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camwynExcuse me, please. I don't normally blend work and LJ, but I feel that in this particular case I need to. I don't have what you'd call a venue otherwise. This is from a Red Cross communications statement.
On Monday, June 14, 2004, the British newspaper The Guardian reported that the International Committee of the Red Cross stated that “Saddam Hussein must either be released from custody by June 30 or charged if the United States and the new Iraqi government are to conform to international law.” The ICRC made no such claim as reported by this and other international media.
“Any prisoner of war suspected of having committed any type of crime can be charged and tried,” said Antonella Notari, chief spokeswoman of the ICRC. Notari said she wanted to make clear that the ICRC has no desire to see the release of any PoWs, including Saddam, who are suspected of criminal acts. In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, she added, “Nobody in the ICRC is calling for the release of Saddam Hussein. Absolutely not.”
This statement by the ICRC as well as the ongoing dispute over the treatment of detainees in Guantanamo and the application of the Geneva Conventions is between the International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.S. government. The American Red Cross is not a party in that particular matter.
The American Red Cross has no involvement whatsoever in the detaining of Saddam Hussein. Additionally, the American Red Cross does not visit detainees. Visiting detainees is a unique function of the Switzerland-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which acts as an independent guardian of the Geneva Conventions. The international community - governments around the world, including the United States - views this as a necessary and important function, so much so that they support and fund the ICRC to perform this role.
The ICRC is an independent organization that promotes respect for international humanitarian law and is the guardian of the Geneva Conventions--international treaties that provide protection and assistance to victims of armed conflict worldwide. The United States, along with the other 188 nations signatory to the Geneva Conventions, is committed to meeting the standards of humanitarian treatment described in these treaties.
The Geneva Conventions, which apply to all armed conflicts, require that all captured combatants or prisoners of war (POWs) be visited by the ICRC to help assure the world that their treatment is humane. This is a legal mandate of the Geneva Conventions and is intended to protect captured combatants from all nations, including the United States, "who have fallen into the power of the enemy."
One of the ICRC’s unique roles is to meet with prisoners in private to discuss their treatment. For example, the ICRC visited three American servicemen held in a Serbian prison during the Kosovo conflict and arranged for them to send messages to their families back home. During the Gulf War, the ICRC met with 55 U.S. POWs as well as POWs from the UK, France, Germany and Italy.
Under humanitarian law, the ICRC talks with prisoners in private to discuss their treatment, to register them so their families and their government know where they are, and to give them the opportunity to write personal messages to their relatives. If there are any concerns that arise in the course of a visit, the ICRC will discuss them directly and confidentially with the detaining authorities only. The ICRC does not publicly discuss its findings, even with other Red Cross organizations.
All members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including the ICRC and the American Red Cross, are bound by certain fundamental principles. These principles include impartiality, neutrality and independence and apply equally in times of war and in times of peace. They enable the Red Cross to carry out its humanitarian work wherever needed.
Honestly, where does the Guardian get off?
On Monday, June 14, 2004, the British newspaper The Guardian reported that the International Committee of the Red Cross stated that “Saddam Hussein must either be released from custody by June 30 or charged if the United States and the new Iraqi government are to conform to international law.” The ICRC made no such claim as reported by this and other international media.
“Any prisoner of war suspected of having committed any type of crime can be charged and tried,” said Antonella Notari, chief spokeswoman of the ICRC. Notari said she wanted to make clear that the ICRC has no desire to see the release of any PoWs, including Saddam, who are suspected of criminal acts. In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, she added, “Nobody in the ICRC is calling for the release of Saddam Hussein. Absolutely not.”
This statement by the ICRC as well as the ongoing dispute over the treatment of detainees in Guantanamo and the application of the Geneva Conventions is between the International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.S. government. The American Red Cross is not a party in that particular matter.
The American Red Cross has no involvement whatsoever in the detaining of Saddam Hussein. Additionally, the American Red Cross does not visit detainees. Visiting detainees is a unique function of the Switzerland-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which acts as an independent guardian of the Geneva Conventions. The international community - governments around the world, including the United States - views this as a necessary and important function, so much so that they support and fund the ICRC to perform this role.
The ICRC is an independent organization that promotes respect for international humanitarian law and is the guardian of the Geneva Conventions--international treaties that provide protection and assistance to victims of armed conflict worldwide. The United States, along with the other 188 nations signatory to the Geneva Conventions, is committed to meeting the standards of humanitarian treatment described in these treaties.
The Geneva Conventions, which apply to all armed conflicts, require that all captured combatants or prisoners of war (POWs) be visited by the ICRC to help assure the world that their treatment is humane. This is a legal mandate of the Geneva Conventions and is intended to protect captured combatants from all nations, including the United States, "who have fallen into the power of the enemy."
One of the ICRC’s unique roles is to meet with prisoners in private to discuss their treatment. For example, the ICRC visited three American servicemen held in a Serbian prison during the Kosovo conflict and arranged for them to send messages to their families back home. During the Gulf War, the ICRC met with 55 U.S. POWs as well as POWs from the UK, France, Germany and Italy.
Under humanitarian law, the ICRC talks with prisoners in private to discuss their treatment, to register them so their families and their government know where they are, and to give them the opportunity to write personal messages to their relatives. If there are any concerns that arise in the course of a visit, the ICRC will discuss them directly and confidentially with the detaining authorities only. The ICRC does not publicly discuss its findings, even with other Red Cross organizations.
All members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including the ICRC and the American Red Cross, are bound by certain fundamental principles. These principles include impartiality, neutrality and independence and apply equally in times of war and in times of peace. They enable the Red Cross to carry out its humanitarian work wherever needed.
Honestly, where does the Guardian get off?
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no subject
Date: 2004-06-15 06:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-15 06:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-15 06:14 am (UTC)Joy. I'll be over here, popping antacids some more.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-15 06:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-15 06:33 am (UTC)Additionally, I should note that I work for the American Red Cross, not the ICRC. The distinction doesn't exist in most folks' minds because they don't know how the Red Cross works. One Red Cross or Red Crescent society per country, independently operating, but each society is (or ought to be- see Magen David Adom rant last paragraph) a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement. The ICRC does exactly what the post says it does.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-15 07:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-15 07:53 am (UTC)(And as an American Red Cross chapter with a substantial Jewish population in our jurisdiction, and one of the better Holocaust tracing programmes, believe me. We get the Magen David Adom thing a LOT, and most of our senior staff would be more than happy to head to Geneva with a clue-by-four specially dedicated to the purpose.)
no subject
Date: 2004-06-15 09:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-15 09:08 am (UTC)