The Humanitarians: The International Committee of the Red Cross

Half-title......Page 2
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
CONTENTS......Page 8
PREFACE......Page 10
ABBREVIATIONS......Page 16
INTRODUCTION......Page 17
PART ONE Historical analysis......Page 27
1 The ICRC during its early years......Page 29
The formative years: 1859–1869......Page 31
Dunant and his colleagues......Page 35
The International Red Cross Movement......Page 36
Summary......Page 38
Expanding the vision......Page 39
Modesty but determined independence......Page 41
The emblem......Page 43
Toward World War I......Page 45
Important changes: 1920–1939......Page 49
The Red Cross Movement......Page 51
Field record......Page 54
A controversial Nobel Peace Prize: WorldWar II......Page 57
Overview......Page 58
The Holocaust......Page 60
2 The ICRC during the Cold War......Page 67
1946–1966: doing good and satisfying critics......Page 68
The 1949 Geneva Conventions......Page 70
Palestine, 1948–1950......Page 71
Red Cross Statutes......Page 73
Korea, 1950–1953......Page 74
French Algeria, 1954–1962......Page 75
Cuban missile crisis, 1962......Page 77
1967: snapshot of broad engagement......Page 78
Nigeria, 1967–1970......Page 79
Greece and political prisoners, 1967–1974......Page 84
Middle East territories, from 1967......Page 86
Vietnam, 1954-1975......Page 90
Cambodia, 1979–1980......Page 94
Chile......Page 97
Argentina......Page 100
Summary of political prisoners......Page 103
The Tansley Report......Page 104
The Additional Protocols of 1977......Page 108
Conclusion......Page 110
3 The ICRC after the Cold War......Page 112
An overview......Page 114
The 1991 Persian Gulf war and northern Iraq......Page 118
The Balkans, 1991–1995......Page 124
Somalia, 1991–1992......Page 131
Other field work......Page 137
TheMovement......Page 139
Conclusion......Page 144
4 The ICRC and the US “war” against terrorism......Page 145
Overview of US policy toward detainees......Page 146
Prisoners at Guantanamo......Page 150
Prisoners at Bagram Air Force Base, Afghanistan......Page 156
Prisoners in Iraq from 2003......Page 159
Summary of US detention policies......Page 166
PART TWO Policy analysis......Page 171
Limiting versus opposing war......Page 173
The official Red Cross principles......Page 177
Humanity: the ICRC as a social liberal agency, with a strategy of minimalism......Page 178
Minimal social liberalism......Page 179
Assistance and protection......Page 183
Liberal ends but conservative means: ICRC tactics......Page 185
Humanitarian politics: lobbying for others......Page 188
Power politics: neutrality in context......Page 189
Inadvertent departure from neutrality?......Page 190
Neutrality and discretion......Page 193
Bureaucratic politics: protecting the organization......Page 195
Summarizing humanitarian protection and politics......Page 197
General overview......Page 198
ICRC relations with the Swiss Confederation......Page 199
World War II......Page 200
Swiss oversight and periodic control......Page 201
Continuing ICRC independence......Page 204
Humanitarian bureau of the Confederation?......Page 206
The basic problem revisited......Page 207
ICRC general policies......Page 209
Discretion......Page 210
Judicial testimony......Page 211
Judicial observation......Page 213
Relations with National Societies......Page 214
Action beyond traditional mandate......Page 215
Conclusion......Page 216
6 ICRC structure and management: personnel, policy making, resources......Page 217
The leadership......Page 218
The Committee/Assembly......Page 219
The President......Page 227
The Directorate......Page 239
The staff......Page 243
Funding......Page 249
Postscript: Swiss society, political culture, and the ICRC......Page 253
7 The ICRC and international humanitarian law......Page 258
Some history......Page 261
Core conception of IHL......Page 262
Geneva and Hague traditions......Page 264
Nuremberg tradition of individual responsibility......Page 265
Some history......Page 266
IHL and HRL in armed conflcts......Page 268
National emergency short of war......Page 270
Complexity about types of conflcts......Page 272
Summing up......Page 274
The ICRC and development of IHL......Page 275
States and the ICRC in diplomatic conferences......Page 277
Declining ICRC influence?......Page 279
Example: the landmine treaty......Page 280
Example: Israel and “the emblem”......Page 282
To conference or not......Page 284
Summing up legal development......Page 285
Dissemination of IHL......Page 286
Enforcement of IHL......Page 289
Conclusion......Page 294
PART THREE Conclusion......Page 295
8 Conclusion: the ICRC and the future......Page 297
Heroic leader versus marginal social worker......Page 298
Core dilemmas of humanitarian protection......Page 311
Detention......Page 313
Relief......Page 319
Relations with theMovement......Page 320
Organizational culture......Page 323
Final thoughts......Page 326
Crisis?......Page 329
Annexe A The ICRC and the Red Cross movement......Page 332
Annexe B The ICRC and selected private relief agencies......Page 333
Annexe C The ICRC: one of the Big Four relief agencies......Page 334
Annexe D The ICRC and selected advocacy groups......Page 335
Annexe E The ICRC organizational chart......Page 336
Primary sources: reports, statements, archives, court cases......Page 337
Secondary sources......Page 340
INDEX......Page 355