ICRC as an international organization Essay

I. Introduction The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is granted a unique role, according to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) as codified by the Geneva Conventions as well as customary international law, to protect the victims of international and internal armed conflicts. These victims include war wounded, prisoners, refugees, civilians and hors de combat. The unique relationship with IHL begins with its creation as a response to an increasing need to provide for care for those caught in the cruelties of war. As an actor in the field of IHL it is also responsible for crafting many of IHL’s norms. In sum, the ICRC is an independent neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of war and armed violence. It has a permanent mandate under international law to take impartial action for prisoners, the wounded and ill, and civilians afflicted by conflict. Based in Geneva Switzerland , the ICRC has bases in 80 countries and has a total of more than 12,000 staff. In situations of conflict, the ICRC coordinates the response by National Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and their International Federation. The ICRC is THE origin of INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW, notably the Geneva Conventions. The Red Cross is that rare entity in international relations, a non-governmental sovereign body that is universally respected, crossing borders or battle lines with unusual ease, and possessed of the integrity to solicit funds from public and private entities alike. Willingly or not, hostile parties permit delegations to visit prisoners of war or incarcerated terrorists, attend to refugees (e. g. victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami), protect targets of impending genocide, all while working side by side with local medical and police authorities. In legal terms, the ICRC is specifically acknowledged under International Humanitarian Law as a controlling authority by which is meant â€Å"The power of an organized assemblage of persons to manage, direct, superintend, restrict, and regulate itself.. † outside the ambit of sovereign governments. The latest such affirmation is the Geneva Convention of 1949. In recognition of its non-partisan and cross-border involvements, the ICRC receives special privileges and legal immunities enshrined in the laws of every country that hosts a national chapter. Where multilateral bodies are concerned, international jurisprudence also leans toward many privileges and legal immunities for the ICRC. For example, ICRC delegates who have witnessed abuse and human rights violations in prisons and â€Å"on the ground† are exempted from taking the witness stand in international tribunals. The ICRC may have the characteristics of an international non-governmental organization (NGO) but it was not always so. At the start, membership in the Geneva headquarters was limited to Swiss nationals. As global presence became a fact of life, membership naturally opened up. Nonetheless, the fact is that the Red Cross straddles national borders without benefit of treaty or host government subsidy. Under Swiss law, the ICRC is defined as a private association that, under the terms of a 1993 agreement with the Swiss government, affords this charitable organization the sovereignty, immunity and rights of an embassy. These include the inviolability of Red Cross real property, funds, communications, information archives, and staff members. As well, ICRC personnel have the right to diplomatic-type passports, as well as the related rights of duty-free transfer of goods and services. The ICRC is completely autonomous in the matter of legally recognizing national red Cross or Red Crescent Societies and accepting them into its fold. On admission, a national society gains full standing in the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The ICRC and the Federation both work in partnership with the national societies when it comes to marshalling supplemental human, material, and financial resources, and organizing on-site logistics in international missions. By virtue of the 1997 Seville Agreement, the ICRC is the lead Red Cross agency in international conflicts while local chapters take the lead in non-war situations. National societies will be given the lead especially when a conflict is happening within their own country. The scale of its operations is exemplified by the fact that in 2005, the ICRC budget amounted to 970 million Swiss francs, broken down into 819. 7 million Swiss Francs for field work and another 152. 1 million Swiss francs for internal costs. Each year, every single franc has to be sourced from donation drives. In broad terms, the ICRC mounts Headquarters Appeal to cover its internal costs and the Emergency Appeal for individual missions. By country, Switzerland, the United States, the E. U. Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand contribute about 85% of the ICRC budget. Private gifts make up a puny 3% and the balance comes from the national Red Cross societies. [1] WWW. ICRC. org 2 Article 10 Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva , 12 August 1949. available at http://www. icrc. org/IHL. nsf/WebART/380-600013? (Last accessed) 3 ICRC Commentaries on Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva , 12 August 1949. p99 4 Additional Protocol no. I Geneva Convention of 1949. : THE HAND BOOK OF HUMANITARIAN LAW IN ARMED CONFLICTS 316 (Fleck Ed., 1995) 5 Additional Protocol I, art. 18: THE HAND BOOK OF HUMANITARIAN LAW IN ARMED CONFLICTS 316 (Fleck Ed. , 1995) 6 Rome Statute art. 8(2)(b)(vii); THE International Criminal Court: Elements OF Crimes and Rules of Procedure 110 (Lee ed, 2001); Schabas, An Introduction to The International Criminal Court 43-4 (2001) Asian Forum for Human Rights Development, Primer on the International Criminal Court 9 (2000) 7 David P Forsythe , The Humanitarians: The International Committee of the Red Cross, ( Cambridge , NY : Cambridge University Press, 2005), 233. References ________________________________________ [1] WWW. ICRC. org [2] Article 10 Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva , 12 August 1949. available at http://www. icrc. org/IHL. nsf/WebART/380-600013 (Last accessed) [3] ICRC Commentaries on Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva , 12 August 1949. p99 [4] Additional Protocol no. I Geneva Convention of 1949. : THE HAND BOOK OF HUMANITARIAN LAW IN ARMED CONFLICTS 316 (Fleck Ed. , 1995). [5] Additional Protocol I, art. 18: THE HAND BOOK OF HUMANITARIAN LAW IN ARMED CONFLICTS 316 (Fleck Ed. , 1995) [6] Rome Statute art. 8(2)(b)(vii); THE International Criminal Court: Elements OF Crimes and Rules of Procedure 110 (Lee ed, 2001); Schabas, An Introduction to The International Criminal Court 43-4 (2001) Asian Forum for Human Rights Development, Primer on the International Criminal Court 9 (2000) [7] David P Forsythe , The Humanitarians: The International Committee of the Red Cross, ( Cambridge , NY : Cambridge University Press, 2005), 233.