Getting Access to the Victims: Role and Activities of the ICRC
| Author | Jean-Luc Blondel |
| Published date | 01 September 1987 |
| Date | 01 September 1987 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002234338702400310 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Getting
Access
to
the
Victims:
Role
and
Activities
of the
ICRC*
JEAN-LUC
BLONDEL
Principles
and
Law
Department,
International
Committee
of
the
Red
Cross
In
fulfilling
its
humanitarian
obligations,
the
ICRC
is
often
faced
with
political,
technical
and
financial
obstacles.
Since
its
foundation
in
1863,
it
has
none
the
less
been
able
gradually
to
develop
its
protection
and
assistance
activities
for
the
victims
of
armed
conflicts:
the
wounded
and
sick
in
the
field,
prisoners
of
war,
civilians
in
occupied
territories
and
all
those
affected
by
hostilities.
For
several
years
now,
it
has
also
visited
political
detainees,
providing
strict
conditions
are
met
(repeated
visits
and
interviews
without
witnesses,
access
to
all
detainees
in
all
places
of
detention).
Moreover,
in
its
large-scale
relief
operations
the
ICRC
insists
on
being
allowed
to
make
on-site
assessments
of
the
needs
of
conflict
victims
and
to
carry
out
all
distribution
operations
itself
It
closely
monitors
the
implementation
of
international
humanitarian
law,
but
cannot
replace
States
in
settling
the
political
differences
underlying
the
conflicts.
ISSN
0022-3433
Journal
of
Peace
Research,
vol.
24,
no.
3,
1987
1.
The
Genesis
of the
ICRC
The
genesis
of
the
International
Committee
of
the
Red
Cross
(ICRC)
is
characteristic
of
its
development
and
of
all
of
its
activities:
it
was
born
in
a
time
of
war
as
a
result
of
a
private
initiative.
In
a
time
of
war,
true,
but
not
as
a
support
of
war.
On
the
contrary,
because
it
works
close
to
the
fighting,
it
sees
and
meets
the
victims
of
war,
whom
it
endeavours
to
assist
and
protect.
The
ICRC
was
established
in
early
1863
to
put
into
effect
the
measures
proposed
by
Henry
Dunant
in
his
work
A
Memory
of
Solferino
(1862),
namely:
-
to
induce
all
States
to
create
permanent
national
societies
for
the
relief
of
wounded
soldiers;
-
to
persuade
all
States
to
agree
by
treaty
to
respect
the
neutrality
of
army
medical
personnel.
These
two
aims
were
rapidly
achieved
at
the
time
owing
to
the
prevailing
goodwill
of
States
and
the
sensitization
of
public
opinion
to
the
suffering
caused
by
war.
It
was,
how-
ever,
but
the
beginning
of
a
vast
movement
which
was
to
gain
increasing
momentum
while
preserving
the
essential
motivation
which
had
given
birth
to
it,
namely,
the
*
The
views
expressed
in
this
article
are
personal
and
do
not
necessarily
reflect
the
views
of
the
International
Committee
of
the
Red
Cross.
protection
and
assistance
of
the
victims
of
conflicts
and
disasters.
2.
Access
to
the
Victims
The
title
of
this
article
implies
that
access
to
the
victims
is
not
always
easy.
The
obstacles
are
political,
technical
and
economic.
Since
its
foundation
in
1863,
the
ICRC
has
had
to
face
numerous
and
ever-varying
difficulties.
This
can
be
illustrated
by
a
few
current
examples.
In
the
Republic
of
South
Africa,
where
its
presence
has
been
continuous
since
the
end
of
1978,
the
ICRC
continues
to
make
visits
(as
it
has
done
since
1969)
to
persons
sen-
tenced
under
the
state
security
law.
The
less
the
protection
available
to
the
persons
it
assists,
the
more
important
it
considers
its
intervention.
It
has
therefore
asked
the
Government
for
regular
access
to
all
persons
detained
under
the
state
of
emergency,
and
has
undertaken
negotiations
for
permission
to
visit
persons
sentenced
for
public
violence
in
connection with
the
internal
disturbances.
By
mid-1987,
those
efforts
have
not
yet
been
successful.
While
the
ICRC
is
not
allowed
access
to
all
the
victims
of
the
unrest
in
South
Africa,
in
other
cases
it
is
denied
access
to
entire
countries.
Thus,
with
the
exception
of
two
brief
missions
carried
out
in
1980
and
1982,
the
ICRC
has
until
recently
been
consistently
refused
permission
to
pursue
its
activities
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