A balancing act: The revised rules of access to the ICRC Archives reflect multiple stakes and challenges

2018 ◽  
Vol 100 (907-909) ◽  
pp. 373-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valérie McKnight Hashemi
Keyword(s):  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World

AbstractThe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revised the access rules to its archives in 2017 for reasons that are complex, fascinating and deeply contemporary to our times. As these rules define when and to what extent the ICRC Archives are made available to the public, their contents are important for the institution as well as for wider audiences. The ICRC must ensure that it can implement its humanitarian mandate to protect and assist victims of armed conflicts and other situations of violence and preserve confidentiality, while sharing its past with the world at large. This article offers a historical overview of the ICRC Archives and the development of their access regulations until their latest revision in 2017. It shows that both today and in the past, the rules of access to the archives have resulted from choices made by the ICRC on how to balance its mandate and long-standing interests with contemporary opportunities and risks related to independent scrutiny.

Keynote Address by Mr Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (310) ◽  
pp. 20-35
Keyword(s):  
International Committee ◽  
International Federation ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Technological Disasters ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
The World ◽  
Complementary Nature ◽  
Forms Of Violence ◽  
Day By Day

The world is weighed down by the victims of too many tragedies. Today, at this 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, it is in the name of those victims, the sole reason for our presence here, that I am addressing the representatives of the States party to the Geneva Conventions and those of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Our Movement is faced with the challenge of protecting and assisting these hapless individuals, whose numbers, alas, are growing day by day. Moreover, the situations in which we have to take action are ever more complex, whether they result from natural or technological disasters, which often occur in developing countries where there is no proper infrastructure, or from armed conflicts and other forms of violence affecting entire populations whose authorities are generally powerless to protect them. It is our solidarity with the victims of these situations that gives us our strength — and this solidarity is expressed through the separate but complementary activities conducted by the National Societies, their International Federation and the ICRC. The complementary nature of our respective tasks, which is the result of experience and is enshrined in our Statutes, is precisely what makes us effective.

Twenty years on: International humanitarian law and the protection of civilians against the effects of cyber operations during armed conflicts

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-48
Author(s):  
Laurent Gisel ◽  
Tilman Rodenhäuser ◽  
Knut Dörmann
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Cyber Warfare ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Medical Facilities

Abstract The use of cyber operations during armed conflicts and the question of how international humanitarian law (IHL) applies to such operations have developed significantly over the past two decades. In their different roles in the Legal Division of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the authors of this article have followed these developments closely and have engaged in governmental and non-governmental expert discussions on the subject. In this article, we analyze pertinent humanitarian, legal and policy questions. We first show that the use of cyber operations during armed conflict has become a reality of armed conflicts and is likely to be more prominent in the future. This development raises a number of concerns in today's increasingly cyber-reliant societies, in which malicious cyber operations risk causing significant disruption and harm to humans. Secondly, we present a brief overview of multilateral discussions on the legal and normative framework regulating cyber operations during armed conflicts, looking in particular at various arguments around the applicability of IHL to cyber operations during armed conflict and the relationship between IHL and the UN Charter. We emphasize that in our view, there is no question that cyber operations during armed conflicts, or cyber warfare, are regulated by IHL – just as is any weapon, means or methods of warfare used by a belligerent in a conflict, whether new or old. Thirdly, we focus the main part of this article on how IHL applies to cyber operations. Analyzing the most recent legal positions of States and experts, we revisit some of the most salient debates of the past decade, such as which cyber operations amount to an “attack” as defined in IHL and whether civilian data enjoys similar protection to “civilian objects”. We also explore the IHL rules applicable to cyber operations other than attacks and the special protection regimes for certain actors and infrastructure, such as medical facilities and humanitarian organizations.

A film on the International Red Cross

1966 ◽  
Vol 6 (60) ◽  
pp. 145-145
Keyword(s):  
International Institutions ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Prisoners Of War ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
The World

As President of the Monegasque Red Cross, Princess Grace of Monaco recently spent several days in Geneva during which she took part in a film being produced for Canadian Television. This company is in fact preparing a documentary of importance for the forthcoming World Red Cross Day, May 8,1966, on the activity of the Red Cross, in particular of the International Committee and the League of Red Cross Societies. The Princess had accepted to present and comment on the work of the two international institutions of the Red Cross. She thus divided her days between the ICRC and the League. An imposing series of “ shots ” were taken of the ICRC's Central Tracing Agency in which are classified cardindexes and archives concerning more than fifteen million prisoners of war and displaced or missing civilians during the course of armed conflicts in Europe and in the rest of the world. The Princess commented, in front of the cameras, on several cases with which the Agency had to deal and brought out the effectiveness and extent of the work carried out at ICRC headquarters on behalf of the victims of all those conflicts.

Strengthening IHL protecting persons deprived of their liberty: Main aspects of the consultations and discussions since 2011

2016 ◽  
Vol 98 (903) ◽  
pp. 941-959
Author(s):  
Tilman Rodenhäuser
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Present Note ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
The Past ◽  
Geneva Conventions

AbstractOne key area in which international humanitarian law (IHL) needs strengthening is the protection of persons deprived of their liberty in relation to non-international armed conflicts (NIACs). While the Geneva Conventions contain more than 175 rules regulating deprivation of liberty in relation to international armed conflicts in virtually all its aspects, no comparable legal regime applies in NIAC. Since 2011, States and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have worked jointly on ways to strengthen IHL protecting persons deprived of their liberty. Between 2011 and 2015, the ICRC facilitated consultations to identify options and recommendations to strengthen detainee protection in times of armed conflict; since 2015, the objective of the process has shifted towards work on one or more concrete and implementable outcomes. The present note recalls the legal need to strengthen detainee protection in times of NIAC and the main steps that have been taken over the past years to strengthen IHL.

New Life for the Laws of War

1981 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 764-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
George H. Aldrich
Keyword(s):  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Active Participant ◽  
The Past ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
The Law ◽  
War Victims ◽  
Geneva Conference

On December 11, 1977, the Swiss Government opened for signature two Protocols to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 on the Protection of War Victims. Forty-four governments signed either one or both Protocols on that day, and, by September 1979, 62 governments had signed one or both Protocols. The Protocols entered into force on December 7, 1978, and by October 1980, were in force for 15 states. One of these Protocols develops the law applicable in international armed conflicts, and the other expands the protections currently accorded to the victims of noninternational armed conflicts by Article 3 common to the 1949 Conventions. Together the Protocols represent many years of effort, first by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and more recently by more than one hundred governments assembled in conference. During more than 8 months of conference sessions over 4 years, these governments struggled to correct the perceived deficiencies in the law and to develop and articulate new rules to improve the protections available to the victims of armed conflicts. Each government drew on its own experiences, and the result may reasonably be thought to be the composite reaction by the international community to the perceived inhumanities of wars during the past quarter century. Since we shall probably have to wait at least another quarter century before new efforts are made to develop the law further, it would seem appropriate to begin to analyze the two new Protocols and to draw some conclusions about them. This article, written by an active participant in the Geneva conference, attempts to contribute to this process by analyzing a few of the more significant developments in the law contained in Protocol I, that is, the Protocol dealing with international armed conflicts.

Annual Report of the International Committee

1962 ◽  
Vol 2 (19) ◽  
pp. 552-553 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Annual Report ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World

Throughout 1961 the actions of the International Committee of the Red Cross continued to be numerous, important and diverse. These are described in its Annual Report for 1961, recently published, recalling the various international currents which agitated the world during the past year, since, whenever men face each other with weapons in their hands, it is the duty of the Red Cross, and especially of the International Committee, to intervene in order to mitigate the distress caused by the conflict, and, in spite of the violence which is unleashed, to remind people of having the needs of humanity and fellowship respected.

scholarly journals The media and international humanitarian law: Legal protections for journalists

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-112
Author(s):  
Sophia Kagan ◽  
Helen Durham
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media

Journalists and other media personnel perform a crucial role in armed conflicts. In the absence of functioning civil society, which, in peacetime can survey the behaviour of governments and other parties, and report on breaches of law, journalists are often the only parties on the ground able to document and publicise such breaches. Like humanitarian workers, they are often the only group that can bring to the attention of the world breaches of international humanitarian law and the horrific consequences which flow from armed conflict without limits. This article will consider the protections afforded to journalists under international humanitarian law and the practical assistance given to journalists by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The ICRC Library goes digital

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Keyword(s):  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Reference Library ◽  
Parallel Development ◽  
Humanitarian Action ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past

The ICRC Library is home to unique collections retracing the parallel development of humanitarian action and law during the past 150+ years. With the core of these collections now digitized, this reference library on international humanitarian law (IHL) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a resource available to all, anytime, anywhere.

scholarly journals Virus Eradication and Synthetic Biology: Changes with SARS-CoV-2?

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 569
Author(s):  
Jean-Nicolas Tournier ◽  
Joseph Kononchik
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Viral Disease ◽  
Virus Eradication ◽  
Disease Eradication ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Significant Effort

The eradication of infectious diseases has been achieved only once in history, in 1980, with smallpox. Since 1988, significant effort has been made to eliminate poliomyelitis viruses, but eradication is still just out of reach. As the goal of viral disease eradication approaches, the ability to recreate historically eradicated viruses using synthetic biology has the potential to jeopardize the long-term sustainability of eradication. However, the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 pandemic has highlighted our ability to swiftly and resolutely respond to a potential outbreak. This virus has been synthetized faster than any other in the past and is resulting in vaccines before most attenuated candidates reach clinical trials. Here, synthetic biology has the opportunity to demonstrate its truest potential to the public and solidify a footing in the world of vaccines.

scholarly journals Where Does the World Historian Write From? Objectivity, Moral Conscience and the Past and Present of Imperialism

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 671-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Drayton
Keyword(s):  
Iraq War ◽  
Imperial History ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Academic Subject ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
Ethical Responsibilities

The contemporary historian, as she or he speaks to the public about the origins and meanings of the present, has important ethical responsibilities. ‘Imperial’ historians, in particular, shape how politicians and the public imagine the future of the world. This article examines how British imperial history, as it emerged as an academic subject since about 1900, often lent ideological support to imperialism, while more generally it suppressed or avoided the role of violence and terror in the making and keeping of the Empire. It suggests that after 2001, and during the Iraq War, in particular, a new Whig historiography sought to retail a flattering narrative of the British Empire’s past, and concludes with a call for a post-patriotic imperial history which is sceptical of power and speaks for those on the underside of global processes.

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