ICRC: 150 years of humanitarian action Volume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012 Winter 2012 94 Number 888 Volume Volume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012 Editorial: The quest for humanity – 150 years of international humanitarian law and action Vincent Bernard, Editor-in-Chief Interview with Peter Maurer Perspectives on the ICRC John B. Bellinger III Sami El-haj Kristalina Georgieva António Guterres Ahmed Mohamed Hassan Ban Ki-moon Tommy Koh Farzana Sadat Matthias Schmale James G. Stavridis An institution standing the test of time? A review of 150 years of the history of the International Committee of the Red Cross Daniel Palmieri Birth of an idea: the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross and of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement: from Solferino to the original Geneva Convention (1859–1864) François Bugnion 1863: the creation of the first National Society at the beginning of the Movement’s history of humanitarian action 150 years ICRC: Stefanie Haumer Humanitarian debate: Law, policy, action Looking back over 150 years of humanitarian action: the photographic archives of the ICRC Valérie Gorin The ICRC and the detainees in Nazi concentration camps (1942–1945) Sébastien Farré ‘Organising the unpredictable’: the Nigeria–Biafra war and its impact on the ICRC Marie-Luce Desgrandchamps Complementarity between the ICRC and the United Nations and international humanitarian law and international human rights law, 1948–1968 Katharine Fortin New technologies and new policies: the ICRC’s evolving approach to working with separated families Olivier Dubois, Katharine Marshall and Siobhan Sparkes McNamara A new challenge or a new role? The ICRC in Northern Ireland Geoff Loane Challenges to international humanitarian law: Israel’s occupation policy Peter Maurer International humanitarian law, ICRC and Israel’s status in the Territories Alan Baker Médecins Sans Frontières and the ICRC: matters of principle Rony Brauman Humanitarian care and small things in dehumanised places Paul Bouvier www.icrc.org/eng/review Cambridge Journals Online ICRC: 150 years of For further information about this journal please go to the journal web site at: ISSN 1816-3831 http://www.journals.cambridge.org/irc humanitarian action Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief: Vincent Bernard Editorial assistants: Mariya Nikolova The Review is printed in English and is and Elvina Pothelet published four times a year, in Spring, Publication assistant: Claire Franc Abbas Summer, Autumn and Winter. Book review editor: Jamie A. Williamson Annual selections of articles are also International Review of the Red Cross published on a regional level in Arabic, Aim and scope 19, Avenue de la Paix Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. Established in 1869 the International Review of the Red Cross CH - 1202 Geneva is a periodical published by the ICRC. Its aim is to promote t +41 22 734 60 01 Published in association with reflection on humanitarian law, policy and action in armed f +41 22 733 20 57 Cambridge University Press. conflict and other situations of collective armed violence. e-mail: [email protected] A specialized journal in humanitarian law, it endeavours to promote knowledge, critical analysis and development of the law and contribute to the prevention of violations of Editor-in-Chief Submission of manuscripts Subscriptions rules protecting fundamental rights and values. The Review Vincent Bernard offers a forum for discussion on contemporary humanitarian ICRC The International Review of the Red Cross Requests for subscriptions can be made to action as well as analysis of the causes and characteristics invites submissions of manuscripts on subjects the following address: of conflicts so as to give a clearer insight into the humanitar- Editorial Board relating to international humanitarian law, pol- Rashid Hamad Al Anezi ian problems they generate. Finally, the Review informs its Kuwait University, Kuwait icy and action. Issues focus on particular topics, Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh readership on questions pertaining to the International Red decided by the Editorial Board, which can be Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge Cross and Red Crescent Movement and in particular on the Annette Becker consulted under the heading ‘Future Themes’ on CB2 8RU; or in the USA, Canada and Université de Paris-Ouest Nanterre La activities and policies of the ICRC. Défense, France the website of the Review. Submissions related to Mexico, email [email protected]: these themes are particularly welcome. Cambridge University Press, 32 Avenue of Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, Médecins sans Frontières, Paris, France Articles may be submitted in Arabic, Chinese, email [email protected]. Alain Délétroz English, French, Russian and Spanish. Selected International Committee of the Red Cross International Crisis Group, Brussels, articles are translated into English if necessary. The subscription price which includes Belgium The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delivery by air where appropriate (but is an impartial, neutral and independent organization Helen Durham Submissions must not have been published, sub- excluding VAT) of volume 94, 2012, which whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the Australian Red Cross, Melbourne, Australia mitted or accepted elsewhere. Articles are sub- includes print and online access is £227.00 lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence jected to a peer-review process; the final decision (US $432.00 in USA, Canada and Mexico) and to provide them with assistance. It directs and coor- Mykola M. Gnatovskyy on publication is taken by the Editor-in-Chief. for institutions; £30.00 (US $57.00 in USA, dinates the international relief activities conducted by Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, Ukraine The Review reserves the right to edit articles. Canada and Mexico) for individuals, which the Movement in situations of conflict. It also endeav- Notification of acceptance, rejection or the need includes print only. Single parts are £62.00 ours to prevent suffering by promoting and strength- Bing Bing Jia for revision will be given within four weeks of (US $112.00 in USA, Canada and Mexico) ening international humanitarian law and universal Tsinghua University, Beijing, China receipt of the manuscript. Manuscripts will not plus postage. EU subscribers (outside the humanitarian principles. Established in 1863, the ICRC Abdul Aziz Kébé be returned to the authors. UK) who are not registered for VAT should is at the origin of the International Red Cross and Red Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, add VAT at their country’s rate. VAT regis- Senegal Crescent Movement. Manuscripts may be sent by e-mail to: tered members should provide their VAT Elizabeth Salmón [email protected] registration number. Japanese prices for Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, institutions (including ASP delivery) are Members of the Committee Lima, Peru President: Peter Maurer Manuscript requirements available from Kinokuniya Company Ltd, Vice-President: Olivier Vodoz Marco Sassòli, Articles should be 7,000 to 10,000 words in P.O. Box 55, Chitose, Tokyo 156, Japan. University of Geneva, Switzerland Permanent Vice-President: Christine Beerli length. Shorter contributions can be published Yuval Shany under the section ‘Comments and opinions’ or The International Review of the Red Cross Mauro Arrigoni Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel ‘Selected articles on international humanitarian is indexed in the Thomson Reuters Journal Christiane Augsburger Yves Sandoz Hugo Slim law’. Citation Reports/Social Sciences Edition Paolo Bernasconi Rolf Soiron University of Oxford, UK and has an Impact Factor. The Review is François Bugnion Bruno Staffelbach Gary D. Solis For further information, please consult the available on LexisNexis. Bernard G. R. Daniel Daniel Thürer Georgetown University, Washington DC, ‘Information for contributors’ and ‘Guidelines Melchior de Muralt André von Moos USA for referencing’ on the website of the Review: Cover Photo: Protection visit in Southern Paola Ghillani Nandini Sundar www.icrc.org/eng/resources/international- Gaza, Rafah. © CICR/Meier, Alan Jürg Kesselring Delhi University, New Delhi, India review. Photo research: Fania Khan Mohammad, Claude Le Coultre Fiona Terry Thierry Lombard Independent researcher on humanitarian ©icrc ICRC action, Australia Authorization to reprint or republish any text Peter Walker published in the Review must be obtained Feinstein International Center, from the Editor-in-Chief. Requests should be Tufts University, Boston, USA addressed to the Editorial Team. Volume 94 Number 888 Winter 2012 Humanitarian debate: Law, policy, action ICRC: 150 years of humanitarian action CONTENTS ICRC: 150 YEARS OF HUMANITARIAN ACTION 1195 Editorial: The quest for humanity – 150 years of international humanitarian law and action Vincent Bernard, Editor-in-Chief 1209 Interview with Peter Maurer President of the ICRC Perspectives on the ICRC 1223 Observations on the 150th anniversary of the ICRC John B. Bellinger III 1229 A Guantanamo detainee’s perspective Sami El-haj 1233 The indispensable organization Kristalina Georgieva 1239 Forced displacement and the role of the ICRC: perspectives for the twenty-first century António Guterres 1243 Thirty years of working within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in a country affected by conflict Ahmed Mohamed Hassan 1251 The ICRC and the changing humanitarian landscape Ban Ki-moon 1255 The ICRC at 150: