The International Committee of the Red Cross in Internal Armed Conflicts: Is Neutrality Possible?

144 Pages·2019·1.54 MB·English

by  Rajeesh Kumar

The International
Committee of the
Red Cross in Internal
Armed Conflicts
Is Neutrality Possible?
Rajeesh Kumar
The International Committee of the Red Cross
in Internal Armed Conflicts
Rajeesh Kumar
The International
Committee of the
Red Cross in Internal
Armed Conflicts
Is Neutrality Possible?
Rajeesh Kumar
Institute for Defence Studies
and Analyses
New Delhi, India
ISBN 978-981-13-2600-4 ISBN 978-981-13-2601-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2601-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018956578
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019
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A
cknowledgements
This book has its origins as a doctoral thesis written at the Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi. I would like to thank all the people
who helped me in materializing this project. First, my doctoral super-
visor, Dr. Moushumi Basu and other faculty members of the Centre
for International Politics, Organization, and Disarmament, School of
International Studies, in particular for providing a conducive research
environment. Dr. Basu has always been willing to offer her guidance and
find new ways to improve what I have written. A special thanks to Prof.
CSR Murthy from who I learned a lot without conversing much.
Thanks to Prof. Robert Kolb, University of Geneva, Switzerland and
Prof. Peter J. Katzenstein, Cornell University, USA, for their extremely
beneficial comments on my chapters. In the midst of busy academic
schedule, nothing but the professionalism and passion of knowledge
pushed them to spend their precious hours on my draft. Thanks to
Fabrizio Benzi, Archivist and Daniel Palmieri, Research Officer, at ICRC
Archives, Geneva, for their help that are not to be translated into words.
Thanks also to the ICRC Archives and Library for allowing me to refer
its early documents. Thanks to Jawaharlal Nehru University and ICSSR
for financially supporting my field trips to Switzerland and Sri Lanka.
Thanks to Sharon Susan Koshy for reading the initial draft. I owe many
thanks to the editorial team at the Palgrave Macmillan for making the
publication process smooth and efficient.
v
vi ACKNOwLEDGEMENTS
I have also been fortunate to have supportive mentors and friends
throughout my life. In no particular order, thanks to Prof. A. K.
Ramakrishnan, Prof. M. H. Ilias, Dr. Happymon Jacob, Dr. N. Sebastian.
Thanks to Ayyoob, Anwar, Basith, Farsana, Jojin, Kunju, Kunhi, Prasad,
Swalih, Sudeep and many others in JNU. Kids in Mahanadi hostel, Iggu,
Anamu, Minnu, Shalu, Ponnu, Maryam, Saman, Diya and their mammas,
Manjula, Poovi, Shameena, Khadheeja, Jayasree, Ahsana were terrific in
easing the strain of research. Also remembering friends in my hometown,
Poolakkool. My gratitude extends to whole family members, especially
Amma. Memories of Achan and Aandiappan.
Finally, I would like to dedicate this book to my wife Bushra, and
daughter Rida Sasha, for their love, serenity, and understanding.
c
ontents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 The ICRC: Origin, Mandate and Principles 4
1.2 Changing Nature of War and Its Impacts on
Humanitarianism 9
1.3 Methodology 13
1.4 Structure of the Book 14
References 15
2 ‘Between States and Insurgents’: The ICRC in Internal
Armed Conflicts 21
2.1 Rules of Internal Armed Conflicts: History and Practice 23
2.2 The ICRC and the Internal Armed Conflicts 26
2.2.1 Early Years 27
2.2.2 Washington Conference to the End of Second
World War 28
2.2.3 The ICRC in Post-Cold War Internal Armed
Conflicts 51
2.3 Customary International Law and Internal Armed
Conflicts 57
2.4 Conclusion 60
References 62
vii
viii CONTENTS
3 The ICRC and the Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka 69
3.1 Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka: An Overview 71
3.2 Regional and International Responses 74
3.3 Eelam War IV and the Humanitarian Catastrophe 76
3.4 The ICRC in the Sri Lankan Armed Conflict 80
3.5 Eelam War IV (2007–2009) and Post-War Relief
Operations 82
References 92
4 The ICRC in Darfur Conflict, Sudan 97
4.1 Armed Conflict in Darfur 98
4.2 Humanitarian Disaster and International Responses 103
4.3 The ICRC in Darfur Conflict 106
References 117
5 Conclusion 121
5.1 Major Findings of the Study 122
References 130
Bibliography 131
l f
ist of igures
Fig. 3.1 ICRC offices in Sri Lanka 2007–2012 (Source Compiled
from the ICRC Annual Reports 2007–2012) 84
Fig. 4.1 ICRC staffs in Sudan 2003–2013 (Source Compiled
from the ICRC Annual Reports 2003–2013) 109
ix
l t
ist of Ables
Table 3.1 ICRC spending and staff in Sri Lanka (2006–2014) 85
Table 3.2 ICRC emergency appeal funds (2007–2009) 86
Table 3.3 ICRC relief operations in Sri Lanka 2006–2014
(no. of persons) 86
Table 3.4 ICRC detention visits in Sri Lanka (2006–2013) 87
Table 3.5 Red Cross Messages (RCMs) and tracing services in Sri Lanka 87
Table 4.1 ICRC Spending and staff in Sudan 2003–2013 108
Table 4.2 Detention visits in Darfur 111
Table 4.3 RCMs and Tracing Services in Darfur 112
Table 4.4 Emergency aid in Darfur (beneficiaries in persons) 114
xi