In September 1990 Frèdèric Maurice became my assistant at the Directorate of Operations. His keen intelligence, his vast experience of operational matters and his communicative nature, coupled with a sense of constructive criticism, were always of invaluable help. Yet he found that his role as adviser, centred as it was on theory and analysis, was too inactive, too far removed from the decisions which shape the actual course of operations; because of this, every so often he felt the need to take the lead on an assignment in the field. In April 1991, for instance, he went to Iraqi Kurdistan and the Basrah region to assess needs in the aftermath of the Gulf war and launch major relief programmes there; in July 1991 he was in charge of prisoner exchange operations in Slovenia.

Mr. Raymond Courvoisier has since 1 August 1969 taken over the appointment of special assistant to the President of the International Committee, thus bringing it his wide experience in the field of international humanitarian law. It should, in fact, be recalled that from 1936 to 1945 he undertook a large number of missions in ICRC service as delegate in Spain, Turkey, in East European and Middle East countries. Furthermore, he was in charge of a section in the Central Prisoners of War Agency in Geneva during the Second World War.

The Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent are the cornerstone of the doctrine of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The Movement's mission and its activities are built on the Principles, which are binding on all its components in all circumstances. The members of the Movement are under the obligation to spread understanding and knowledge of the Principles, the better to ensure respect for them.

Although international humanitarian law and human rights law were originally intended to operate in different areas of competence, thirty years of visits by human rights mechanisms to places of detention in parallel with visits made by the International Committee of the Red Cross have shown that they are clearly complementary in several respects. First, there is complementarity in terms of action, in that different but not competitive visits are made. Secondly, through the formulation of increasingly precise legal rules there is complementarity in codification. Lastly, there is institutional complementarity through cooperation between the respective bodies. The result is broader and above all more effective protection for detainees — whatever the legal status assigned to them — which, if it cannot entirely eliminate the possibility of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, can at least help to prevent and remedy such abuses.

In ancient times some of the great commanders were accompanied on their campaigns by their personal doctors. The Romans had at least one doctor for each cohort (about 500 to 600 men), and a legion, which consisted of ten cohorts, had a medicus legionis, probably a sort of chief medical officer. At the time of the Crusades, the Sultan Saladin gave an example of humanity by authorizing the doctors of the adverse party to care for the Christian prisoners and then to return through the lines. Arab doctors treated Saint Louis. But it was not until the sixteenth century that an organized medical service was started in European armies. It was still, however, sadly inadequate.

Aussi loin que l'on remonte dans l'histoire de l'humanité, l'existence de relations pacifiques — entre les individus comme entre les nations — a toujours constitué un idéal. Pourtant, cette histoire abonde en guerres et conflits sanglants. La tradition orale, les documents que nous possédons et le témoignage muet des sites archéologiques attestent de manière irréfutable de la cruauté et de la violence des hommes à l'égard de leurs semblables. Tout aussi anciennes, cependant, sont les manifestations de compassion, de clémence et de charité. Aujourd'hui encore, le monde voit coexister la guerre et la paix, les relations de bon voisinage et les agressions, les atrocités et les gestes d'humanité.

Rather than serving as a pretext for noisy celebration and self-congratulation, the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Swiss Red Cross should be an occasion for reflection on our institution's development, its role within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and its special situation as the National Society of Switzerland. This is a worthy undertaking, an attempt, as the historian Marc Ferro put it, “to capture time and make it intelligible to others”. But anyone who embarks on such a venture must be careful to avoid rewriting the past according to his own preferences and giving an idealized picture of this humanitarian organization, which has had its share of tensions, setbacks and contradictions, some of them still unresolved.

This article attempts to situate the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) in Sri Lanka in relation to varying approaches to mechanisms for searching for the missing. In particular, the article examines the possible tensions between a humanitarian and an accountability-based mandate and supports the position of the International Committee of the Red Cross that these two approaches can in fact be complementary in nature. It goes on to contend that the OMP's mandate is primarily humanitarian rather than exclusively humanitarian, and analyzes how this distinction may impact possible criminal prosecutions. It emphasizes the importance of preserving the humanitarian character of the OMP with the objective of ensuring that the victims’ rights are at the centre of transitional justice processes.

A prison visitor… a spokesman for enemy internees in a nation at war… a doctor or surgeon at the bedside of wounded or sick victims of hostilities… a registrar of records to identify detainees, search for the missing, bring families together again… a distributor of food and blankets… a transport manager: these are only some of the jobs of an ICRC delegate. He must be a man of goodwill who may be considered to be a help to the detaining authorities in the solution of the delicate problems arising from the detention of prisoners of war. The delegate knows that his work will not be easy. His activities take place, typically, in a disorganized and war-torn country. He will be concerned with the enemies of that country, prisoners and internees who will very often be the object of hatred. He will speak in the name of what is right and in the name of humanity, at the very moment when passions are at their height and when such language has the least chance of being heard.

This paper assesses the evolution of teaching international humanitarian law (IHL) in law schools in the United States since 2007, analyzes progress made in overcoming challenges to more effective integration of IHL content in law school curricula, and provides a measure of the contribution of promotional initiatives and strategies undertaken by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to this effort. The findings and recommendations should serve to support law faculty and law schools in the US and elsewhere, as well as the ICRC, in expanding opportunities for teaching and scholarship, and in encouraging law students and professors to pursue their interest in this field.

The decision of the International Review of the Red Cross to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is both understandable and commendable, given the Review's mission to promote and strive for observance of international humanitarian law during armed conflicts and the increasing convergence of that law with human rights law — as evidenced by the gradual substitution of the term “international humanitarian law” for the term “the law of war”.

It will be recalled that on 30 September 1969, two delegates of the International Committee, Dr. Dragan Herčog, a member of the Yugoslav surgical team, and Robert Carlsson, member of a Swedish relief team, were killed during the fighting that was then raging around Okigwi, some miles north of Umuahia. At the same time and place, two persons working for the World Council of Churches were also killed and another member of the Swedish team wounded. Last November, the International Review published the circumstance of this drama which profoundly disturbed the Red Cross everywhere. It also mentioned that ICRC Commissioner-General, Mr. August Lindt, had protested strongly to the federal military government at Lagos. He demanded an enquiry and the punishment of those responsible. He further demanded the tightening up of orders to Nigerian front-line troops to ensure the safety of Red Cross personnel.

The question of whether international humanitarian law (IHL) has an impact on how armed conflicts are conducted is a controversial one. Sceptics claim that the law is virtually irrelevant in determining State behaviour in armed conflict. Proponents point to its importance in mitigating the suffering caused by war. This paper looks at recent scholarship from historians, political scientists, economists and lawyers that challenges traditional narratives held dear by the law's sceptics and proponents alike. It then discusses implications of these approaches for a current understanding of the role of IHL in today's armed conflicts. The new perspectives allow for a broader understanding of IHL's central issues and permit us to ask more pertinent questions when looking at the law with the aim of putting it to use for the protection of civilians.