The Role of the Red Cross in Military Conflicts [601731]

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The Role of the Red Cross in Military Conflicts
Carmen Elena Lazar, 11 April.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is, as Forsythe and Rieffer summarize ,
“the gold standard of humanitarian action”.1 Its history begins in 1859, the year when the battle
of Solferino took place. Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman, witnessed the battle and its horrific
casualties. He even noticed that the horses received more medical attention than the people. This
motiva ted him to start a change, offering medical relief on both sides of battles. Then, in 1963, a
group of individuals in Geneva who were inspired by Dunant, built the foundation of what was
later going to be known as the International Committee of the Red Cro ss (ICRC).
In order to discuss the role of the Red Cross, its structure and organization, we must
distinguish between the ICRC, the International RC Movement , the International Federation of
Red Cr oss and Red Crescent Societies and the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) recognize the national RC
societies when certain conditions are met. Each country can have only one RC society which has
to be accepted by the government of the state; also, th e RC has to choose from the three accepted
symbols (a Red Cross, a Red Crescent or a Red Crystal). Globally, there are 190 National Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies.2 ICRC is at the core of these societies, being a “private, self –
governing, Swiss assoc iation”.3 It is a privileged NGO, being independent and having rights and
duties in public international law. The ICRC has a committee with 25 members of Swiss origin.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies was created in 1919
in order to coordinate the members‟ efforts to help victims. It acts as a connection between the
190 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The relation between the Federation and the
National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is one of membership. Its objective is to

1 Forsythe D., Rieffer B. (2007) The International Committee of the Red Cross. A neutral humanitarian actor,
London, New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group;
2 *** (2015) “National Societies”, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, accessed
online in December 2015. URL: http://www.ifrc.org/en/who -we-are/the -movement/national -societies/
3 Forsythe, Rieffe r, op. cit. ;

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consolidate and unite, in the domain of health, the national RC societies and to promote the
creation of new ones. The structure of the Federation is extremely complex. It has 190 national
societies, at least 105 million volunteers and 300 000 employees. They offer help for 233 million
people.
The International RC Movement is composed of the ICRC, the Federation and of the
190 RC National societies. The International RC Movement unites these otherwise independent
organizations by seven important principles: “humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence,
voluntary service, unity, universality”.4
The ICRC has an assembly, a presidency, and an office of the director -general. These
govern over five directions: international law and poli cy, communication and information
management, operations, financial resources and logistics and human resources. Also, there are
80 global delegations and missions organised in five regions: Africa, Americas, Asia and the
Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Near and Middle East.5 Its mission is to act in order to help
victims of war and of internal violence, trying to make sure that the humanitarian norms that
contain armed violence are executed. The 25 member committee meets ten times a year and has
the role to establish the doctrine and the general policies of ICRC.
The ICRC has a number of roles, but the most important ones are: being an “actor on
the ground” and developing a legal framework. In its first role, it has protected and cared for
individuals wh ich were hurt in combat. In its legal role, the ICRC has brought important
contributions to international humanitarian law. The victims which the ICRC aims to protect are
“combatants which are out of fight because of wounds, sickness, or detention; and wit h civilians
in need because of „political‟ events.”6 The ICRC has the role to guide the actions of the rest of
the RC Movement in crisis situations.

4 *** (2013) “The Movement”, International Committee of the Red Cross, accessed online in December 2015. URL:
https://www.icrc.org/eng/who -we-are/movement/overview -the-movement.htm
5 *** (2015) “ICRC organizational chart”, International Committee of the Red Cross, accessed online in December
2015. URL: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/icrc -organizational -chart
6 Forsythe, Rieffer, op. cit. ;

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Carmen Elena Lazar, 11 April.
As mentioned before, the ICRC has 80 worldwide operations . In the 2015 report on
these operations, Dominik Stillhart the Director of Operations of ICRC talks about the
international challenges and about trends of contemporary armed conflicts . There are five main
trends in contemporary armed conflicts: “the takeover of large swathes of Iraq and Syria by the
Islamic State group”, “new or protracted armed conflicts and other situations of violence, despite
efforts to negotiate political settlements”, “radicalism and the increasingly transnational
movement and regional influences of armed groups”, “the Ebola crisis in West Africa”, “IDPs,
refugees and asylum seekers” (their numbers having risen considerably) and “other situations of
violence related to intercommunal tensions, struggles over increasingly scarce natural resources,
widening ineq uality, organized crime and growing urbanization ”.7
Moreover, the ICRC Director of Operations explains the main challenges that the ICRC
is confronted with in 2015. In order to do so, he explains that the ten biggest operations represent
57% of the overall budget. These operation s are in the following countries: Syria, South Sudan,
Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, the DRC, Israel and Occupied Territories, Mali, the CAR and
Ukraine.8
One of the most delicate challenges is the quality of access and scope of action. The
populations which are suffering humanitarian injustices are often difficult to reach because of the
ongoing conflicts. Reaching the people who need help without endangering the Red Cross
volunteers is a delicate matter. For example, on 21 February 2015, a Red Cross c onvoy was
attacked in an ambush in North -East Burma. This was the second attack on a Red Cross convoy
in this region by Kokang rebels.9 After the attacks, on 27 March, one of the hurt volunteers

7 Stillhart D. (2015) Overview of Operations. 2015 , Geneva: International Committee of the Red Cross External
Resources Divisi on;
8 Ibidem ;
9 Thant Ph. (2015) “Myanmar Red Cross Society mourns the death of a volunteer”, International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies, accessed online in December 2015. URL: http://www.ifrc.org/en/news -and-
media/news -stories/asia -pacific/myanmar/myanmar -red-cross -society -mourns -the-loss-of-a-volunteer -injured -in-
attack -on-red-cross -convoy -68357/;

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Carmen Elena Lazar, 11 April.
died.10 Immediately after the attacks, in February, the ICRC has announced that it will stop
sending help to the respective Burma region in order not to endanger any more volunteers.11
Another challenge is adapting the ICRC response to changing situations. A number of
operations had to be modified in order to be effectiv e. This was the case in the CAR and Mali,
where the budget had to be raised with 30% in order to fulfil the ICRC goals. These goals were
structured in a few directions: hospital care, health in detention, physical rehabilitation. The
victims which have pri ority are those more vulnerable because of reasons such as age, gender,
wounds, victims of sexual violence and internally displaced people. One particular challenge is
offering aid to victims of sexual violence, since the psychological help is an important aspect of
it. In order to do so, the ICRC tries to “provide a safe environment where the victims can receive
physical and psychological treatment, while continuing to raise the issue with weapon bearers
and national authorities”.12 This is particularly dif ficult in conflict zones, where “safe
environments” cannot be found, while transporting the victims has its limits.
Another challenge for the ICRC in 2015 is to strengthen the partnership and the
coordination with external actors, but also within the Nati onal Societies. The ICRC plans to
improve its speed of deployment when it is needed. Also, the IC RC is trying to consolidate its
peer-to-peer support and, extremely important, the independence of the National Societies. In
order to be independent and neutr al, the National Societies must not discriminate against any
side of combatants – they must equally help the wounded and the victims of any side of the
conflicts. This is extremely difficult, since, as one can notice in the Burma case, some armed
forces ar e extremely hostile, even violent, towards the ICRC and the National Societies.
Therefore, it is a real challenge to respond with speed to emergency humanitarian situations, and
also to carefully plan the execution of principles such as neutrality and inde pendence.

10 Irrawaddy (2015) “Second Red Cross Convoy Attacked in Kokang”, Irrawaddy , accessed online in December
2015. URL: http://www.irrawaddy.com/burma/second -red-cross -convoy -attacked -kokang.html;
11 Myint S.Y. (2015) “Red Cross halts assistance after convoy attack”, MMTIMES, accessed online in December
2015. URL: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national -news/13197 -red-cross-halts -assistance -in-kokang -after-
convoy -attack.html;
12 Stillhart, op. cit. ;

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Carmen Elena Lazar, 11 April.
The ICRC makes an important difference in its actions: that between effectiveness and
efficiency. In order to be effective, the ICRC tries to offer quality aid. In order to be effective, it
has to use its resources as best as possible. Sending th e right number of people in an operation
and distributing funds in such a large and global organization is quite a challenge. Even though
the ICRC and the National Red Cross Societies are so prestigious and well -known around the
world, and even though thes e are the organizations that receive the most donations, the
magnitude of the world‟s conflicts make even this amount of resources insufficient. For example,
in the present there are still underfunded operations. In Africa, such operations are in South
Sudan, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon. In the Middle East, such operations are in Yemen,
Syria and Irak.
In Yemen, not only the population is in danger, but also the volunteers. Two volunteers
of the Red Cross were killed in an air strike in September. Since March, there have been human
life losses of eight staff and volunteers.13 Hospitals and other places in which the hurt are cared
for are attacked. This is caused by indiscriminate war techniques. Unlike the Burma case, the
ICRC support was not withdrew a fter this violenc e. The ICRC explains its role in Yemen: “we
are focusing on saving lives by distributing medical supplies, food and water”.14
For field operations, the ICRC distinguished between six categories that make an
operation successful or, on the contrary, at risk of failure. Relevance of response, organization
and processes and human resource capacity and mobility are three internal fac tors. The three
external key success factors are: access to victims, reputation and acceptance and positioning.15
In conclusion, the ICRC and the National RC Societies are the standard of humanitarian
help. Being present in so many violent places implies ex treme dangers for the volunteers, some
of which have paid dearly for their dedication to humanitarian help. Even though the Red Cross

13 ICRC (2015) “Yemen: Two volunteers of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement killed in
airstrike”, International Committee of the Red Cross, accessed online in D ecember 2015. URL:
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/yemen -two-volunteers -international -red-cross -and-red-crescent -movement –
killed -airstrike ;
14 ICRC (2015) “Yemen”, International Committee of the Red Cross, accessed online in December 2015. URL:
https://www .icrc.org/en/where -we-work/middle -east/yemen ;
15 ICRC (2015) Overview of Operations. 2015 , Geneva: International Committee of the Red Cross External
Resources Division

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Carmen Elena Lazar, 11 April.
has been criticized as being idealistic, it has accomplished a great deal without straying from its
core principles. This alone makes it a model for any other organization in the humanitarian aid
domain.

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Carmen Elena Lazar, 11 April.
Bibliography

ICRC (2015) “Yemen: Two volunteers of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent
Movement killed in airstrike”, International Committee of the Red Cross, accessed online in
December 2015. URL: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/yemen -two-volunteers -international –
red-cross -and-red-crescent -movement -killed -airstrike ;
ICRC (2015) “Yemen”, International Committee of the Red Cross, accessed online in December
2015 . URL: https://www.icrc.org/en/where -we-work/middle -east/yemen ;
IRRAWADDY (2015) “Second Red Cross Convoy Attacked in Kokang”, Irrawaddy , accessed
online in December 2015. URL: http://www.irrawaddy.com/burma/second -red-cross -convoy –
attacked -kokang.html ;
FORSYTHE D., RIEFFER B. (2007) The International Committee of the Red Cross. A neutral
humanitarian actor, London, New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group ;
MYINT S.Y. (2015) “Red Cross halts assistance after convoy attack”, MMTIMES, accessed
online in De cember 2015. URL: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national -news/13197 -red-
cross -halts -assistance -in-kokang -after-convoy -attack.html ;
STILLHART D. (2015) Overview of Operations. 2015 , Geneva: International Committee of the
Red Cross External Resources Division;
THANT Ph. (2015) “Myanmar Red Cross Society mourns the death of a volunteer”,
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, accessed online in December
2015. URL: http://www.ifrc.org/en/news -and-media/news -stories/asia –
pacific /myanmar/myanmar -red-cross -society -mourns -the-loss-of-a-volunteer -injured -in-attack –
on-red-cross -convoy -68357 ;
*** (2015) “National Societies”, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies, accessed online in December 2015. URL: http:// www.ifrc.org/en/who -we-are/the –
movement/national -societies ;
*** (2013) “The Movement”, International Committee of the Red Cross, accessed online in
December 2015. URL: https://www.icrc.org/eng/who -we-are/movement/overview -the-
movement.htm ;

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*** (2015) “ICRC organizational chart”, International Committee of the Red Cross, accessed
online in December 2015. URL: https://www.icrc.org/en/document/icrc -organizational -chart .