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International Red Cross and Red Crescent |
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The Red Cross Movement’s effort in Darfur is carried out by three entities.
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The National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (National Societies)
The National Societies, like the American Red Cross or the Iraqi Red Crescent, operate in more than 180 countries around the world. They are officially charged by their national governments to provide various services, including humanitarian relief, in tandem with public authorities.
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International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
The ICRC is the oldest of the three bodies, the founding agency of the RC Movement, and dates from 1863. It is headquartered in Geneva. Its governing board is all Swiss, and the ICRC is, in essence, a private Swiss agency. But it is recognized in public international law, where it is given rights and duties. More precisely, it is mandated by international humanitarian law to offer its services or undertake certain responsibilities during international and internal war, such as visiting prisoners and providing relief. The ICRC is the lead organization for the RC Movement when people in armed conflicts are in need of humanitarian protection.
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Internally displaced persons (IDPs) use sticks and scraps of plastic to construct makeshift shelters at transit camp in South Darfur |
During 2006 and 2007, the ICRC, along with its Movement partners, conducted its largest humanitarian operation worldwide in Darfur. The ICRC gave assistance to more than 300,000 people affected by the conflict in Darfur by providing food aid, water supplies, and health care, as well as agricultural tools and seeds to help people maintain self-sufficiency. The ICRC is one of the few humanitarian organizations that has operations in both the refugee camps and in rural areas outside of the camps where civilians are still in danger. It reaches agreements with the many other relief agencies, both public and private, establishing who will do what, and where.
One of the reasons the ICRC is able to operate outside the refugee camps is because of its strict neutrality, as well as its defined role as the promoter and custodian of international humanitarian law. In Darfur, the ICRC maintained a dialogue with all the parties involved in the conflict, while reminding them of their obligations under international humanitarian law to make certain that civilians are protected.
A Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) rebel soldier |
However, as of 2007, the rebel factions in particular had subdivided into even more groups. These groups often took on the characteristics of bandits rather than political groupings, making the security situation worse for humanitarian agencies, including the ICRC, as well as for international peacekeepers. Sometimes the ICRC, like the other relief agencies, had to withdraw from certain areas because the security of its personnel could not be guaranteed with the various armed groups.
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What should the International Red Cross and Red Crescent and other relief agencies do when faced with forces who are acting more like criminals than soldiers?
What role can non-government entities, such as the IRCRC, play in protecting human rights?
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