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Action taken by the International Committee of the Red Cross in situations of internal violence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2010

Marion Harroff-Tavel
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Extract

For some decades now, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has periodically undertaken the difficult task of reassessing its policy in respect of situations of internal violence. Since 1872, when it made its first offer of services to the parties to a non-international armed conflict, and 1918, when it carried out its first visit to security detainees, the ICRC has accumulated a wealth of experience. During that time it has gradually extended its mandate to cover situations in which human suffering called for action on its part which it would not have contemplated a few years previously.

Type
Internal Violence
Information
International Review of the Red Cross (1961 - 1997) , Volume 33 , Issue 294 , June 1993 , pp. 195 - 220
Copyright
Copyright © International Committee of the Red Cross 1993

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References

1 The first of the seven Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is humanity. It stipulates that the Movement “endeavours, in its international and national capacity, to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the hitman being (…)”.

2 Geneva Conventions:

— for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field (First Convention)

— for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea (Second Convention)

— relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (Third Convention)

— relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Convention)

of 12 August 1949.

See in particular Article 3, para. 2, common to the four Geneva Conventions, which describes the ICRC as “an impartial humanitarian body”.

3 Article 2, para. 4, of the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, adopted by the 25th International Conference of the Red Cross in Geneva in October 1986. (The International Conference brings together representatives of the components of the Movement and representatives of the States party to the Geneva Conventions).

4 The seven Principles are: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. The complete text of the Principles appears in the Preamble to the Statutes of the Movement, Article 5, para. 2 (a), of which stipulates that one of the ICRC's roles is “to maintain and disseminate” the Principles, a task which the ICRC has performed since the founding of the Movement and which was formally assigned to it in 1921.

From the outset, the ICRC adopted a structure enabling it to respect fully the principles it upholds. The ICRC is an institution formed on a private initiative. Its headquarters are in Switzerland, and its governing body, the Committee, is mononational and recruits its members by cooptation (Article 5, para. 1, of the Statutes of the Movement). Since the members of the Committee do not owe their appointment to any electoral body and are hence free of any political pressure, they enjoy total independence in their decision-making. This constitutes a guarantee of impartial conduct.

5 Observer status for the International Committee of the Red Cross, in consideration of the special role and mandates conferred upon it by the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, United Nations General Assembly resolution A/45/6, adopted at its forty-fifth session, at its 31st plenary meeting of 16 October 1990. General Assembly, official records: forty-fifth session, supplement No. 49 (A/45/49).

6 “This Protocol shall not apply to situations of internal disturbances and tensions, such as riots, isolated and sporadic acts of violence and other acts of a similar nature, as not being armed conflicts”, Article 1, para. 2, of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), of 8 June 1977.

7 In particular, resolutions XIV of the 10th International Conference of the Red Cross (Geneva, 1921); XIV of the 16th International Conference of the Red Cross (London, 1938); XX of the 17th International Conference of the Red Cross (Stockholm, 1948); XIX of the 19th International Conference of the Red Cross (New Delhi, 1957); XXXI of the 20th International Conference of the Red Cross (Vienna. 1965) and VI of the 24th International Conference of the Red Cross (Manila, 1981).

8 Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions is the mainstay of ICRC action in non-international armed conflicts. It reads as follows:

“In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:

I) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

b) taking of hostages;

c) outrages: upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;

d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.

An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.

The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present Convention.

The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status of the Parlies to the conflict.”

9 The objective criteria which serve to determine at what point Protocol II becomes applicable are mentioned in Article 1 of the Protocol. They include:

1. the type of forces in conflict: government armed forces in the broad sense of the term and either dissident armed forces or organized armed groups;

2. the existence of a responsible command within the armed opposition;

3. control over a part of the territory;

4. sustained and concerted military operations;

5. the ability to implement the Protocol.

Items 1 and 3 are particularly valuable indicators for determining when Protocol 1) is applicable.

10 The applicable law also includes the rules of customary law and the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (The Hague, 1954), Article 19 of which refers to non-international armed conflict. Finally, human rights are also applicable, insofar as the exercise of certain rights cannot be abrogated even in an armed conflict.

11 A description of internal disturbances was given at the first session of the Conference of Government Experts on the Reaffinnation and Development of International Humanitarian Law applicable in Armed Conflicts, held in Geneva from 24 May to 12 June 1971 (Document submitted by the ICRC, Vol. V: Protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts, Geneva, 01 1971, pp. 79–85)Google Scholar.

The Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffinnation and Development of International Humanitarian Law applicable in Armed Conflicts (1974–1977) explicitly excluded from the scope of application of the Protocol situations of internal tension and disturbances, which it did not define, but of which it gave examples. These are presented as follows in the Commentary to Protocol II: “riots, such as demonstrations without a concerted plan from the outset; isolated and sporadic acts of violence, as opposed to military operations carried out by armed forces or armed groups; other acts of a similar nature, including, in particular, large scale arrests of people for their activities or opinions” (See the Commentary on paragraph 2 of Article I of Protocol II in the Commentary on the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, International Committee of the Red Cross, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Geneva, 1986, paras. 4471–4479, pp. 1354–1356). The Commentary on the Protocol takes up the 1971 definitions, specifying that they form part of ICRC doctrine and that they are designed for practical use.

In this article, the presentation of internal disturbances, while based on that of 1971 and the examples of such situations given in Protocol II, takes account of observations made by the ICRC in the course of its work. First, internal disturbances, formerly qualified as “confrontation characterized by a certain seriousness or duration” may be brief or chronic and may give rise to lasting humanitarian problems. Secondly, internal disturbances may take place without any government intervention to restore order. Disturbances sometimes take the form of clashes between factions, without any direct State participation.

12 In particular, resolution XIV of the 10th International Conference of the Red Cross (Geneva, 1921) and Resolution VI of the 24th International Conference of the Red Cross (Manila, 1981), which made a solemn appeal “that the rules of international humanitarian law and the universally recognized humanitarian principles be safeguarded at all times and in all circumstances and that the International Committee of the Red Cross be granted all the facilities necessary to discharge the humanitarian mandate confided to it by the international community”.

13 The first ICRC visits to security detainees took place in Russia (1918) and Hungary (1919), but it was mainly after the Second World War that ICRC visits to persons detained in their own countries became widespread.

14 There are inalienable rights which are considered as universal standards, having customary status: the right to life, the prohibition of torture and of cruel, inhumane or degrading punishment or treatment; the prohibition of slavery and servitude; the principle of legality and non-retroactivity of punishments. In addition, certain judicial guarantees must be respected at all times in order to prevent the violation of rights to which no derogation is permitted.

15 In this connection, see Sandoz, Yves, “Le droit d'initiative du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge”, German Yearbook of International Law, Duniker & Humblot, Berlin, 1979, Vol. 22, pp. 352–373.Google Scholar

16 “Action by the International Committee of the Red Cross in the event of breaches of international humanitarian law”, International Review of the Red Cross, No. 221. March–April 1981, pp. 76–83.

17 Article 1 common to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.

18 In international armed conflicts, ICRC visits to protected persons are dealt with in Articles 126 of the Third and 143 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. In fact, most ICRC visits relate to situations of internal violence. It is an ICRC practice which has been accepted by a large number of States.

19 Judicial guarantees are specifically mentioned in Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. The ICRC, whose role it is “to work for the faithful application of international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflicts” (Article 5, para. 2 (c), of the Statutes of the Movement), may intervene to ensure that fundamental judicial guarantees are respected in a non-international armed conflict.

In situations of internal disturbances, its responsibility in this connection is different, and it is mainly when the failure to observe judicial guarantees has serious implications for the physical and psychological state of the individual that the ICRC makes representations to the authorities.

20 In deciding which acts call for a reaction from them, ICRC delegates also draw on the following texts:

“Declaration on the rules of international humanitarian law governing the conduct of hostilities in non-international armed conflicts”, International Institute of Humanitarian Law (San Remo, Italy), International Review of the Red Cross, No. 278. 09–10 1990, pp. 404–408 Google Scholar.

“Declaration of Minimum Humanitarian Standards”, adopted by a meeting of experts in Turku, Åbo, Finland (30 November-2 December 1990), International Review of the Red Cross, No. 282, 05–06 1991, pp. 330–336.Google Scholar

21 Resolution II of the 24th International Conference of the Red Cross (Manila, 1981) recommends, inter alia, that “the ICRC take any appropriate action which might reveal the fate of missing persons or bring their families relief (…)”.

22 See in particular: Blondel, Jean-Luc, “Assistance to protected persons”, International Review of the Red Cross, No. 260, 09–10 1987, pp. 451–468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

23 The ICRC's policy in respect of the development of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is set within the framework of Article 7 of the Agreement between the International Committee of the Red Cross and the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of 20 October 1989. (The League has since been renamed the International Federation).

24 Article 5, para. 4 (b), of the Statutes of the Movement and Articles 18 and 20 of the Agreement referred to in note 23.

25 Article 47 of the First Geneva Convention, 48 of the Second Geneva Convention, 127 of the Third Geneva Convention, 144 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and Articles 83 of Protocol I and 19 of Protocol II.

See also Resolution X of the 24th International Conference of the Red Cross (Manila, 1981).

26 For the Turku Declaration, see note 20. The Code of Conduct, which is written in simple language, is intended not only for the authorities but for everyone who has recourse to violence. Rather than creating any new law it sets out the existing rules of international law, some of which are customary.

Gasser, Hans-Peter, “A measure of humanity in internal disturbances and tensions: proposal for a Code of Conduct”, International Review of the Red Cross, No. 262, 01–02 1988, pp. 38–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

27 Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936).