scholarly journals An Account of ‘Life after Guantánamo’: a rehabilitation project for former Guantánamo detainees across continents

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Polly Rossdale ◽  
Katie Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Control ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Home Country ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Project Coordinator ◽  
Guantanamo Bay ◽  
Clinical Observations ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
Future Work

This paper describes a project established in 2009 by the human rights charity, Reprieve, to coordinate rehabilitation for men who have been released from long-term detention at the US military base of Guantánamo Bay.  The majority of the men referred to the project were deemed unable to return to their home country because of the risk they faced of torture or other persecution and were therefore resettled in a third country. This paper also refers to Tunisian former Guantánamo detainees with whom Reprieve worked, who had initially been resettled in a third country but then following the Jasmine Revolution and the fall of the Ben Ali regime, were able to return to their home country.  Reprieve then provided assistance to them and their families under the Life after Guantánamo in Tunisia project.  This paper briefly outlines the abuse and nature of psychological control at Guantánamo and, based on the first-hand experiences of the Project Coordinator and Caseworker, offers non-clinical observations of the apparent consequences of this control on the former detainees who were referred to the project. The Life after Guantánamo project facilitated social, medical, psychological, legal and financial assistance in partnership with local service providers and through liaison with host governments and intergovernmental organisations, such as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).  The paper recounts the type of assistance provided, highlights some of the challenges faced and, based on learnings made over the project’s eight year duration, makes recommendations, for future work with former Guantánamo detainees and others who have been detained and subject to torture and inhuman and degrading treatment in the ‘War on Terror’.

Internal displacement and the conflict in Abkhazia

1995 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin D. Mooney
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Ethnic Cleansing ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
Independent States ◽  
The United Nations

AbstractIn the internal displacement crisis arising from the secessionist armed conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, ethnic Georgians are the principal victims. They have been displaced from Abkhazia by a policy of ethnic cleansing which, though perhaps not fully developed at the time of the actual displacement, has rendered the area ethnically homogeneous and certainly succeeded in ensuring that it so remains. This paper focuses on the nature and effectiveness of the international community's response to the ethnically-motivated displacement and resulting demographic manipulation. The mandate and operations of each of the relevant international actors involved, namely the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Military Observers (UNOMIG), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeepers, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), are examined to determine their protection function both separately and collectively. The constraints under which each organization must operate in this situation and concerns regarding Russia's dominance of the CIS operation for the pursuit of its own strategic interests are considered as contributing factors to the lack of effective protection for the internally displaced Georgians and those still at risk of so becoming.

The ICRC in Algeria

1962 ◽  
Vol 2 (15) ◽  
pp. 319-320 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Future Action ◽  
High Commissioner

Mr. Pierre Gaillard, delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross, carried out a mission in Algeria during the first fortnight in May, in order to prepare the ICRC's future action. Together with Mr. Roger Vust, permanent delegate of the ICRC, he was received at Rocher-Noir by the French High Commissioner, Mr. Christian Fouchet.

scholarly journals Aide-memoire: Operational guidance on maintaining the civilian and humanitarian character of sites and settlements

2017 ◽  
Vol 99 (904) ◽  
pp. 433-446
Keyword(s):  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
Humanitarian Crises ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Consultative Process ◽  
Operational Practices ◽  
Operational Guidance

In light of the growing complexity of humanitarian crises today and the continued need for effective cooperation among humanitarian actors, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) launched a consultative process in September 2016 to collect operational practices with regard to maintaining the civilian and humanitarian character of sites and settlements for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees. Exchanges with field staff from both organizations targeted five ongoing operations – in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iraq, Nigeria and South Sudan – and included a one-day workshop in Geneva on 20 April 2017 in which the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) also participated. A wider set of stakeholders was consulted as well, during a roundtable organized under the auspices of the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) on 21 April.

Essay: Protection of Civilians (POC) During War

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sikander Afzal ◽  
Imran Rashid
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Military Force ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Great Loss ◽  
Operational Strategies ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The World

It was widely anticipated that the end of Cold War will herald the general state of positive peace and that the world will yield the benefits of ‘peace dividends’. However, such manifestations were not witnessed. In evidence, between 1989 and 2000, more than 4 million people died in violent conflicts around the world. To this end, Gupta and colleagues (2002) noted that international terrorist attacks increased from a yearly count of 342 (during 1995-1999), to 387 per year (during 2000-2001). Underdeveloped and developing countries bore the major brunt of the violence. Conflicts that were ideological and had their roots in power management were largely resolved through the diplomatic statecraft or through use of military force. However, the conflicts that were unconventional in nature grew and gave rise to more complex and multidimensional intrastate conflicts. The new dimension in these conflicts can be identified through common features that generally include the use and spread of violence on the civilians, causing great loss of life and serious breaches in the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The history of IHL can be traced to the work of Henry Dunant and Guillaume-Henri Dufour in 1860s (ICRC, 2017). This law has a deep rooted connection with the discourse of the Protection of Civilians (PoC). The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is playing a key role in its implementation along with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The term ‘protection’ encompasses the fragments of International Refugee Convention (IRC) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL). The institutional implementation of this ‘protection’ by the UNHCR and ICRC is clear in their mandate regarding operational strategies. They have developed themselves as the ‘lawfully oriented and diplomatic channels of influential engagement with state and non-state actors. This essay will focus on the importance of PoC by the armed forces in connection with the aforementioned international institutions. It also highlights the role of civil society and different sections of the civilians and how they are affected during the war. This will be followed with the recommendations and conclusion.

scholarly journals A network society communicative model for optimizing the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) procedures

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-39
Author(s):  
Andrea Pacheco Pacífico
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Network Society ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
United Nations High Commissioner ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
Model Based ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The United Nations

This article recommends a new way to improve Refugee Status Determination (RSD) procedures by proposing a network society communicative model based on active involvement and dialogue among all implementing partners. This model, named after proposals from Castells, Habermas, Apel, Chimni, and Betts, would be mediated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), whose role would be modeled after that of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) practice.

Appointment of a new member to the ICRC

1988 ◽  
Vol 28 (262) ◽  
pp. 77-77
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
United Nations High Commissioner ◽  
Her Family ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
And Training

At its last meeting in 1987, the Assembly of the International Committee of the Red Cross welcomed Mrs. Liselotte Kraus-Gurny as a new member of the Committee.Mrs. Kraus-Gurny is from Zurich. She is a Doctor of Laws and worked in the legal division of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva from 1961 to 1972. She devoted the following years to her family, and to political activities at the municipal and cantonal levels in Geneva, where she was particularly active in the field of education and training.

scholarly journals Retrospective observational study of characteristics of persons with amputations accessing International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) rehabilitation centres in five conflict and postconflict countries

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e049533
Author(s):  
Cornelia Anne Barth ◽  
Andreas Wladis ◽  
Catherine Blake ◽  
Prashant Bhandarkar ◽  
Sigirya Aebischer Perone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Observational Study ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Retrospective Observational Study ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Limb Amputation ◽  
Rehabilitation Service ◽  
Traumatic Amputation ◽  
Rehabilitation Care

ObjectivesLimb amputation incidence is particularly high in fragile contexts due to conflict, accidents and poorly managed diabetes. The study aim was to analyse (1) demographic and amputation characteristics of persons with any type of acquired amputation (PwA) and (2) time between amputation and first access to rehabilitation in five conflict and postconflict countries.DesignA retrospective, observational study analysing differences in demographic and clinical factors and time to access rehabilitation between users with traumatic and non-traumatic amputations.SettingFive countries with the highest numbers of PwA in the global International Committee of the Red Cross database (Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq, Myanmar, Sudan). Cleaned and merged data from 2009 to 2018 were aggregated by sex; age at amputation and registration; cause, combination and anatomical level of amputation(s); living environment.ParticipantsAll PwA newly attending rehabilitation.ResultsData for 28 446 individuals were included (4329 (15.2%) female). Most were traumatic amputations (73.4%, 208 90); of these, 48.6% (138 01) were conflict related. Average age at traumatic amputation for men and women was 26.9 and 24.1 years, respectively; for non-traumatic amputation it was 49.1 years and 45.9 years, respectively. Sex differences in age were statistically significant for traumatic and non-traumatic causes (p<0.001, p=0.003). Delay between amputation and rehabilitation was on average 8.2 years for those with traumatic amputation, significantly higher than an average 3 years for those with non-traumatic amputation (p<0.001).ConclusionsYoung age for traumatic and non-traumatic amputations indicates the devastating impact of war and fragile health systems on a society. Long delays between amputation and rehabilitation reveal the mismatch of needs and resources. For rehabilitation service providers in fragile settings, it is an enormous task to manage the diversity of PwA of various causes, age, sex and additional conditions. Improved collaboration between primary healthcare, surgical and rehabilitation services, a prioritisation of rehabilitation and increased resource provision are recommended to ensure adequate access to comprehensive rehabilitation care for PwA.

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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