Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- PART ONE Historical analysis
- 1 The ICRC during its early years
- 2 The ICRC during the Cold War
- 3 The ICRC after the Cold War
- 4 The ICRC and the US “war” against terrorism
- PART TWO Policy analysis
- PART THREE Conclusion
- Annexe A The ICRC and the Red Cross movement
- Annexe B The ICRC and selected private relief agencies
- Annexe C The ICRC: one of the Big Four relief agencies
- Annexe D The ICRC and selected advocacy groups
- Annexe E The ICRC organizational chart
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - The ICRC during its early years
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- PART ONE Historical analysis
- 1 The ICRC during its early years
- 2 The ICRC during the Cold War
- 3 The ICRC after the Cold War
- 4 The ICRC and the US “war” against terrorism
- PART TWO Policy analysis
- PART THREE Conclusion
- Annexe A The ICRC and the Red Cross movement
- Annexe B The ICRC and selected private relief agencies
- Annexe C The ICRC: one of the Big Four relief agencies
- Annexe D The ICRC and selected advocacy groups
- Annexe E The ICRC organizational chart
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The ICRC has always taken care not to go beyond the limits of that which risked alienating the good will of states to the detriment of tasks which they gave to it.
Boissier, Histoire du Comité Internationale de la Croix-Rouge: De Solferino à Tsoushima, 23The foundations of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and particularly the ICRC's humanitarian protection, are to be found in Calvinistic Geneva in the nineteenth century. What became the ICRC got its start between 1859 and 1869. Decisions during this time greatly shaped not just the ICRC and the larger Red Cross Movement, but the entire “Red Cross” approach to peace and war, to public authorities, and to scope and styles of Red Cross humanitarian action. Thereafter the ICRC remained enormously influential on these subjects.
It is a very complicated matter as to whether victims of war and victims of other struggles for power would have fared better in subsequent years through different decisions. What is clear is that the ICRC emerged as an important humanitarian actor in conflict situations and as “guardian” of a much revered – and much violated – international humanitarian law (IHL). The organization's provision of humanitarian relief, its visits to detainees, its efforts to restore family contacts, and its legal development work became fixtures of “man made” conflicts – first in Europe and then in the rest of the world.
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- Information
- The HumanitariansThe International Committee of the Red Cross, pp. 13 - 50Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005