INTRENETIONALCOMMITTEE OF RED-CROSS & ITS ROLE IN PRESERVATION OF

HUMANITARIAN LAW

KARNA B. THAPAFACULTYO OF LAW, T.U.

Advkarna_thapa@yahoo.com

Warfare and humanity before Red-cross

• War remains the dominating phenomenon in human history

• Human community found combating by force of arms

• War used to have following objectives;• Expansion of their sovereignty• Increasing their power

• To increase their influence and wealth

• To spread their religion and ideology

• To ensure self-preservation

• Protection of legitimate interest

characteristics

• War has been characterized as destructing phenomenon

• Differs with each other according to means and method used

• Could be distinguished as just and unjust according to its motive

• Appears in its inhuman and most brutal character

• Limitation in the use of force considered by governments and military leaders mostly ignored and increased destructions and sufferings

• Wounded and sick unfeelingly left to their fate • Prisoners of war ill treated, killed or sold as

slaves

• Civilian people women, children aged who were in no way engaged in war were also ill treated, killed, abducted from the conquered territory.

• Their homes were plundered and destroyed

Evolution of humanitarian concept ,5th centuty• Humanitarian concept took shape in the form

of protection of homes and place of worship• Exchange of prisoners of war on ransome on

termination of hostilities• Cicero (106-43 BC) Seneca the young(4 BC- 65

AD) condemned slavery and declared for respect of some legal commitments even in war

• Law of Manu in Indian continent provided true examples of humanity and earliest beginning of the humanitarian law of war

St. Augustine(345-430 AD) heralded human ideas, condemned unjust war and insisted for just war with humanity and peace

11th and 12 century• Virtue of paying heed and giving help to

defenseless and weak and organize effective assistance to wounded and sick soldiers

IslamAbu Bakr The first successor of Mohammed laid

down the rule of war in the 1st half of the 7th century AD.

• Provided for protection of women, children, old aged, monasteries and monks

• Forbade killing and torturing of captured enemies

• Enslavement of POW was permissible, however they could be exchanged against ransom

• Sultan Sladdin when conquered Jerusalem in 1187 AD allowed to his enemies to fetch and take care of their wounded and to have access to holy place.

• Liberated prisoners of war against ransom

• Thomas Aquinas (1225- 1274) in his Summa Theologica further declared the concept of just war as;

• War was only permitted upon declaration by a recognized ruler

• The aim of war must be to punish or averting injustice

Modern eraUse of armies of mercenaries, invention of

firearms, schism in religious belief which increased hatered and passion and resulted in cruelty of the war in modern times

such hattered appeared in the war of conquest of central America and South Africa

• In 30 years war in Europe(1618-1648) all bases of humanity were put into the dust

Emphasis on humanitarian ideasHugo Grotius(1583-1645)• Emphasized on the law relating to war & spirit of

humanity• Stressed that, right to conduct war does not

remove the duty to observe the rules of waging war

18th centuryEmer de’ vattel (1714-1767) in his work “International law or principle of

natural law applied to the conduct and affairs of the nation and the sovereigns” stressed “from the moment your enemy is disarmed & has given himself up, you no longer have any right over his life, provided he is merited death as punishment for a crime”

• It must always recalled that prisoners are men with misfortune

Jean Jack Rousseau (1712-1778)Contrat social published in 1762 & stressed on

• “war is not a relationship between man and man, But between states & individuals are enemy accidently not as a men nor as a citizens but as soldiers, not as members of their country but as its defender…. The object of war being destruction of state, the other side has the right to kill its defenders, while they are bearing arms, but as soon as they lay them down and surrender, they cease to be an enemy or instrument of enemy and become once more merely men, whose life no one has the right to take”

Agreement between Fredric the Great of Pursia and Benzamin Franklin 1785

• Equal treatment to be give to the enemy wounded soldiers

• Prisoners of war to be given the human treatment

Creation of International Red-Cross • War of Solferino, led to liberation of upper

Italy from Austrian Domination• Henry Dunant a Genevese citizen of 31 years

witnessed the suffering caused by the war which fought only for 15 hours and left 40,000 wounded in the battlefield

• The terrible situation of the war of solferino inspired Dunant to come to the action

• A foreign citizen having no knowledge of medicine medical resource did his utmost efforts for three days and nights to mitigate the sufferings

• Local people, French, Australians and Italians supported him selflessly

• Memory of Solferino appeared in 1862 with two proposals

a. Creation of relief societiesb. Neutrality of medical personsDunant’s work created great interested among

European sovereigns, governments, army commanders, doctors, writers, clergymen and among broad public

Beginning of Red Cross

A committee formed to bring Dunant’s idea into reality which consists of ;

General Guillaume H. Dufour chairmanGustav Moynier vice chairmanHenry Dunant secretaryDr. Louis Appia MemberDr. The’odore Maunoir Member

• Committee began with the name of “International Committee for Aid to Wounded Soldiers” in the meeting held on 17 Feb.1863

• The committee given the name “International committee of Red Cross” in 1875 only

• Committee decided to organize a conference and sent invitation to governments, humanitarian organizations and philanthropist all over the Europe

• Conference organized on 26 October 1863 with 31 personalities representing 16 governments and 4 private organizations

• The conference adopted 10 resolutions and three recommendation as;

1. Establishment of the committees to have a duty assist in time of war to army medical service

2. Unlimited sections of the committee may be formed to assist the committee which shall be the central directing committee

3. Establishment of the relationship of committee with the government in order to provide its service where the occasion arise

4 Committees have to take steps to ensure their usefulness in time of war by making preparation of material relief of all sorts.

5. in time of war, committee of belligerent nations shall supply relief to their respective armies as far as their means permit, in particular , they shall organize voluntary personnel and place them on in active footing and in agreement with military authorities, shall have the premises made available for the care of wounded

.

6. On request or with consent of the military authorities committee may send volunteer medical personnel to the battlefield where they shall be placed under military command

7. voluntary medical personnel attached to army shall be supplied by the respective committees with every thing necessary for their upkeep.

8. They shall wear in all countries, as a uniform distinctive sign, a white armlet with red cross.

9.Committes and sections in different countries may meet in international assemblies to communicate the result of their experiences and to agree on measures to be taken in the interest of the work.

10. Exchange of communication between the committees of various countries shall be made through the intermediary of Geneva Committee

The conference made the following Resolutions;1. Government should extend their patronage to relief

committees which may be formed, and facilitate the accomplishment of their task

2. In time of war the belligerent nation should proclaim the neutrality of the ambulances and military hospitals and neutrality should be recognized fully and absolutely in respect of official medical personnel, voluntary medical personnel, inhabitant of the country who go to the relief of the wounded and the wounded themselves

3. Uniform distinctive sign be recognized for the medical corps of all armies, or at least for all persons of the same armies belonging to this service; uniform flag also be adopted in all countries for the ambulances and hospitals.

Adoption of Geneva Convention of 22 August 1864

• First Geneva Convention of August 22, 1864 for the Amelioration of the condition of the wounded in the armies in the field was adopted in the first red cross conference

• The first convention to deal with the wounded in the armies in the field

• The convention consists of 10 Articles• Recognized the ambulances and military

hospitals as neutral and protection and respect ensured unless they accommodate wounded and sick

• Hospital and ambulances personnel including quarter-muster’s staff, the medical, administrative and transport service, and the chaplain shall also recognized as neutral when on duty

• Persons mentioned in preceding Articles may even after the enemy occupation continue to discharge their functions in the hospitals or ambulances with which they serve.

• Respect of the inhabitants of the country who bring help to the wounded and sick

• Collection and care of Wounded and sick combatants of what ever the nation they belong

• Repatriation of the wounded being unfit for further service after their recovery

• Adoption of distinct and uniform flag for hospitals, ambulances, and evacuation parties

• wearing of armlet by the personnel enjoying the neutrality

• Both flag and armlet to bear red cross on white ground

• Obligation of implementation of the convention laid to Army Generals of belligerent parties following the instructions of their respective government

• High contracting parties of the Geneva Convention communicate other states to accede the convention.

• Ratification of the Convention to be made within the three months or sooner.

Red-Cross

Institutional Evolution• ICRC grew up out of the committee of five

persons, Dufour, Moynier, Dunant, Appia &Maunoir.

• ICRC founded as independent, permanent and International body on 17th Feb. 1863

• which was called in its initial days “International Committee for Aid to Wounded Soldiers”

• The Committee only in 1875 was given the name “International Committee of Red Cross” and the name generally used since 1880

• Despite eminently international nature of the work, ICRC remained Swiss the composition of its committee

• Large majority of the ICRCs permanent staff are Swiss nationals

• Jean Pictet rightly called it as mononational international organization.

• initially ICRC was the central and international institution of Red Cross movements

• It set out principles and guidelines for the structure and activities of the national societies

Involvement in humanitarian task• protection and assistance work initially

limited to wounded and sick members of armed forces as set out in resolution of 1883 conference and 1864 Geneva Convention

• Task of medical care was left to national societies

• ICRC took new work to monitor the implementation of the Geneva Convention by sending delegates to monitor the implementation of Geneva Convention

• The new task first put to test in Purssia- Denmark war over Schleswig-Holstein question of 1864, Purssia- Austria war of 1866, Germany- France war of 1870-71

• ICRC set up a very important task by establishing the first Information Agency in Basel which conveyed the news not only or the wounded and sick but of prisoners of war to their relatives

• ICRC first time relief parcels to prisoners of war during that war

• Another step taken by ICRC was to establish the Information office –cum-tarcing service in Trieste for wounded sick and captured servicemen during Russo- Turkish war of 1877

• Step to establish Information and tracing service in Vienna in 1885 also taken in Serbo- Bulgarian war.

• Tracing office established in Belgrade during Balkan war of 1912-13.

• 9th International Conference of Red Cross held in Washington mandated to ICRC to co-ordinate the relief-shipment of prisoners of war and supervise their distribution “ through neutral delegates accredited to the governments involved”

Key Features of Red-Cross (ICRC)1. Cooptation and Swiss nationality of committee members • ICRCs legal status is that of an association

subject to Swiss civil code• International Committee of Red Cross is

governed by a collegiate body the assembly. • Head quarter in Geneva

• Assembly may have 15-25 members according to its statute but in practice there are at least 20 members

• Every member must be a Swiss citizen • Members of ICRC are elected for four years• President and one vice president give full time

and other VPs & members carry their function in part time & honorary basis.

2. ICRC Bodies And Administration• Assembly(plenary meeting if its members) is

the supreme policy making body • Executive board created in 1973• Operation department• Operational support department• Department for principles, law and relation

with movement

• Finance and administration department• The human resource department• Communication department• Information system department

3. Budget and Finance• Headquarter budget Field budgetGeneva Admin all delegations

Operation depts. In Various zone & centralTracing Agency

4. Financial Source• Governments & state parties to the Geneva

conventions• Supranational organization• National red cross and red crescent societies• Public source( Swiss Cantons & municipalities)• Private source

5. ICRCs independence, neutrality &impartiality• Statute of red cross and red crescent

movement 1986 and ICRC statute 1988 both describe the institution as a “specifically neutral and independent institution and intermediary”

• Art. 9 of GC I, II,III and Art. 10 of GC IV describe ICRC as “impartial humanitarian organization”

6. Legal status of ICRC• Not a institution created by international treaty• A result of a private Initiative taken by a Swiss

citizen set up as simple committee in 1863• During the first world war the committee

became a formal association under Swiss civil law And acquired legal personality within Switzerland & its status remains unchanged

Fundamental principles of Red- Cross• Humanity• Impartiality• Neutrality• Independence• Voluntary service• Unity• universality

ICRCs Recent activities• Algerian crisis 1954- 1963• Hungary 1956-1958• Arab-Israel conflict 1967-1968• Nigerian crisis 1967-1970• Honduras- El Salvador conflict 1969• India- Pakistan 1971-1975• Lebanon 1978• Iran- iraq 1980-1985

• Argentina- Great Britain(Falklands/ Malvinas)1982

• Persian Gulf 1990-1991

Protection and assistance in Internal disturbances

• Congo 1960-1965• South Africa 1963-1986• Indonesia 1965-1981• Greece 1967-1971• Northern Ireland 1971-1983• Uruguay 1972-1985

• Chile 1973-1978• Iran 1977-1981• Philippines 1977-1986• Poland 1981-1984

• ICRC in Nepal