Wartime Rumors

Out of War ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 74-97
Author(s):  
Mariane C. Ferme
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Turning Points ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Critical Events

The circulation of wartime rumors frames the history and experiences of particular conflicts, as well as widely shared popular anxieties that mark turning points and critical events—transitions that define clear “befores” and “afters” in the memories of those who lived through the civil war. Rumors of collusions between humanitarian agencies and the RUF rebels—particularly the multiple “Red Crosses” with their secretive and sometimes conflicting agendas—informed collective imaginaries during the conflict. The chapter also examines historical instances of suspicions surrounding the secretive diplomatic activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross in other wars and the organization’s practices of neutrality and secrecy that fail to quash those suspicions.

Yemen — Cyprus — Laos — Indonesia — The Balkans

1965 ◽  
Vol 5 (46) ◽  
pp. 33-36
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Field Hospital ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Medical Teams ◽  
Hospital Equipment ◽  
Operating Unit ◽  
Surgical Operations

Since the beginning of its medical programme on behalf of the victims of the civil war raging in the Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross has treated some 14,500 persons. Of these 9100 wounded and sick made their way by their own resources to the field hospital at Uqhd in Royalist territory in Northeast Yemen; a further 900 were admitted to the hospital; 4500 were examined and treated by the mobile medical teams in the fighting areas. We would add that 786 surgical operations have been performed at Uqhd in the complete and air-conditioned “clinobox” operating unit sent as part of the hospital equipment by the ICRC.

‘Organising the unpredictable’: the Nigeria–Biafra war and its impact on the ICRC

2012 ◽  
Vol 94 (888) ◽  
pp. 1409-1432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Luce Desgrandchamps
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Set Up

AbstractThis article analyses how the events of the late 1960s – and in particular the Nigeria–Biafra War – marked a turning point in the history of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The Nigeria-Biafra conflict required the ICRC to set up and coordinate a major relief operation during a civil war in a post-colonial context, posing several new challenges for the organisation. This article shows how the difficulties encountered during the conflict highlighted the need for the Geneva-based organisation to reform the management of its operations, personnel, and communications in order to become more effective and professional. Finally, the article takes the examination of this process within the ICRC as a starting point for a broader discussion of the changing face of the humanitarian sector in the late 1960s.

scholarly journals The Russian Red Cross in the Civil War

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Fayet
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Russian Civil War ◽  
Humanitarian Action ◽  
Red Army ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Political Associations ◽  
Set Up

Based on Russian and non-Russian materials, this article examines the history of the Russian Red Cross Society during the Civil War. The ascension of the Bolsheviks to power led to the breakup of the Russian Red Cross Society (RRCS) into a multitude of national and political associations, each claiming its material and symbolic heritage. When the Civil War began, these fragments of the RRCS no longer existed as effective sanitary organisations. But in autumn 1918, as epidemics threatened troops and civil populations alike, RC institutions had to be set up again urgently. In view of their experience and infrastructure, the Moscow, Omsk, and Kiev RC organisations quickly became decisive players in the Civil War with the Red Army and the White armies of Kolchak, Denikin, and Wrangel. In many fields, these RC organisations acted as a substitute for the state. They were responsible for nursing, nutrition, and evacuation. On the external front, the material assets of the former RRC had to be recovered, Russian soldiers arrested abroad assisted, and the exclusivity of the RC emblem defended. In conclusion, this article argues that the Russian Civil War was a dramatic theatre of modern humanitarian action for the entire international RC movement (the International Committee of the Red Cross and the League of Red Cross Societies) in terms of the practices and laws that had to be invented. Given its fragmentary nature, the mix of identity, social, and ideological conflicts, the civilian populations in the foreground, and the intermingling of national and international players, the Russian Civil War was a forerunner of the “new wars” of the late twentieth century.

At the University of Geneva

1965 ◽  
Vol 5 (47) ◽  
pp. 79-79
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
State Council ◽  
Law Of Nations ◽  
The Law ◽  
The University

The Geneva State Council has just appointed Mr. Jean Pictet to be in charge of courses in humanitarian law at the Faculty of Law. The International Committee of the Red Cross is doubly pleased by this appointment since, if Mr. Pictet is Director for General Affairs of the ICRC, he is also at the present time one of the jurists who have most knowledge of that part of the law of nations which, notably under the influence of the Red Cross movement, aims at protecting the victims of both international and civil war.

International Committee's action in the Yemen

1964 ◽  
Vol 4 (41) ◽  
pp. 428-432
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Absolute Necessity ◽  
Republican Government ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
Conditions Of Work

There has been a recent intensification of military operations in various parts of the Yemen where the civil war continues between the Republican Government of Sanaa and the Imam El Badr, entrenched in the mountains which are difficult of access. This situation accentuates the importance of the task assumed by the International Committee of the Red Cross whose medical personnel sent to the spot is caring for the largest possible number of victims. Conditions of work, in view of the seasonal oppressive heat, are extremely hard, but the ICRC delegates are none the less continuing their mission of which the present events demonstrate the absolute necessity.

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.

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