The protection of refugees and displaced persons is guaranteed by many universal and regional instruments of international law. The rules are there, but for several years the humanitarian organizations charged with implementing them have constantly had to face new situations brought about by the scale and frequency of mass population movements, especially in the Third World, and new types of violence which affect both the status and the possibilities for protection of the people concerned. Very often, the solutions arrived at by these bodies have taken the form of assistance rather than protection, the one not always easily distinguishable from the other.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was set up in 1951 with the main function of providing protection for refugees. This mandate corresponded to the task immediately confronting it, that of solving the refugee problem affecting Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War.

The refugee does not enjoy special protection in IHL except in several provisions which will be considered below, nor is there any particular definition of a refugee as a person protected by IHL. The refugee is above all a civilian person and is protected as such by the relevant provisions of IHL. The sole criterion, for the purposes of the Fourth Geneva Convention, is in fact the absence of protection by any government. The term “refugee” is thus given a broad connotation. In international public law there are two defined categories of refugee, to which a third category is usually added by analogy.

This article examines the mandate to protect and assist refugees in armed conflicts and internal disturbances. It is a modest attempt to clarify the web of overlapping roles and mandates of humanitarian bodies, in particular the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (“the Movement”) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It purports to re-assess the evolution of their mandate and its extension. On the one hand, there is a need to define concrete principles, based on past and present practice, for humanitarian action. On the other, there must be sufficient leeway for flexibility and pragmatism in situations for which there is no comprehensive prognosis. The article concludes by demonstrating the interdependence and complementarity of humanitarian organizations which have to proffer protection and assistance where no other body can act.

From the beginning of the 20th century up to the present, international law has been marked by a profound evolution: it has been progressively humanized. Those responsible for drafting international law have clearly understood that it could no longer disregard the fate of human beings and leave to States and their internal laws the protection of fundamental human rights, both in peacetime and during armed conflicts.

Public attention is being focused worldwide on the 125th anniversary of the International Red Cross, a milestone in the evolution of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

When celebrating an anniversary, it is customary to look back into the past for a clearer understanding and appraisal of the present, and to gain insight into the future. This is particularly important as regards the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which is one of the most significant manifestations of humanism, symbolizing the recognition that society must uphold human dignity as the supreme universal value, and the desire to avert or relieve human suffering and safeguard human life and health.

In view of the impending departure of Mr. Jacques Moreillon, Director General, the Assembly of the International Committee of Red Cross, the institution's highest-ranking body, decided at a meeting on 30 June 1988 on a new structure for the ICRC Directorate and made the necessary appointments.

The Head of the Spanish Government, Mr. Felipe González, visited the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross on 7 June 1988, and was received by the institution's President, Mr. Cornelio Sommaruga, and several members of the Committee. The Spanish Prime Minister was accompanied by Mr. Javier Solana, Minister for Culture and government spokesman. The Secretary General of the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Mr. Pär Stenbäck, and the President of the Spanish Red Cross, Mr. Leocadio Marín, also attended.

At the beginning of June the ICRC was compelled to put an end to its protection and assistance operations in aid of the victims of drought and conflict in the provinces of Eritrea, Tigray, Gondar and Wollo. In the interest of these victims, the ICRC sought agreement from the donor governments to transfer its foodstocks and logistic means in Ethiopia to other organizations. This was done after the Ethiopian authorities had confirmed the decisions conveyed to the ICRC in April and May and forced the ICRC to withdraw all its expatriate staff involved in the assistance operation. The ICRC nevertheless maintained a presence in Ethiopia to continue its activities on behalf of Somali prisoners of war. This aspect of its work, which falls within the Geneva Conventions, had not been called in question by the Ethiopian Government.