To mark his seventieth birthday, Jean Pictet, Honorary Vice-President of the ICRC, gave a lecture at the University of Geneva on 16 November 1984 entitled “The formation of international humanitarian law”.

A remarkable summary of the development of humanitarian law in the twentieth century, it concludes with remarks which go well beyond the original subject. They express his thoughts about the difficult relationships between humanitarian imperatives and military and political necessities and between idealism and pragmatism; reference is also made to everyone's responsibility to disseminate and apply a law which stems not only from humanity but also from common sense.

El final de la guerra fría hizo nacer la esperanza de un mundo más pacífico. Aunque en el nuevo clima de las relaciones internacionales se hayan apagado varios focos de conflicto, han brotado otros focos de violencia en otros lugares del mundo y hoy causan no sólo miles sino millones de víctimas en todos los continentes

Con la preocupación de cubrir más eficazmente esas necesidades en aumento, la respuesta humanitaria en las Naciones Unidas se ha dotado de mecanismos de coordinación.

On 17 December 1996, the delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross was one of the 600 guests at a reception hosted by the Japanese ambassador in Lima. When the commando unit of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru — MRTA)carried out its spectacular hostage-taking operation and the ICRC delegate made himself known to the commando unit, wondering whether in so doing he was acting as an intermediary was hardly at the forefront of his mind: he was content to take action because the situation so demanded and because the physical integrity of hundreds of people was under threat. I was that delegate. In doing what I did at that moment, I was merely repeating the humanitarian act performed by hundreds of ICRC delegates throughout the world, that of Henry Dunant at Solferino and of many others elsewhere — that is, helping the victims of violence. This is what being a neutral intermediary is all about: placing oneself voluntarily in the midst of a confrontation and lending a helping hand. In that sense, the term “intermediary” is perfectly suited for defining the action of the ICRC per se and its humanitarian base. Within the organization, the term means something more specific, as distinguished from protection and assistance, and designates a function which involves serving as a messenger between conflicting parties, for humanitarian reasons and in the absence of any other intermediary. This is where a certain amount of confusion and a number of difficulties arise, some inherent in the very role of intermediary and others arising from the circumstances themselves.

El mes de noviembre de 1996, se celebró, en Roma, la «Cumbre Mundial sobre la Alimentación». Organizada por la FAO; participaron 150 gobiernos. El CICR participó como observador y su vicepresidente hizo una declaración. Su delegación repartió a los participantes un documento en el que se describen el enfoque y la experiencia del CICR por lo que respecta a la seguridad alimentaria durante los conflictos armados. Más adelante, la Revista publica el texto de dicho documento:

La comunidad de Estados ha asignado al Comité Internacional de la Cruz Roja (CICR) un doble cometido: prestar protección y asistencia a las víctimas de los conflictos armados y disturbios internos, así como promover y garantizar el respeto del derecho internacional humanitario.

The massive influx of weapons into already unstable regions, where they are sometimes sold for a pittance, justifies grave doubts about respect for humanitarian standards. Such proliferation sets in motion a vicious circle in which people arm themselves out of fear for their safety, thus further destabilizing the situation, which is soon governed by the law of the jungle. At that point, any and all standards are ignored. The result: tension, unrest, violence, even armed conflict, all of which is extremely detrimental to any effort to foster respect for international humanitarian law. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which monitors compliance with that law, cannot stand idly by. Its President therefore voiced the organization's concern to the 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, held in 1995, and reminded governments of their responsibilities.

Las relaciones entre la doctrina de la Cruz Roja y la de los derechos humanos se consolidaron progresivamente hasta que aparecieron, en el transcurso de esa evolución, ámbitos de acción y de investigación formales comunes a las dos corrientes de pensamiento. Puede resultar interesante examinar en qué medida la noción de defensa de los derechos humanos estaba presente en el pensamiento de los fundadores de la Cruz Roja y de qué manera se ampliaron los primeros objetivos hasta incluir en su problemática algunos aspectos fundamentales de la protección de la persona humana.

Esa evolución y esa ampliación del ámbito de acción de la Cruz Roja y de la Media Luna Roja se ha hecho por etapas, a menudo por efecto de los graves conflictos que han jalonado la historia de nuestro siglo, así como por la influencia de la evolución de los sistemas políticos.

Novyi Bug is a town with a population of more than 15,000 residents. It is situated in the Bashtan district of the Mykolaiv region, in Ukraine. The situation in Novyi Bug remains very unpredictable. At the end of May 2022 there were attacks on the town of Novyi Bug and the Mykolaiv region was hit by rockets and missiles. Many civilian infrastructures, including inclusive resource centers, houses and hospital premises were either destroyed or damaged.

El Commonwealth de Dominica se adhirió, sin hacer ninguna declaración ni reserva, el 25 de abril de 1996, a los Protocolos adicionales a los Convenios de Ginebra del 12 de agosto de 1949, relativos a la proteccion de las víctimas de los conflictos armados internacionales (Protocolo I) y no intemacionales (Protocolo II), aprobados en Ginebra el 8 de junio de 1977.

De conformidad con sus disposiciones, los Protocolos entrarén en vigor, para el Commonwealth de Dominica, el 25 de octubre de 1996.

Con esta adhesión asciende a 144 el número de Estados Partes en el Protocolo I y a 136 el de Estados Partes en el Protocolo II.

Los derechos humanos y especialmente los derechos civiles y políticos han influenciado la reciente evolución del derecho internacional humanitario. Esta comprobación es válida sobre todo para el Protocolo II, relativo a los conflictos armados no internacionales. El año 1978, en la Conferencia celebrada en Teherán, las Naciones Unidas asociaron por primera vez estas dos ramas del derecho internacional. A partir de ese momento, el derecho internacional humanitario se denomina también «derechos humanos en período de conflicto armado». Esta relación se concretó ulteriormente con la inclusión, en los Protocolos adicionales, de ciertas normas fundamentales, idénticas a las de las Convenciones de los derechos humanos; contribuye a reforzar la protección de la persona humana en las situaciones de conflicto armado.

En el segundo considerando del Preámbulo del Protocolo II se establece una relatión con los derechos humanos, «recordando, asimismo que los instrumentos internacionales relativos a los derechos humanos ofrecen a la persona humana una protectión fundamental«. Se trata de una toma de posición importante, si se tiene en cuenta que la función de un preámbulo es orientar, mediante directrices, la interpretatión de un tratado. Por primera vez, en un instrumento de derecho internacional humanitario, se incluyó una mention explicita a los derechos humanos. Ello no significa necesariamente que no haya habido antes relaciones entre las dos ramas del derecho internacional.

De manera episódica desde 1919 y sistemáticamente desde finales del decenio de los 60, el CICR ha procurado desplegar su acción humanitaria en circunstancias de disturbios y de tensiones interiores y, muy especialmente, proteger y asistir a las personas encarceladas en tales circunstancias, denominadas comúnmente «detenidos políticos».

La línea de conducta del CICR a este respecto fue presentada con motivo de la celebración de la XXIII Conferencia Internacional de la Cruz Roja (Bucarest, 1977), en el marco de un documento titulado «E1 CICR, la Liga y el Informe sobre la Reevaluación del Cometido de la Cruz Roja».

El presente documento es una actualización de la doctrina del CICR en la materia, que tiene en cuenta la evolución cuantitativa y cualitativa de su acción humanitaria en circunstancias que no está cubiertas por los Convenios de Ginebra de 1949, ni por sus Protocolos adicionales de 1977, pero en las que los problemas de índole humanitaria justifican la labor de un organismo independiente como el CICR.

“I Know of no part of jurisprudence or of the humanities to which the institution calling itself the Geneva Committee can be connected”, declared the renowned Russian jurist Fiodor Fiodorovitch de Martens, legal adviser to the Imperial Russian Government, at the Fourth International Conference of Red Cross Societies held in Karlsruhe in September 1887.

No wonder he was puzzled, for although the International Committee is an international institution by reason of its activities and duties, its composition is still that of a private association under Swiss law.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revised the access rules to its archives in 2017 for reasons that are complex, fascinating and deeply contemporary to our times. As these rules define when and to what extent the ICRC Archives are made available to the public, their contents are important for the institution as well as for wider audiences. The ICRC must ensure that it can implement its humanitarian mandate to protect and assist victims of armed conflicts and other situations of violence and preserve confidentiality, while sharing its past with the world at large. This article offers a historical overview of the ICRC Archives and the development of their access regulations until their latest revision in 2017. It shows that both today and in the past, the rules of access to the archives have resulted from choices made by the ICRC on how to balance its mandate and long-standing interests with contemporary opportunities and risks related to independent scrutiny.

La science médicale avance à grands pas; pour un nombre toujours croissant de maladies, on est au clair quant à leurs symptômes et à leurs causes. Plusieurs d'entre elles peuvent faire l'objet d'un traitement efficace. Parallèlement, des progrès s'accomplissent dans les services réservés aux soins des malades. Chaque année un nombre croissant d'hommes se font traiter dans les hôpitaux, surtout quand il s'agit de cas graves. Aussi se rend-on compte toujours davantage de l'importance qu'il y a à donner des soins aux malades le plus vite possible après le début de leur maladie.

Throughout 1961 the actions of the International Committee of the Red Cross continued to be numerous, important and diverse. These are described in its Annual Report for 1961, recently published, recalling the various international currents which agitated the world during the past year, since, whenever men face each other with weapons in their hands, it is the duty of the Red Cross, and especially of the International Committee, to intervene in order to mitigate the distress caused by the conflict, and, in spite of the violence which is unleashed, to remind people of having the needs of humanity and fellowship respected.

The law of war — international humanitarian law — has a place of its own and its own special characteristics in the general scheme for the repression of offences. International law is, in a sense, on the fringe of the provisions made by States in their domestic law for the repression of unlawful acts. It has its own system of repression, which imposes sanctions for breaches of international law committed by States, international organizations or individuals.

We are all aware that we are passing through a phase characterized by rapid changes involving concepts that transcend cultures and utilize mechanisms that some societies may be unable to understand. Since the end of the Cold War, which had troubled international relations for more than fifty years, the parameters of contemporary international relations have evolved within the framework of the concept of globalization.

I do not think that anyone questions the political, economic, social or cultural impact of globalization. The present differences of opinion concern assessment of the extent of the adverse consequences of this impact on human society, and especially on communities in the Third World, many of which are still living in backward conditions.