Current Challenges in the Humanitarian Operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross

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1 Current Challenges in the Humanitarian Operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross Geoff Loane, Head of the Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada International Committee of the Red Cross Special Meeting on International Humanitarian Law of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs Organization of American States Washington, D.C, 5 December 2008 Madam Chairman. Excellencies. Ladies and gentlemen. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appreciates the opportunity to address the esteemed representatives of the member states of the Organization of American States assembled at this Special Session on Current Issues in International Humanitarian Law of the Permanent Council's Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs. This valuable opportunity compliments the frank and open dialogue that the ICRC has with national authorities in the various capitals throughout the Americas. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the ICRC continues to respond to the diverse humanitarian needs and situations there, committed to the mandate that the international community gave us, namely, to protect and assist victims of armed conflicts and other situations of violence. Our activities seek to prevent and to alleviate human suffering. The main beneficiaries of our action are displaced civilians and residents in conflict-affected or violence-prone areas; victims of unexploded ordinances and land mines; missing persons and their families; and persons deprived of their liberty. Overall, our partnerships with national Red Cross societies in the region amplifies the impact of our assistance programs there. Furthermore, the ICRC serves as a point of reference for international humanitarian law, or IHL. In particular, with the armed forces in the region, the ICRC has been steadily pursuing an approach aimed at the permanent integration of IHL norms into doctrine, operational procedures and manuals, while ensuring that training programs are established without continued reliance on external organizations. Similarly, the ICRC pursues police training in international human rights standards and humanitarian principles applicable to the use of force. Such police programs remain a priority in view of the prevailing challenges posed by situations of violence that result in serious humanitarian consequences. Ladies and gentlemen. At the heart of the ICRC's mandate and a fundamental part of its identity is the neutral, independent and impartial humanitarian action that it carries out in situations of armed conflict and internal violence. The ICRC seeks dialogue with all actors involved in such situations, as well as with the people suffering the consequences, in order to gain their acceptance and respect. This operational approach generally gives us the widest possible 1

2 access both to the victims of the violence and to the actors involved. Our approach also helps to ensure the safety of our staff. In this way, we are able to reach people on all sides of the frontlines in active conflict areas around the world. The ICRC's role as a neutral intermediary flows from this operational approach. In many cases, this role requires negotiating humanitarian access with the relevant parties for example, to reach battlefields or hospitals - in order to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian services to the victims. The legal basis for our neutral intermediary role rests in provisions in the Geneva Conventions as well as in the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Regardless, it entails the consent of all the parties involved before the ICRC can act. Thus, the ICRC enters into dialogue with authorities and organized armed groups on matters dealing with the humanitarian consequences on affected people and communities. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the ICRC works from offices in nine different countries that cover the whole region. Overall, we have two country delegations, and four regional delegations with three country offices. ICRC country delegations exist in Colombia since 1969 and from 1994 onwards in Haiti. Our regional delegations are located in Mexico for activities in Mexico, Central America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean; in Caracas for Venezuela, Surinam and the English-speaking Caribbean countries; in Lima for endeavors in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador; and in Buenos Aires for efforts in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. In addition to these regional delegations, three offices exist in Guatemala, Port of Spain and Brasilia. The 2008 budget for the activities of the ICRC in this region is about USD 60 million and ICRC staff encompasses 540 international and locally hired members. Today, I would like to take the time to reflect on four broad humanitarian concerns that derive from the challenges that the ICRC faces worldwide. Such concerns involve internally displaced persons, the situation of the missing and their relatives, the unregulated availability of weapons, and situations of violence other than armed conflict. This year, the ICRC marked the 10th anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. These Guiding Principles are relevant and deserve our full support. They are relevant because, in several instances, they provide more specific guidance than IHL, which, of course, protects civilians, the displaced amongst them, during armed conflict. Also, the Guiding Principles deal with issues associated with forced displacement, regardless of the way a particular situation is classified under law. Thus, they are as pertinent during and after an armed conflict as they are in a situation of internal strife, a complex emergency, or a natural disaster. For this reason, the ICRC began, in 1998 already, to require its field staff to familiarize themselves with the Guiding Principles and to use of them appropriately. Tens of millions of people throughout the world suffer the effects of internal displacement. It is one of the most serious humanitarian consequences of armed conflict and other situations of violence. In this context, I would like to reiterate the ICRC's unwavering commitment to the protection of internally displaced persons, and to outline, very briefly, how we strive to give our commitment practical application. In doing so, I cannot sufficiently stress the importance of having direct and timely access to displaced persons. We take our first, and essential, step in protecting the displaced when our 2

3 people reach the affected persons and set about opening and sustaining a direct line of communication line with them. The next, crucial, step in our operational approach is to respond rapidly and effectively to the most urgent needs. Furthermore, I would like to draw your attention, briefly, to the importance of preventing forced displacement. The ICRC has consistently stressed the need for a comprehensive approach to the humanitarian needs of the entire civilian population in any crisis or situation of conflict. There are instances when people are unable to flee their homes during an armed conflict, even when staying may endanger their lives. They also need our attention to sustain or recover some measure of self-sufficiency, to ease tensions over scarce resources, and to prevent them from having to move. Our efforts to prevent displacement require us also to persuade those exercising control over contested territory to refrain from deliberate attacks against civilians or the intentional destruction of their livelihood. When these efforts are fruitless and flight unavoidable, we try to help people get out of harm's way. Communities hosting the displaced also have a wide range of needs; the ICRC pays special attention to their situation, which is often as dire as that of those who are displaced. Excellencies. Ladies and gentlemen. During wars, there are countless of people whose family members have gone missing without a trace. The victims, civilians or military, might be murdered and thrown into unmarked graves. They could be taken from their homes or abducted off the streets. Some disappear while fleeing combat or become separated from their families. They might be held in unknown locations or even killed in custody. Many die on the battlefield and remain unaccounted for. This is a tragedy for the families left behind, suspecting their loved ones are dead yet unable to mourn without any proof. Many spend years, and their life savings, in a futile search. The pain may be compounded by poverty, as it is often the household breadwinners who go missing, their wives and mothers left to support the family. Furthermore, the situation is often a bureaucratic nightmare, since some countries allow years to pass before declaring a person officially dead or absent. In the meantime, family members are unable to claim their inheritance, sell property, remarry or simply hold funeral rites. And yet, this tragedy can be prevented. First and foremost, by respecting the law. There are, in international humanitarian and human rights laws, and very often as well in national law, provisions that, if respected by the parties to a conflict, would prevent disappearances. Authorities and parties to conflicts have first responsibility for preventing disappearances. However, the tens of thousands of missing persons throughout the world are testimony to the lack of rigor in the application of the law. In each context where it is present, the ICRC records actions that the authorities need to take in conformity with the law in order to prevent disappearances, and calls on them to adopt necessary measures. Such measures, in addition to the development of national legislation as I mentioned before, may concern the treatment of prisoners and their living conditions in places of detention, armed forces and the protection of civilians. For example, when people are arrested and detained, concerned authorities are required to register them and ensure that this information is transmitted to their families; armed forces are strongly encouraged to use identity tags allowing their members to be identified in case they are captured, wounded or killed; in case 3

4 of massive displacements of population, authorities are asked to register and/or to provide the most vulnerable civilians such as children with means of identification. Additionally, the ICRC carries out a range of activities to resolve the problem of people unaccounted for as a result of armed conflict or internal violence and to assist their families. In most situations of conflict, when the usual means of communication are disrupted, the ICRC helps separated families to communicate, using Red Cross Messages, satellite and mobile phones, internet and other available means. It also collects information on missing persons and the circumstances under which they disappeared from their families and tries to locate them in all possible places prisons, hospitals, camps or by addressing the authorities directly. Such activities are often carried out with the assistance of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The ICRC's visits in places of detention can also play an important role in addressing disappearances. In places of detention, the ICRC records the identity of detainees. Registering detainees can play a role in preventing disappearances. The ICRC may also arrange for the exchange of family messages between detainees and their relatives. In recent years, the ICRC has developed its contacts and activities in the field of forensic medicine, which is a key component in learning the fate of missing persons. This is an aspect that the ICRC will continue to pursue and expand. It has also increased cooperation with family associations of the missing and will continue to do so. Our work on the missing is a long-term and far-reaching commitment. When disappearances happen in a country, it takes years and sometimes decades to get answers. ICRC's priority in this regard is to remain available to the families over time, so that one day they do receive the answers that they deserve. The ICRC is thus in constant contact with national authorities, whoever they are and no matter what their role has been in the past, to help them establish the necessary mechanisms to clarify the fate of missing persons. Ladies and gentlemen. Through its humanitarian work, the ICRC has witnessed how the unregulated availability and widespread misuse of weapons has facilitated violations of IHL and led to deterioration in the circumstances of civilians during armed conflicts and in other situations of violence. The proliferation of weapons to a range of new actors has also had direct implications for the ICRC's ability to fulfil its mandate of assisting the war victims and promoting respect for IHL. The continued unregulated supply of weapons to areas where they are likely to be used to violate IHL demonstrates that existing arms controls are far from adequate. In the absence of stricter controls, the human costs of unregulated arms transfers are likely to continue to grow as more weapons find their way into the hands of those who will use them to commit atrocities, to violate IHL and human rights, to spread terror and to commit other crimes. In recent decades, States have adopted wide-ranging prohibitions and limitations on the transfer of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, missile systems and certain components of these technologies. Yet it is conventional weapons assault rifles, grenades, mines, bombs, rockets and missiles that are causing most of the deaths and injuries in today's conflicts. Until recently, however, the transfer of conventional weapons had received little attention at the global level. 4

5 The ICRC has urged States to develop strict controls on conventional arms transfers at the national, regional and global level. It has also promoted specific criteria for arms transfers aimed at preventing weapons from falling into the hands of those likely to use them to violate IHL. In recent years, the ICRC has been pleased to note the significant progress that has been made in this regard at the regional level. An increasing number of regional arms transfer instruments, as well as national laws and regulations, already contain such IHL criteria. In this regard, the OAS was at the forefront of international efforts with the adoption of the Inter- American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials (CIFTA) in Still, existing regional arms transfer criteria vary and not all regions have adopted such commitments. At the national level, criteria for arms transfer decisions are even more disparate, and only rarely do they fully reflect all of States' obligations under international law. This highlights the need for common global standards in this field to achieve consistent approaches to arms transfer decision-making among States. We warmly welcomed the adoption of UN General Assembly resolution 61/89, which takes this initiative forward. In our view, an arms trade treaty should be comprehensive and establish concrete requirements for arms transfer decision-making. These must take full account of States' existing obligations under international law, including IHL. Specifically, such a treaty should include: A requirement not to transfer arms or ammunition likely to be used to commit serious violations of IHL; A requirement not to transfer weapons or ammunition whose use has been prohibited; A requirement not to transfer weapons or ammunition that are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering or that are by nature indiscriminate; A reference to existing prohibitions on the transfer of specific weapons. Governments have a responsibility not to transfer weapons if they believe they might be used for IHL violations. For the ICRC, this is however not only a legal question. Equally compelling is the moral responsibility that rests on arms-transferring States precisely because their actions can make a difference to withhold the means by which violations are carried out and to contribute to the protection of civilians. By agreeing to strict arms transfer controls that would be common to all States, governments can prevent weapons from ending up in the hands of those who will use them to violate the very rules that States themselves have created. In so doing, they can also strengthen the basis for post-conflict reconstruction, the rule of law and lasting peace in many areas of the world. I now arrive at the last of the four broad concerns I wanted to address today. As you are aware, situations of internal violence are becoming a source of concern for both the public and the authorities due to their serious consequences in humanitarian terms. While there is no legal definition, we sometimes refer to such situations of violence as internal disturbances or internal tensions in order to be able to better identify them. They may take the form of clashes, in the countryside or in cities, between security forces and demonstrators, between different groups in the community, between the security forces and groups who may be armed, or between illegal forces. Yet however useful these descriptions may be, the ICRC must not become locked into definitions that could limit its ability to provide humanitarian 5

6 assistance. The ICRC prefers to determine what action to take in a situation based on the humanitarian needs, rather than on the particular category applied to the situation. The humanitarian consequences of internal violence include: death or wounding, including of agents of the State; detention; displacement; disappearances; threats; abuse; destruction of property or homes; slowing of the economy; and trauma. The ICRC is well known the world over for its humanitarian work in armed conflicts governed by the rules of international humanitarian law. However, people are perhaps not so familiar with its position on situations of internal violence, or with the action it can take. The impetus for ICRC action in these situations comes from the magnitude of humanitarian consequences; from the unique contribution we can make, due to our experience, our capabilities and our status as a neutral, impartial and independent organization; and of course, from the extent to which we are accepted by the authorities. For the ICRC, these situations of internal violence, which cannot be classified as armed conflicts, clearly fall outside the scope of international humanitarian law. The rules of international human rights law therefore apply. Such law governs the use of force by agents of the State and provides a series of basic guarantees. These basic rules of international human rights law can also be described as humanitarian principles, given that the rights to life and to human dignity are found in both international human rights law and international humanitarian law. In a situation of internal violence, to which the provisions of international humanitarian law do not apply, the humanitarian work of the ICRC is based on the right of initiative contained in the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement adopted by the International Conference, which brings together representatives from the components of the Movement and the States party to the Geneva Conventions every four years. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the ICRC works in several countries affected by different situations of violence, including Haiti, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. The ICRC's humanitarian response to internal violence involves two parallel approaches, one of which may be deemed "preventive" and the other operative. Prevention includes cooperation with the security forces. The aim here is to revise and adapt all operational and pedagogical guidelines concerning the rules of international human rights law applicable to the use of force. We also work with secondary school students to raise awareness of violence and its consequences. On the operative side, the following activities are carried out: bilateral dialogue with the authorities regarding the consequences of either inappropriate or disproportionate use of force; helping National Red Cross Societies boost their capacity to provide first aid and evacuate the wounded; visiting people deprived of their freedom as a result of these situations in order to assess their detention conditions and their treatment; helping prison authorities better manage places of detention; and/or the implementation of medico-social programmes by the National Red Cross Societies. Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen. 6

7 2009 marks 150 years since the battle of Solferino in northern Italy took place. It was there and then that the ICRC founder Henri Dunant shocked by the humanitarian consequences of the ferocious battle - acted immediately in favor of all the wounded, organizing medical support without discrimination. Around the globe, the "Solferinos" of today, armed conflicts and other situations of violence, have different faces. What remains unchanged, however, is that we are called to provide assistance and protection to the victims of such situations with exactly the same kind of spirit that Dunant displayed. When he saw the suffering, he acted out of a genuine humanitarian consideration. Moreover, to limit the effects of war, he mobilized successfully relevant stakeholders to take on their responsibilities in providing protection for the ones not, or no longer, taking part in the hostilities. Such is the source of the neutral, independent and impartial humanitarian action of the ICRC. Thank you, Madam Chairman. 7