How the ICRC Protects People in Armed Conflicts: A Closer Look

When war erupts, civilians often find themselves trapped in situations beyond their control. Homes are destroyed, families are separated, and basic services collapse. In these moments of crisis, the International Committee of the Red Cross steps in with a critical mission: protecting people affected by armed conflicts. But what does protection actually mean in the chaos of war, and how does the ICRC make it happen?

What protection means in armed conflict 🔗

Protection in war is not just about physical shields or safe zones. The ICRC defines protection as ensuring that authorities and other actors respect their obligations and the rights of individuals to preserve their safety, physical integrity, and dignity. This involves two main approaches: preventing violations of international humanitarian law before they happen, and responding to the consequences when they do occur.

The concept extends beyond merely reacting to harm. Protection activities aim to minimize dangers to civilians, prevent abuses, and provide assistance where it is most needed. This means the ICRC works on multiple fronts simultaneously, addressing both the causes of suffering and its consequences.

Reminding authorities of their legal obligations 🔗

One of the ICRC’s most fundamental protection activities involves reminding warring parties of their responsibilities under international humanitarian law. The Geneva Conventions establish clear rules about how armed forces must conduct themselves during conflict, particularly regarding civilians and those no longer participating in hostilities.

The ICRC holds confidential discussions with governments, armed forces and non-state groups, emphasizing the humanitarian consequences of conflict and their legal obligations. This confidential, bilateral approach has proven effective because it creates an atmosphere of understanding and cooperation rather than public confrontation.

These representations can be written or oral, general or focused on specific individuals. When confidential dialogue does not yield results, the ICRC may escalate by making discreet representations to third parties who can influence the situation, or in exceptional cases, through public statements.

Working with armed forces and police 🔗

Prevention is more effective than reaction. The ICRC employs former military and police officers as specialized delegates who work with armed forces and police to ensure they incorporate relevant rules of international humanitarian law into their training programs and operational procedures. This proactive approach helps prevent violations before they occur by building respect for the law directly into military and police culture.

Making recommendations for protective measures 🔗

Beyond reminding parties of existing obligations, the ICRC actively recommends specific protective measures tailored to each conflict situation. These recommendations address urgent threats facing civilians and other protected persons.

Safeguarding essential infrastructure 🔗

Modern warfare increasingly takes place in cities, where attacks on infrastructure can have devastating cascading effects on civilian populations. The ICRC works closely with governments, armed groups and other authorities to remind them that civilian infrastructure has special protection in times of war, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding hospitals, schools, and water and sanitation facilities.

When infrastructure is damaged or destroyed, civilians lose access to essential services necessary for their survival and well-being. The ICRC recommends concrete measures to avoid such damage and preserve civilian access to these critical facilities.

Protecting vulnerable groups 🔗

International humanitarian law provides additional protections for particularly vulnerable civilian groups, such as women, children and displaced people. The ICRC makes specific recommendations to protect these groups from the unique dangers they face.

Children may be separated from families, recruited by armed forces, or witness atrocities against their parents. Women and girls have specific health, protection and other needs that require targeted responses. The ICRC emphasizes that sexual violence in all its forms is prohibited by humanitarian law and works to prevent such crimes while assisting survivors.

Responding directly to urgent needs 🔗

While dialogue and recommendations are crucial, the ICRC also responds directly when people face immediate dangers or have lost access to basic necessities.

Providing food and medical care 🔗

The ICRC works to combat food insecurity and provide emergency relief and longer-term livelihood support to people who need help owing to armed conflict or other violence. During conflicts, agricultural production collapses, markets are disrupted, and families lose their means of earning a living. The ICRC’s assistance programs address both immediate hunger and help people rebuild their economic security.

Medical care becomes critical when health systems are overwhelmed or destroyed by conflict. The ICRC provides medical assistance, supports hospitals and health facilities, and ensures that wounded and sick persons receive necessary treatment regardless of which side they are on.

Facilitating family contacts 🔗

Armed conflicts tear families apart in chaotic and unpredictable ways. Parents lose track of children during evacuations, fighters are captured and detained far from home, and displaced persons scatter across borders seeking safety.

The ICRC’s Central Tracing Agency, founded in 1870, helps people separated from their loved ones through various services. In 2020 alone, the agency enabled 1.1 million family contacts through phone calls and delivered over 122,000 Red Cross messages between separated family members.

The agency helps account for, restore contact between, trace or reunite thousands of family members who lost contact or went missing because of armed conflict, situations of violence, disasters, or migration. Services include traditional Red Cross messages, phone calls, video calls, and digital tools like the Trace the Face website.

For families of missing persons, the uncertainty can be unbearable. The ICRC works to clarify the fate of missing individuals, manages information about the dead, assists with locating and identifying human remains, and provides support to families coping with the absence of loved ones.

Visiting people in detention 🔗

People deprived of their liberty during armed conflicts face particular vulnerabilities. They are completely dependent on detaining authorities and have limited means to protect themselves from abuse.

Visits to persons deprived of their liberty form the basis of the ICRC’s approach, conducted according to established practices that must be accepted beforehand by authorities. Delegates interview detainees in private, assess conditions of detention, and submit confidential reports to authorities. When necessary, the ICRC provides material or medical aid to detainees.

These visits serve multiple purposes: they have a potentially dissuasive effect on violations, provide psychosocial value to detainees, and enable the ICRC to identify systemic problems in detention systems. The organization seeks to ensure detainees maintain contact with their families and receive treatment that respects their dignity and basic rights.

A comprehensive approach to protection 🔗

The ICRC’s protection work succeeds because it combines multiple approaches simultaneously. Confidential dialogue with authorities addresses the root causes of violations. Direct assistance programs respond to immediate needs. Legal advocacy strengthens the normative framework that protects civilians. Family reconnection services address the profound human cost of separation.

This comprehensive approach recognizes that protection in armed conflict requires sustained engagement on multiple levels. Quick emergency responses must be coupled with long-term efforts to build respect for international humanitarian law and strengthen the capacity of authorities to fulfill their obligations.

What do you think? How can neutral humanitarian organizations like the ICRC maintain access to all sides of a conflict while advocating for better protection of civilians? What challenges might arise when protection work requires both public advocacy and confidential dialogue?

References

1. https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/icrc-protection-policy
2. https://www.icrc.org/en/what-we-do/protection
3. https://www.icrc.org/en/law-and-policy/protected-persons-civilians
4. https://www.icrc.org/en/what-we-do/reconnecting-families