10 - 16 January 2002
Issue No.568
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 10 - 16 January 2002 Issue No.568 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Humanitarian language and its nuances
Categorically apolitical in its mission, the ICRC has faced a tough test of its neutrality in the Palestinian territories. Dina Ezzat talks to ICRC Director-General Paul Grossrieder
During a recent regional tour, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Director-General Paul Grossrieder took the opportunity to stress that the agency has been intensifying its humanitarian efforts in the Palestinian occupied territories. In Cairo last week, Grossrieder said that the ICRC is increasing its activities to alleviate people's suffering in Palestine, "but what we are doing is not enough," he said. "There has to be a solution."
That solution, Grossrieder says, has to be political, "but this is not something the ICRC gets involved in." Separating humanitarian affairs from political concerns is a key principle in the work of the ICRC. Even when political issues handicap the performance of humanitarian assistance, the ICRC insists on steering clear of political comments.
But critics of the ICRC argue that, more often than not, this rule of silence is applied selectively. "Look at the language of the ICRC statements when it comes to the case of Afghanistan, for example," notes one Arab diplomat working closely with ICRC. "The ICRC uses very clear language to criticise what it terms as the deliberate violation of the rules of international humanitarian law by local Afghan authorities," he said. There is no such clarity when it comes to actions by American military forces in Afghanistan, the source noted, saying that "even when an ICRC food warehouse was bombed by the Americans," the agency did not accuse the US of violating international humanitarian law.
This alleged selectivity is even more blatant in the case of the Palestinian occupied territories, the diplomat said. He argued that the ICRC "simply avoids criticising the Israeli authorities" with regard to human rights violations in Palestinian territories -- "irrespective of the problems they might create for ICRC field workers."
Trying to remain impartial in political conflicts, while still guarding the principle of human rights, can still cause controversy. Early in 2001, a statement issued by the head of the ICRC delegation in the Palestinian occupied territories criticising the attitude of the Israeli authorities towards both the Palestinian population and the ICRC mission touched off a serious inter-ICRC debate. The author of the statement was reprimanded and a visit was paid by an ICRC senior official to the Israeli government to contain the negative reaction.
"First of all, I think that this incident was blown out of proportion," contends Grossrieder. "The language and vocabulary used in this particular statement was simply against the nature of the vocabulary that ICRC usually uses," he said. The fact that the statement came under attack from the ICRC "does not mean that the (Israeli) violations are not there," he explained. "Violations remain violations, but we don't deal with them as if we are the judges of a tribunal."
Grossrieder says that the ICRC is aware of the deteriorating situation in the occupied territories and affirms that his organisation is strictly committed to improving conditions there. This is the extent to which ICRC officials are comfortable about discussing the humanitarian situation in Palestine. They are not comfortable discussing who is responsible for the escalating violence, or who is responsible for the many violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which relates to the treatment of civilians under occupation.
Asked whether the presence of international observers in the occupied territories -- a long- standing Palestinian request that has been repeatedly rejected by Israel and vetoed by US in UN Security Council -- would help in minimising the level of human rights violations, Grossrieder was vague in his response. Although it seems clear that an international presence would help contain gross violations -- thereby making the job of ICRC workers much easier -- Grossrieder is not convinced. "The presence of international observers would not necessarily make the job of the ICRC much easier, because they have a different mandate, related to collecting information related to the violations and reporting them to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights."
"The first Intifada was less violent than this Intifada, and Israeli tanks are more or less everywhere," Grossrieder said, noting that there is violence on both sides. "Violations are high by Israelis, and the same is [true] on the side of Palestinians, with their suicide bombers," he said. "This creates among the Israeli population a much higher sense of tension." He added, however, that the Geneva Conventions are paramount. "The different obligations for the occupying power, as stipulated by the Fourth Geneva Convention, should be respected," he said.
Arab diplomats working in Geneva are forthcoming in expressing their feelings on the role of the ICRC in the Palestinian territories. Though there are differing opinions about the ICRC's apolitical stance in the conflict, most diplomats speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly agreed that the ICRC is doing a fine job providing for the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people, but a bad job in relation to observing the principles of humanitarian international law. "There is a certain sense of bias towards Israel," commented one Geneva-based Arab diplomat. "It is not absolute bias but the bias is certainly there."
Arab diplomats say that they have tried to intensify their contacts with the ICRC headquarters in Geneva to make sure that the organisation is well aware of violations committed by the Israeli government. "But this doesn't always work very well, and such meetings have often ended with serious disagreements," remarked one Arab diplomat, who asked that his name be withheld.
One point of contention that could end up growing much more heated is whether the Israeli humanitarian agency Magen David Adom should be allowed to post its emblem alongside that of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Israel has been persistent in its attempts to do so, but Arab countries view this as offering official recognition to a humanitarian role being played by an occupying power.
Obvious violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Convention Against Torture by Israeli forces -- as clearly stipulated by two recent meetings that took place in Geneva -- seem to preclude any official recognition of humanitarian assistance by Israel. "The fact that the ICRC is trying to ignore this fact and seek to encourage Israeli moves by helping Israel to lobby for an international diplomatic conference to deal with the matter is simply not fair," commented one diplomat. "And when you add to this the fact that the ICRC was not helping Arab countries lobby for convening the conference of the parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which is part and parcel of international humanitarian law, then you can see exactly why relations between the ICRC and Arab diplomatic missions in Geneva aren't exactly smooth sailing," he added.
For his part Grossrieder does not deny that the ICRC is in favour of giving a vote of confidence to the Magen David Adom emblem. "The trouble is with the current situation on the ground," says Grossrieder. "The mood is not set for an international diplomatic conference. But we are ready and we have ideas." As for the reluctance of the ICRC to support the convocation of the conference of those party to the Fourth Geneva Convention, Grossrieder denies any wrong-doing or bad intentions. "We were not opposed. We simply thought that the international community had to decide on this matter in keeping with the best interest of the situation on the ground; and when the meeting took place, we were there."
Cairo was the last stop in Grossrieder's regional tour, which also took him to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Syria and Lebanon. The original objective of the trip was to explain to regional authorities that the ICRC mission to implement and encourage awareness of international humanitarian law will not be hampered by the consequences of the 11 September attacks.
The ICRC's operations in the Arab world are widespread, and Grossrieder maintains these operations will be further enhanced in 2002. "What is transpiring about a conflict between Islam and the West is of no concern to us," said Grossrieder. "We are simply providing assistance to people suffering from a given situation of conflict."
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page