrial centres. 6

An unstable, multipolar world

Henry Dunant lived in a world in which war was still seen as a heroic enterprise and a perfectly legitimate way to solve international disputes between monarchs and states. The second half of the nineteenth century would be a period of instability and conict, starting with the Crimean War (1853-1856). At the time of the foundation of the ICRC, the American Civil War (1861-1865) was still raging and France was engaged in a colonial war in Mexico. Europe was still in the process of drawing its own map, and conquest by force was a way to carve territories for new emerging nations. This was soon to be exemplied by the Austro-Prussian war of

1866 and the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, which would lead to the unication of

Germany. The decline of the Ottoman Empire, called'the sick man of Europe',was ongoing, with European powers competing for the spoils. The world had yet to wait more than eighty years and endure two world wars to see the universal prohibition of the use of force in international relations enshrined in the Charter of the

United Nations.

The eve of a new era in warfare

At the end of the eighteenth century, a combination of innovations had started to produce deadly effects on the battleeld, leading to an increased number of casualties-a trend which would eventually culminate during the First World War. First, the conscription system invented during the French Revolution and put in place by all major European powers was creating an immense reservoir of soldiers

4 For instance, Arthur de Gobineau had just published his'Essay on the inequality of the Human Races'in

1855-a very early example of pseudo-scientic racism that would later inspire the Nazi ideology. Karl

Marx was still working onDas Kapital, (whoserst volume would be published in 1867), planting the

seeds of communism and indirectly, of an ideological struggle that would divide humanity for decades to

come.

5 The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolishing slavery was ratied on

6 December 1865.

6 For instance, it was only in May 1864 that France abolished the criminalisation of strikes and coalitions,

de factoauthorising the founding of trade unions (Loi Ollivierof 25 May 1864).

Volume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012

1197
whose lives were considered a disposable commodity. Second, progress in ballistics and explosives allowed for more accurate and more powerful ries and guns, produced in industrial quantities. Finally, the railroads were enabling the con- centration and movement of troops at an unprecedented speed and scale. During the nineteenth century, battles had turned into mass disaster events in which tens of thousands of men could be injured or killed in a matter of hours. At the same time, theghting was still limited to a geographically well-dened 'battleeld'. Civilians remainedrelatively unscathed by itsdirect effects. Forinstance, while 46,000 soldiers where puthors de combat(killed, wounded, missing, or one civilian was killed. This was soon to change, however, and already in 1870 thequotesdbs_dbs31.pdfusesText_37

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