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“Si vis pacem, impera bellum”: The ICRC, international humanitarian law and peace
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 October 2024
Abstract
This article examines the links between the concept of peace and international humanitarian law (IHL). It takes a closer look at how the originator of IHL, the International Committee of the Red Cross, justified the existence of this body of law, which was supposed to regulate war, in the face of those who wanted to see war abolished once and for all. The article also questions the attitude of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which, while wanting a peaceful society, did not give itself the means to achieve one.
Keywords
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- International Review of the Red Cross , Volume 106 , Issue 927: IHL & Peace , December 2024 , pp. 1023 - 1043
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Committee of the Red Cross
Footnotes
The advice, opinions and statements contained in this article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICRC. The ICRC does not necessarily represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information provided in this article.
References
1 Herrmann, Irène, “From Polemical Topics to Magnetic Concepts: Humanitarianism and Anti-Semitism in Switzerland”, Journal of Political Ideologies, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2010CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
2 Peace congresses began to be held in the 1840s.
3 Henry Dunant, Un souvenir de Solferino, Institut Henry-Dunant and Slatkine Reprints, Geneva, 1980, p. 113.
4 To avoid long and repetitive phrasing, we will refer to this group as the ICRC throughout the article, even though this name was not officially adopted until December 1875.
5 Much has been written about the Red Cross and the question of peace, including by humanitarians such as André Durand (whom we cite in this article). See also Valérie Lathion et al. (eds), Action humanitaire et quête de la paix: Le prix Nobel de la paix décerné au CICR pendant la Grande Guerre, Georg Editeur, Geneva, 2019.
6 “[T]he laws of war presuppose a violation, by one of the parties to the conflict, of the prohibition to use force”: Meyrowitz, Henri, “The Function of the Laws of War in Peacetime”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 26, No. 251, 1986, p. 82CrossRefGoogle Scholar (emphasis in original).
7 Gustave Moynier, “Les causes du succès de la Croix-Rouge”, in ICRC, Mémorial des vingt-cinq premières années de la Croix-Rouge, 1863–1888, Geneva, 1888, p. 12.
8 Durand, André, “Gustave Moynier and the Peace Societies”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 36, No. 314, 1996, p. 540CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
9 Louis Appia, “Rapport adressé au Comité international par M. le docteur Appia sur sa mission auprès de l'armée alliée dans le Schleswig”, in ICRC, Secours aux blessés: Communication du Comité international faisant suite au compte rendu de la Conférence internationale de Genève, Imprimerie J.-G. Fick, Geneva, 1864, p. 144.
10 Compte rendu de la Conférence internationale réunie à Genève les 26, 27, 28 et 29 octobre 1863 pour étudier les moyens de pourvoir à l'insuffisance du service sanitaire dans les armées en campagne, Imprimerie J.-G. Fick, Geneva, 1863, p. 8.
11 “Avant-propos”, Bulletin International des Sociétés de Secours aux Militaires Blessés, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1869, p. 3.
12 Moynier, Gustave, “Les dix premières années de la Croix-Rouge”, Bulletin International des Sociétés de Secours aux Militaires Blessés, Vol. 4, No. 16, 1873, p. 241Google Scholar.
13 G. Moynier, above note 7, p. 12.
14 “Travaux du Comité international pendant le dernier trimestre de l'année 1870”, Bulletin International des Sociétés de Secours aux Militaires Blessés, Vol. 2, No. 6, 1871, p. 91.
15 Letter from Henry Dunant to Bertha von Suttner, 25 March 1896, as cited in André Durand, “The Development of the Idea of Peace in the Thinking of Henry Dunant”, in Roger Durand (ed.), De l'utopie à la réalité: Actes du Colloque Henry Dunant, Société Henry Dunant, Geneva, 1988, p. 358.
16 A turning movement is a military tactic used to attack an enemy from the rear. Ibid., p. 357.
17 The text in question is the manuscript that Moynier wrote in French for an article published by a German magazine in 1892. André Durand drew on the article, entitled “Les rigueurs de la guerre et le droit des gens”, in his study “Gustave Moynier and the Peace Societies”, above note 8. Yet Durand provides only a cursory summary of Moynier's article, and we spent considerable time searching for this document in the International Committee of the Red Cross Archives (ICRCA). Gustave Moynier, “Les rigueurs de la guerre et le droit des gens”, 1892, ICRCA, P GM, dossier 2.
18 G. Moynier, above note 17, p. 2.
19 Ibid., pp. 2–3.
20 Ibid., p. 3.
21 Ibid., p. 4.
22 Ibid., pp. 8–9.
23 Ibid., p. 10.
24 Ibid., pp. 10–11.
25 Ibid., p. 11.
26 Durand, André, “Le premier Prix Nobel de la paix (1901): Candidatures d'Henry Dunant, de Gustave Moynier et du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 82, No. 842, 2001, p. 282Google Scholar.
27 A. Durand, above note 15, p. 368.
28 Ibid., p. 378.
29 L'Indépendance Belge, 4 January 1902, cited in ibid., p. 391.
30 “La Croix-Rouge et l’œuvre de paix”, Bulletin International des Sociétés de Secours aux Militaires Blessés, Vol. 32, No. 126, 1901, p. 75.
31 “La mission du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge pendant et après la guerre”, Circulaire 174, 27 November 1918, in International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1919, p. 72.
32 “Revue internationale de la Croix-Rouge et Bulletin international des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1919, p. 1.
33 “La mission du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge”, above note 31.
34 Herrmann, Irène, “Décrypter la concurrence humanitaire: Le conflit entre Croix-Rouge(s) après 1918”, Relations Internationales, No. 151, 2012Google Scholar.
35 The French and Belgian National Societies refused to attend the 10th International Conference of the Red Cross (International Conference), held in 1921, owing to the presence of a German delegation.
36 “Appel de la Croix-Rouge pour la paix”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 3, No. 32, 1921.
37 Ibid., p. 791.
38 Ibid., p. 791.
39 Ibid., p. 791 (emphasis in original).
40 Durand, André, “Human Rights as Perceived by the Founders of the Red Cross”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 28, No. 266, 1988, p. 448CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
41 “Le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge et la Ligue des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge adresseront un appel à tous les peuples du monde pour les exhorter à combattre l'esprit de la guerre qui plane encore sur le monde”: 10th International Conference, Dixième Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge tenue à Genève du 30 mars au 7 avril 1921: Compte rendu, Imprimerie Albert Renaud, Geneva, 1921, Res. V, p. 214.
42 Ibid., pp. 98–99.
43 Ibid., p. 98.
44 Johan Galtung, Theories of Peace: A Synthetic Approach to Peace Thinking, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo, September 1967, esp. pp. 12, 14, 17.
45 Richard Perruchoud, Les résolutions des conférences internationales de la Croix-Rouge, Institut Henry-Dunant, Geneva, 1979, p. 171.
46 Ibid., p. 132.
47 Ibid., p. 171.
48 Ibid., p. 181.
49 10th International Conference, above note 41, p. 216.
50 11th International Conference, Onzième Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge tenue à Genève du 28 août au 1er septembre 1923: Compte rendu, Geneva, 1923, Res. VII, p. 200.
51 14th International Conference, Quatorzième Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge tenue à Bruxelles du 6 au 11 octobre 1930: Compte rendu, Brussels, 1930, Res. XXV, pp. 222–223.
52 Ibid., p. 121.
53 The Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field of 27 July 1929, and the new Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 27 July 1929.
54 In 1917 the ICRC took the lead in shifting public opinion, which culminated in the 1925 Geneva Protocol.
55 This was true for both Geneva Conventions of 1929.
56 In discussing the prohibition on war, Huber is referring to the Covenant of the League of Nations.
57 14th International Conference, above note 51, p. 126.
58 Ibid., Res. XXV, “La Croix-Rouge, facteur de rapprochement entre les peoples”, p. 223.
59 Ibid., p. 128.
60 15th International Conference, Quinzième Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge tenue à Tokyo du 20 au 29 octobre 1934: Compte rendu, Kokusai Shuppan Insatsusha, Tokyo, 1934, Res. XXIV, p. 246.
61 R. Perruchoud, above note 45, p. 175.
62 16th International Conference, Sixteenth International Red Cross Conference: Report, London, 1938, Res. VIII, p. 102.
63 17th International Conference, Seventeenth International Red Cross Conference: Report, Stockholm, 1948, Res. LXIII, p. 105.
64 League of Red Cross Societies, Resolutions adopted by the General Council, Geneva, 28–31 March 1922, 1922, Res. XVIII, p. 6.
65 In 1938, the Polish Red Cross proposed that the Nobel Peace Prize be awarded to the League for its support for the Junior Red Cross. Conference participants backed this idea (in Resolution XXII): 16th International Conference, above note 62, p. 109.
66 15th International Conference, above note 60, Res. X, p. 239.
67 14th International Conference, above note 51, Res. XI, p. 209.
68 R. Perruchoud, above note 45, p. 194.
69 Ibid., p. 195.
70 17th International Conference, above note 63, Res. LXIV, p. 102.
71 Ibid., p. 102.
72 Ibid., p. 102.
73 Ibid., p. 103.
74 Ibid., p. 103.
75 This quote may have come from the seventh edition of the book, which came out in 1902 and differed markedly from the original version. In the 1902 edition, Dunant – who by then had won the Nobel Peace Prize – brought in pacifist language that was not in the original text published nearly forty years earlier.
76 17th International Conference, above note 63, pp. 5 ff.; League of Red Cross Societies, Board of Governors, XXth Meeting (Stockholm, August 18, 19 and 31, 1948): Proceedings, Stockholm, 1948, available at: https://ifrc.soutron.net/public/catalogue/en-GB/DownloadImageFile.ashx?objectId=10869&ownerType=0&ownerId=26974.
77 20th International Conference, XXth International Conference of the Red Cross, Vienna, 2–9 October 1965: Report, Vienna, 1965, p. 58.
78 “Red Cross Principles (Amended Text Submitted by the Soviet Delegation)”, 2 October 1961, p. 578.
79 ICRCA, A PV, Comité, 4 May 1961. For a more in-depth discussion of this episode, see Françoise Perret and François Bugnion, History of the International Committee of the Red Cross, 1956–1965, Vol. 4: From Budapest to Saigon, ICRC, Geneva, 2009, pp. 466 ff.
80 20th International Conference, above note 77, Res. XXVIII, p. 109.
81 The title of the document is “Projet de Règles limitant les risques courus par la population civile en temps de guerre”.
82 F. Perret and F. Bugnion, above note 79, pp. 116–117.
83 19th International Conference, XIXth International Conference of the Red Cross, New Delhi, October–November 1957, New Delhi, 1957, Res. XIII, p. 153.
84 20th International Conference, above note 77, Res. XXVIII, p. 109.
85 Dietrich Schindler and Jiri Toman, The Laws of Armed Conflicts, Martinus Nijhoff, Dordrecht, and Henry Dunant Institute, Geneva, 1988, p. 605.
86 Council of Delegates, Res. XXIV, “Contribution du Comité international à l’élimination d'une menace contre la paix”, 1963, p. 29.
87 20th International Conference, above note 77, Res. X, p. 101.
88 ICRCA, B AG 013.024.02.
89 ICRCA, B AG 013.024.03.
90 ICRC and League of Red Cross Societies, La Croix-Rouge, facteur de paix dans le monde: Rapport présenté par le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge et la Ligue des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge [à la XXIe Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge, Istanbul 1969], Geneva, May 1969, p. 29.
91 “The Action of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Congo and Rwanda”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 7, No. 81, 1967, pp. 640–646.
92 ICRC and League of Red Cross Societies, above note 90, p. 78.
93 Ibid., p. 79.
94 Ibid., p. 80.
95 ICRC, Congrès du centenaire de la Croix-Rouge internationale: Conseil des Délégués: La Croix-Rouge, facteur de paix dans le monde: Rapport présenté par le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge, Geneva, April 1963, p. 7.
96 21st International Conference, XXIst International Conference of the Red Cross, Istanbul, 6–13 September 1969: Report, Istanbul, 1969, p. 64.
97 Ibid., p. 65.
98 ICRC and League of Red Cross Societies, above note 90, p. 80.
99 ICRC, above note 95, p. 7.
100 21st International Conference, above note 96, Res. XIX, p. 101.
101 Ibid., Res. XX, p. 102.
102 ICRC, Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross on the Red Cross Contribution to the Application and Development of International Humanitarian Law as a Factor for Strengthening the Foundations of Peace, February 1975, p. 1.
103 Jean Pictet, “The Red Cross and Peace: Is the Work of the Red Cross Prejudicial to the Movement to Outlaw War?”, International Review of the Red Cross, Supplement, Vol. 4, July 1951, p. 133.
104 ICRC Statutes, 21 December 2017 (entered into force 1 January 2018), Art. 4(1)(g).
105 Victor Segesvary, Etude analytique des Résolutions des organes internationaux de la Croix-Rouge concernant la Paix présentée par l'institut Henry Dunant: Document de référence présenté à la Conférence mondiale de la Croix-Rouge sur la Paix, Belgrade, 11 to 13 June 1975, 1975, p. 3.
106 This was done in part by embracing the concept of the “human right to peace” and by linking human rights and lasting peace: see, for example. Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, The Contribution of Human Rights to Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, thematic paper, available at: www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/1._ohchr_thematic_paper_on_the_contribution_of_hr_to_sp_and_recommendations.pdf; International Peace Institute, Human Rights and Sustaining Peace, December 2017, available at: www.ipinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1712_Human-Rights-and-Sustaining-Peace.pdf.
107 ICRC, ICRC Strategy 2024–2027, Geneva, November 2023, p. 3, available at: www.icrc.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/Activities/icrc_institutional_strategy_2024-2027.pdf.
108 Ibid., p. 13.
109 H. Meyrowitz, above note 6, pp. 88–90.
110 Jean-Jacques Frésard, cited in Frédéric Gonseth, “CICR: Que vaut la neutralité face aux bombes”, Le Temps, 16 December 2023.