Daniel Lubowa[1]
Introduction
Just before the mid Nineteenth Century, there were no organized and well established army nursing systems for causalities and no safe and protected institutions to accommodate and treat those who were wounded on the battlefield[Bullough, Vern L and Bonnie Bullough’2nd edn,1972].In June 1859, a Swiss businessman, Henry Dunant who had travelled to Italy on a business venture, witnessed the ‘Battle of Solferino’, an engagement in the Franco-Austrian war, shocked by the terrible aftermath of the battle, he advocated for the formation of a national voluntary relief organization to help wounded soldiers in case of war. It was against this background that the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] was founded, bringing on board, a new era only which set out to civilize war, thus establishing rules designed to protect, potential victims of armed conflict.
The ICRC is the only institution explicitly named under international humanitarian law [IHL] as a controlling authority. The two entities have significant roles in war situations. The ICRC gives relief to the war victims while IHL establishes various forms of protection of all war participants. However, in war situations, the ICRC has faced or continues to face a number of challenges such as lack of cooperation from Governments where they are working, death of ICRC staff at battle fronts, being understaffed etc. It is some of these challenges which render the ICRC ineffective in its role of promoting and implementing IHL, despite the comprehensive legal regime in place governing armed conflicts. The current article briefly highlights some of the challenges facing ICRC in promoting IHL particularly focusing on some African conflict zones as case studies.
ICRC and IHL: Their Genesis, Evolution and Contact Points
At first, there were unwritten rules based on customs that regulated armed conflicts. Then came bilateral treaties drafted in varying degrees in detail gradually coming into force. The belligerents sometimes ratified them after the war was over [ICRC ’2nd ed, 2004 p.8].The ICRC and the codification of IHLhave evolved from the notion that the individual is entitled to certain minimum rights in situations of armed conflict. The founding of the ICRC and starting point of IHL came about when Henry Dunant, a Swiss business man and Guillaume Henri Dufour, a Swiss Army General of great renown formulated the idea in ‘A Memory of Solferino ‘published in 1862 following the battle of Solferino witnessed by Dunant in Italy. On the strength of his own experience of war, General Dufour lost no time in lending his active moral support, notably by chairing the 1864 Diplomatic conference in Geneva. The Swiss Government at the prompting of the founding members of the ICRC, convened the 1864 Diplomatic conference which was attended by sixteen states who adopted the Geneva Convention for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded in armies in the field, thus, this whole process giving birth to the ICRC and IHL as we know them today.
ICRC and IHL: Mission
The ICRC is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence providing them with assistance. It directs and coordinates the international relief activities conducted by the Movement in situations of conflict, endeavoring to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. Though the ICRC tries to live up to its mission, during conflict situations, in very many times, the ICRC has been let down, in the sense that it is unable to fulfill its principle objectives, due to the dangerous environment in which it continuously operates in[Pierre Hazan and Jean Francois Berger,2004].
IHL: Legal Controls of the ICRC
The ICRC operations are generally based on IHL, the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, their three Additional Protocols of 1977,2005, the Statutes of ICRC and the Red Crescent Movement and the resolutions of the International conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent[ICRC’2nd ed,2004,p.2].All these articles and laws together form the mandate given to the ICRC by the International community, i.e. by global States.
ICRC Operational Challenges in Some Key Conflict Zones in Africa
The ICRC maintains a strong operational presence on the African continent, with activities focused on protecting and assisting people affected by armed conflict or other forms of violence. Working closely with the national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies throughout the continent it promotes a greater recognition and wider implementation of IHL.Though this is the case, the ICRC faces numerous operational challenges in its work in some conflict zones as illustrated below:
Eastern Congo:
In Congo, after almost two decades of intermittent armed conflict and festering insecurity, vast numbers of people have died, mostly from disease and malnutrition, and countless have been displaced. Dozens of humanitarian organizations such as the ICRC have been deployed continuously since even before the first major armed conflict in 1996, struggling to respond to the most urgent needs of the population [Al Jazeera, 14th January 2013, Para IV]. With the sheer complexity and intractability of the crisis, eastern Congo is increasingly at the epicenter of professional challenges confronted by the humanitarian community. How to engage with dozens of continuously mutating armed groups to ensure at least a minimum of access and protection of the civilian population against the most egregious attacks is one such challenge. Reaching populations in need when swathes of the vast country are inaccessible by road is another. So too is ensuring the safety and security of humanitarian workers operating in such a difficult environment [ICRC Case book 2022].
Somalia:
Two decades of armed conflict have had a heavy toll on Somalis in and outside of Mogadishu. Fighting has destroyed essential infrastructure, including hospitals, all over the country. Access to proper health care is precarious, at best [Guha-Sapir D. Ratnayake R 2022]. Somalia’s hard lined-Islamist al-Shabaab rebels say they ordered ICRC out of areas the group controls in the South and central parts of the country [ICRC 2022]. The al-Qaeda linked al-Shabaab kicked the ICRC out of areas under their control because it had falsely accused the Islamist group of hindering food distribution. They also claimed that the ICRC was distributing food to the local population that was past its expiry date.
South Sudan:
The South Sudanese conflict is a conflict between Government and opposition forces in South Sudan that started in December 2013.The Fourth year of Sudan’s civil war saw a severe deterioration of humanitarian conditions across the country. The Conflict has since claimed innumerable lives and left millions forcibly displaced from their homes and unable to meet even their most basic needs. The ICRC continued to work on the frontlines of the crisis throughout 2017, providing life saving assistance to the most vulnerable. In September 2017, the ICRC suffered the tragic loss of one of its staff, Lukudu Kennedy Emmanuel Laki, a driver who was shot and killed while helping to deliver aid to the victims of the conflict in Western Equatorial. Consequently, the ICRC immediately suspended most of its activities in the region and resumed a month later after receiving security reassurances from the concerned parties. Kennedy had been the first ICRC staffmember to lose his life in a violent attack since the beginning of the South Sudan conflict in December 2013[ICRC, 2022].
ICRC and the Implementation of IHL in Some Conflict zones in Africa: The Setbacks: A Discussion
Lack of Access to War Victims by ICRC
The ICRC’s important operational challenge is the inability to ensure access to victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. Most of the time, ICRC in conflict a situation is unable to access war victims, understand their situation and addresses their needs. This is further enhanced by the ever-changing conflict environment, making access more difficult due to security constraints [ICRC, 2022]. Northern Mali was illustrative of this difficulty, whereby just only a handful of agencies managed to carry out structured and sustained activities in these highly polarized or politicized environments.
Inability of Civilians to Access Basic Social Services
Amongst the most pressing situations facing the ICRC are those in which civilians and communities cannot access commodities or basic services such as health care, education, water and sanitation as they are caught up in the middle of the fighting and freedom of movement is restricted. This happens in main cities, villages and residential neighborhoods where hostilities damage or destroy buildings and infrastructure, and areas are cordoned off by one side or the other, leaving civilians trapped and unable to approach soldiers or fighters for fear of being harassed or arrested [Betsy Jose and Peace A. Medie Oxford Research Encyclopedia, Politics, 2016].
Security Challenges: ICRC Targeted
The recurrent attack by parties to many conflicts against medical structures, transport and staff, including ambulances, rescue workers, hospitals and clinics jeopardize the timely provision of emergency care and is an issue that has necessitated strong renewed attention from the ICRC and its Movement partners. In certain situations, humanitarian organizations face threats and rejection by armed groups [ICRC, 2012]. For instance, various studies have indicated that more aid workers were killed, injured or kidnapped in 2011 than ever before, a reality that had an impact on the choices made by agencies in several contexts [Paul Christopher Webster, Vol.183[13],2011].
Armed Conflict Horrors in Africa: ICRC Incapacitated, Helpless
As earlier on noted, the ICRC derives its mandate from the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977.The Geneva Conventions, also known as IHL protect man against the consequences of war. In spite of such international treaties, the African continent is continuously witnessing a daily catalogue of horrors[such as murder, forced disappearance, torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, rape and other forms of sexual violence and atrocities perpetrated against the very persons these laws were designed to protect. These violations do not illustrate the inadequacy of the law, but rather that the rules are either not known to the leaders and combatants or that they are quite disregarded [Jennifer Nduku Kiti,1997,p.106].This whole state of affairs renders the ICRC, incapacitated, helpless in its work.
Conclusion
The ICRC is the fruit of private initiative; attaining global stature. As noted, the main constraints for ICRC at global level are linked to access and security. In many areas, even where ICRC is granted access, it is simply too dangerous for international staff to operate. However although the ICRC still manages to perform considerable work in most conflict situations in Africa, the multiplication of serious security incidents, the ultimate consequences of which is to block assistance activities or force humanitarian organizations to withdrawal unilaterally from the operation, has prompted them to question the means used to date to ensure the safety of their personnel. In this regard, it is recommended that there should be some preventive measures initiated by states in Africa in times of peace, such as ratification of or adherence to the instruments of IHL such as the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, 1977. With the growing number of organizations present in conflict situations, there’s need to raise the professional standards of humanitarian action in making itself felt.
The parties to an armed conflict must take all appropriate measures in ensuring the safety of the personnel of ICRC. They must take steps in protecting them from all attacks and protecting their official premises, private residences and means of transport. States must do everything in their power to grant and guarantee to humanitarian organizations and to their personnel the immunities they require in carrying out their tasks in complete independence most particularly those relating to their safety.
[1]Daniel Lubowa is a Lecturer of Law at St. Augustine’s University of Tanzania Law School in Mwanza, Tanzania with more than 15 years of teaching experience. He holds an LLB[MUK], LLM[SAUT]. He is currently a Ph D Candidate at the Open University of Tanzania. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He is a researcher, author, human rights activist as well as motivational speaker.