City of Osh. ICRC surgeon visit a gunshot
victim in his home to change his dressingsand remove a fluid drainage tube from his
side. The patient does not want to go to thehospital as he is sill fearful of being harmed(24 June)© ICRC/KOKIC, Marko© ICRC/VON BERGEN, Michael

NEWSLETTER© ICRC/KOKIC, Marko© ICRC/VON TOGGENBURG, ChristophIssue No.10 Summer 2010

ICRC NEWSLETTER- CONTENTS Column
World Field News* Kyrgyzstan* Iran* Somalia* Annual Report 2009

1
2

Feature : Bring Nuclear Weapons to an End 4
Historical Relationship between Japan and ICRC 6
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement 7* Teaching Humanitarian Law to Students* World Expo in Shanghai
Updates from ICRC TOKYO
8
Distinction
between
Civilians
andCombatants** More Japanese into the Humanitarian Field

By Yoshinobu Nagamine,
Head of office
We have the pleasure to announce that
there has recently been a reshufflingof positions and persons at the ICRC
Directorate in Geneva. As of 1st July 2010,
Yves Daccord who had been the Directorof the Communication Depar tment,
took up the function of Director-General.
New Directors were also appointed forother departments including financial
resources and logistics; communicationand information management; and humanresources.

More importantly, the new executive
team has reinstated the vision of being a"determined, courageous and human ICRC
putting people's need at the centre of its
work. It endeavours to be an organisation
being able to make a difference in ongoingand emerging humanitarian crisis while
being in close proximity to the people ithelps. It intends to proactively shape thedebate on legal and policy related issues
and use its humanitarian diplomacy as astrong lever to influence governments andothers."How does this relate to the ICRC's work inJapan? In a peaceful country like Japan, theICRC Tokyo office does not have relief orassistance operations in the field. Instead,
it shares and exchanges information andexpertise on humanitarian action withministries, media and other stakeholders
in order to provide vital support for their
humanitarian role abroad. Briefings are
conducted as widely as possible, covering
issues related to international humanitarian
law and specific programmes and activities
such as prison visits or restoring family
links.
In this regard, we are currently exploring
innovative forms of partnership withvarious institutions; lately, we have been
impressed by the number of initiatives
stemming from the Japanese Red Cross
Society, academia, media, NGOs and otheractors. One example is the production ofa cartoon on the life of Dr. Marcel Junod,an ICRC delegate who was the first foreign
doctor to bring assistance to the people ofHiroshima after the dropping of the atomic
bomb. A road show featuring the cartoon
will be organised in Tokyo at the end of
July (please see p.5 of this newsletter for
more details).
For the next half year, we expect to further
enhance our dialogue on humanitarian
issues with an extended number ofinterlocutors. It is worth mentioning thatJapan is a country which had embraced
the values of the Red Cross movement
at an early stage and is exemplary in theratification of humanitarian law treaties.
Japan has also accumulated a wealth ofexperience in disaster relief for victims ofearthquakes, typhoons or cyclones. The
acquired know-how is certainly of valuable
use for humanitarian assistance during
armed conflict.
ICRC Tokyo sincerely hopes to join handswith a wide range of interlocutors andinstitutions to complement and enhanceeach other's potential to make a difference;and to work towards finding solutions
for various humanitarian needs in Japan
as well as abroad. Regardless of thechallenges, our focus remains to strive to
respond to the multi-faceted humanitarianneeds of the 21st century while puttingemphasis on its core mandate of assistanceand protection for the benefit of victims ofarmed conflict.

World Field News
- Field activities conducted out of 80 operations worldwide -© ICRC/KOKIC, MarkoOsh. ICRC President, Jakob Kellenberger is visiting a distribution
place in the district of Sharq,populated by ethnic Uzbeks

families and food has been delivered toaround 1,000 people being held in placesof detention in Osh and Jalal-Abad.

© ICRC/KOKIC, MarkoThe devastated town of Osh

Kyrgyzstan : An Unfolding Humanitarian Catastrophe
This past June, the ICRC issued an Appeal
for support as ethnic clashes, whichstarted in the city of Osh on 10 June,
continued to spread in the south of thecountry, including to the city of JalalAbad, prompting an estimated 80,000
people to flee their homes. More than 100
people were killed and over 1,200 injured,according to Kyrgyz authorities, although
the number of confirmed dead is likely torise when more bodies could be recovered.

who had fled the city of Osh.
The ICRC and volunteers from the Kyrgyz
Red Crescent also distributed food rationsin the city of Osh, and in the Osh province
along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. Over200,000 people have so far received rationsof wheat flour and oil. Kitchen and hygiene
items have also been distributed to 1,700

The ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger
visited the country and discussed thehumanitarian consequences of theviolence. The ICRC's first priority was toenhance medical facilities to cope with the
influx of hundreds of wounded people,
as well as help doctors to deal with thecrisis in five hospitals in Osh and one in
Jalal-Abad. Together with the Kyrgyz Red
Crescent, the ICRC distributed medicines
and surgical kits in 20 medical centres. A
few days after the violence broke out, theICRC started distributing water to people

In addition, the ICRC is working with the
Kyrgyz Red Crescent to restore contact
among family members separated fromone another by the recent armed violence,
and advising the authorities on handlingmortal remains in a way that facilitates
identification.
The situation is still very tense. The levelof violence has left deep wounds in thecommunities, and the authorities face real
challenges in dealing with resentment andthe ethnic divide amid voting taking placeon important issues.

© ICRC/KOKIC, Marko
Bazarqurgan. A woman, whose brother is being held by the police, is writing a Red Cross message

Annual Report 2009
The 2009 Annual Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross is an account offield activities conducted out of 80 delegations worldwide. The activities are part of theorganisation’s mandate to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and to promoterespect for international humanitarian law.

You can download the report on the ICRC website:
Home > Info resources > Annual Report > ICRC Annual Report 2009© ICRC
Visitors appreciate with the paintings drawn by Japanese andIranian children at “Friendship and Peace” exhibition

Visitors write their testimonies on a photo of Halabcha (Kurdish region of Nothern Iraq)© ICRC

Iran and Iraq

- ICRC's long struggles with weapon contamination -A regional seminar on weapons contamination,
jointly organised by the Iranian Red CrescentSociety and the ICRC, was recently held in Iran.
The event provided a platform to discuss thehumanitarian needs of civilians affected by theuse of explosive weapons in conflicts such as
during the Iran-Iraq war.
From 29 June to 2 July 2010, an International
Exhibition was held at the Tehran Peace
Museum, to which the ICRC was invited toattend the Opening Ceremony. The Exhibition
highlighted the suffering of civilians affectedby war and the horror of weapons of mass
destruction. This date had special significanceas it was the Iranian national day against theuse of chemical weapons. More than 20 years
ago, on 29 June 1987, Iraq used chemical
weapons to attack Sadarsht (a Kurdish village
bordering Iraq), resulting in the deaths ofthousands of civilians and a large number ofdisabled persons.
The Exhibition, called “messenger of peace,”
showcased more than 150 photos of nuclear
and chemical attacks on several countries
including Belgium, Vietnam, Iraq (Kurdish

region), and Iran. Besides, the Tehran Peace
Museum displays permanently atomic bomb
photographs from Japan and, this time, someJapan-related events were also held.
The Iranian Red Crescent and the ICRC
continued to develop their operational
partnership; notably in the fields of restoring
family links, physical rehabilitation, mine-risk
education; and cooperation in potential rapid
deployment scenarios, working with National
Societies acting in their own countries

Specific to victims of exploding weapons,
the ICRC has been providing limb-fitting andphysical rehabilitation services since 1993,
helping disabled people reintegrate into thecommunity. In Iran, the ICRC works closelywith the Iranian Red Crescent Society andother organisations to address the needs ofpeople injured during hostilities.
The ICRC is also active in Iraq, managing
a rehabilitation/limb-fitting centre in Erbiland supporting 10 physical rehabilitation
centres and crutch workshops run by the
Iraqi Ministr y of Health (MoH) and theprostheticorthotic department of the Instituteof Technical Medicine in Baghdad. It is also
constructing a new physical rehabilitation
centre for the MoH in Nasiriya. Besides, Iraqi
orthopaedic technicians were financed tofollow an internationally recognised training inprosthetics and orthotics.

© ICRC“Hibakusha”, Mr. Takashi Teramoto, talks about his own experiences in Hiroshima

Somalia : shelling of a hospital marked with the red crescent emblem
Keysaney Hospital, an ICRC-supported hospitalin Somalia, was hit by a shell on 29 June,killing one patient and wounding another.
The shell struck the triage building, destroying
the roof and wall. The hospital was clearlymarked with the red crescent emblem. The
ICRC immediately expressed sincere regret.
However, more shells hit the hospital on thefollowing day, 30 June, causing damage tothe structure despite ICRC's repeated calls
to all warring parties to respect international
humanitarian law and spare medical facilities.
The conflict has had a devastating impact
on the medical facilities, staff and patients,
as well as the civilians in Somalia. Said Pascal

Mauchle, who heads the ICRC delegation in
Somalia: "The situation is becoming more andmore dangerous for patients and medical staff
by the day."
Under International Humanitarian Law, allparties to the conflict have an obligation
to comply with specified rules of conduct.
Attacks may be directed only against persons
taking a direct part in hostilities and against
military objectives, and warring parties mustspare the civilian population and civilian
objects at all times.
After the shells landed on 30 June, once again
the ICRC and the Somali Red Crescent Society

reminded all parties to the conflict thatlaunching attacks against medical facilities
marked with the red crescent emblem is aviolation of International Humanitarian Law.
Whether launching an attack or deploying
military personnel and equipment, all those
involved in the hostilities must take every
feasible precaution to minimise the potential
harm to civilians and to civilian objects such as
hospitals.
Since the beginning of the year nearly
1,400 war patients have been treated at theKeysaney Hospital, including over 300 womenand around 200 children.

Ending the era of nuclear weapons
The ICRC believes an historic
opportunity currently exists to bring
the nuclear era to an end.
On 20 April, the ICRC President
appealed to States to ensure that
nuclear weapons are never again used.

© Photothèque ICRC (DR)/© Photothèque ICRC (DR)/NAKATA, Satsuo
Hiroshima, Naka-ku. Devastation following the explosion of the atomic bomb

Summary of Statement by Jakob Kellenberger, ICRC President
In recent weeks and months, the issuesof nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation have assumed a new urgency
on the world stage.
The International Committee of the Red Cross
firmly believes that the debate about nuclear
weapons must be conducted not only on thebasis of military doctrines and power politics.
The currency of this debate must ultimately be
about human beings, about the fundamental
rules of international humanitarian law, andabout the collective future of humanity.

© ICRC/KOKIC, MarkoThe ICRC has a legitimate voice in thisd e b at e. I n i t s 15 0 - y e ar hi s t o r y, t h eorganisation has witnessed immeasurable
human suf fering caused by war andunderstands the potential of international
humanitarian law to limit such suffering.
The suffering caused by the use of nuclear
weapons is increased exponentially bydevastation of the emergency and medical
assistance infrastruc ture. The specificcharacteristics of nuclear weapons, that is,
the effects of the radiation they generate,
also cause suffering and death for years
after the initial explosion. For survivors, theimmediate future may include life-threatening
dehydration and diarrhoea from injuries to thegastrointestinal tract, and life-threatening
infections and severe bleeding caused bybone marrow suppression. If they survivethese threats, they face an increased risk ofdeveloping certain cancers and of passing on
genetic damage to future generations.
In 1996 the ICRC welcomed the fact that theInternational Court of Justice, in its Advisory
Opinion on nuclear weapons, confirmed thatthe principles of distinction and proportionality
found in international humanitarian law are"intransgressible" and apply also to nuclear
weapons. It stated “the threat or use of
nuclear weapons would generally becontrary to the rules of international law
applicable in armed conflict, and particularly
the principles and rules of humanitarian law.”
The position of the ICRC, as a humanitarianorganization, goes – and must go – beyond
a purely legal analysis. Nuclear weapons are
unique in their destructive power, in theunspeakable human suffering they cause, in
the impossibility of controlling their effects
in space and time, in the risks of escalation

they create, and in the threat they pose to
the environment, to future generations,and indeed to the survival of humanity. The
ICRC therefore appeals today to all States
to ensure that such weapons are neverused again, regardless of their views on thelegality of such use.
In the view of the ICRC, preventing the useof nuclear weapons requires fulfilment ofexisting obligations to pursue negotiations
aimed at prohibiting and completely
eliminating such weapons through a legallybinding international treaty. It also means
preventing their proliferation and controlling
access to materials and technology that canbe used to produce them.
The opening sentences of Marcel Junod, theICRC doctor who was in Japan following thebombing, began: "The physical impact of
the bomb was beyond belief, beyond allapprehension, beyond imagination. Its moral
impact was appalling".
The ICRC today appeals to all States, and to
all in a position to influence them, to seize
with determination and urgency the unique
opportunities now at hand to bring the era ofnuclear weapons to an end.

The Advisory Opinion of the ICJ regarding nuclear weapon
On 8 July 1996 the International Court of Justice, the principal
judicial organ of the United Nations, gave an Advisory Opinion
about the Legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. In its
opinion, ICJ stated “there is in neither customary nor conventional
international law any specific authorization of the threat or use of
nuclear weapons” or “any comprehensive and universal prohibition”
of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. Moreover, it confirms thethreat or use of nuclear weapons “should also be compatible withthe requirements of the international law applicable in armed
conflict, particularly those of the principles and rules of international
humanitarian law.” In detail, it stated two principles of internatonal
humanitarian law, the distinction between combatants and noncombatants and the prohibit on the infliction of unnecessary
suffering on combatants, were “intransgressible principles ofinternational customary law” and, thesefore, able to apply on
nuclear weapons. For these reasons, ICJ stated “the threat or use
of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules ofinternational law applicable in armed conflict, and particularly theprinciples and rules of humanitarian law.” ICRC welcomes supports
this opinion. However, Advisory Opinion of ICJ has no legal effectand there are also dissenting opinions.

© Photothèque ICRC (DR)/© Ringier Presse Service/ONUKA, Masami

The scene of Hospital in Hiroshima after atomic bombing© ICRCWar 1939-1945. Moosburg, Stalag VII A. Visit of Dr. Marcel Junod, ICRC delegate-doctor,
with detention authority

Delegate’s Struggle in Hiroshima
Everyone knows about Hiroshima, the town attacked by an atomic bomb.
However, few people know the foreign doctor who made a great effort
to save bomb survivors. His name was Marcel Junod. On 9th August
1945, on the very day that the Americans dropped the second atombomb on Nagasaki, Dr. Junod arrived in Tokyo as the new head of the
ICRC's delegation in Japan. His first task was visiting Allied prisoners of
war held in Japan.
After one of the ICRC delegates in the field sent Junod a telegramwith details of the Hiroshima disaster, Junod immediately contacted
the American command and asked for emergency medical supplies,.
Moreover, he was also the first foreign doctor to set foot there after thecatastrophe. It is said that his effort saved hundreds thousands people’ s
lives.

The Scene Viewed through Junod's Report
Doctor Junod’s Life
Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, on 14 May 1904, Marcel was thefifth of six children. He was in his teens when his father died and his
mother brought the children to live in Geneva. Thanks to financial
support provided by a relative, Junod achieved his ambition to
become a doctor and specialized in surgery. In 1935, the ICRC asked
him to carry out a short mission in Ethiopia. After the Italian victoryin Ethiopia, Junod was dispatched to Spain to coordinate ICRC'soperations during the civil war.
The outbreak of the Second World War saw Junod back in action
throughout Europe, visiting prisoners of war. In June 1945, travelling
to Japan via Cairo, Moscow, and then on the trans-Siberian railway.
In 1948, he was appointed representative in China for the newlycreated UN Children's Fund. In 1952 he became a member of the
ICRC Assembly. Marcel Junod died as he had lived: in action, whilebringing a patient round from surgery on 16 June 1961. In 1979 amonument was put up in his memory in Hiroshima.

Animation Movie “Junod”: Ready to be on Show
<Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography:Screen Time>*Off Day: 9/6, 10/12, 10/18, 11/8
9/1-11 19:00
10/9-22 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00
11/6-11 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00

Contact: NPO "MOCT"1082-223-0790 http://www.junod.jp/"The 8 September 1945, we take off from the Air Facility Atsugi[…].
At this moment, on 20 kilometres, all is nothing but destruction, thesite where was the town seems like a kind of floor, brick red, of rustyiron.""The number of injured was estimated at about 100,000; but most ofthem died because of the extent of their wounds or the lack of care."
Destroyed buildings
55,000 entirely burned; 2,300 half burned; 7,000 demolished; 3,700 half
demolished; most of schools, banks and factories vanished
Destroyed vehicles
90 wagons; 87 trams; 44 fire engines; 122 trucks completely destroyed
Destroyed means of communication and electric power
90% of the phone lines burnt; all power stations burnt
Destroyed hospitals and casualties among the professionals of medicine
All hospitals destroyed but the Red Cross one
Casualties: 270 out of 300 doctors; 1,654 out of 1,780 nurses; 112 out of
140 pharmacists; 132 out of 162 dentists

Historical Relationship between Japan and the ICRC
A new historical series about Japan-ICRC relationshipFirst contact between Japan and the Red Cross
The Birth of a New Idea
The first Japan-ICRC encounter was at
the Paris World Expo in 1867, where Japan,
represented by the Edo government, and theSaga and Satsuma clans, had a pavilion.
Also present at the event was the newly
established International Committee for Relief
to the Wounded (the predecessor of theICRC), Two of the Japanese representatives,
Tsunetami Sano of the Saga clan and Ryoun
Takamatsu from the Edo government, took aninterest in the organisation and its principles.

© JRCS
Paris World Expo

Later, these two gentlemen would work forthe establishment of the Red Cross Movementin Japan.
The Hakodate War : Ups and Downs
When Takamatsu returned to Japan, theBoshin War between the Meiji government
and the vassals of the former Edo government
was going on.
A representative of the Edo government,
Takeaki Enomoto, decided to move their baseto Ezo (Hokkaido) and asked his old friend
Takamatsu to take over the Hakodate hospital.
Takamatsu began to put into practice the ideaof the Red Cross, i.e. to aid wounded soldiers
in war, regardless of their affiliation or origin.
However, with the deteriorating war
situation, things were very uncertain. One day,the Meiji government military broke in thehospital. Takamatsu managed to prevent any
bloodshed or damage by convincing one of
the commanding officers of the importance ofneutral humanitarian action.
Not so lucky was Koryuji, a branch of the

Hakodate hospital where, one doctor was
killed, another one was tied, and Koryuji itself
was set on fire by the military. This illustrates
how the Japanese at that time thought of the
Red Cross.
The Origin of the Red Cross in Japan
From 1871 to 1873, the Meiji government sent
the Iwakura Mission to Europe for preliminary
negotiations aimed at revising treaties as wellas to study development processes in Europe.
The around time, Sano was a diplomat inVienna. It is said that he viewed the Red Cross
Pavilion together with the Mission when it
visited the World Expo.
Shortly thereafter, the Mission went to
Geneva and met with Moynier, the Chairmanof the International Committee for Relief tothe Wounded, a meeting which was reported
in the journal of the organisation.
Encouraged by Iwakura and Ito’s positive
attitudes, the Committee felt encouraged tospread the Red Cross Movement to Japan.

Establishment of the Philanthropic Society
The battles of the Southwestern Rebellion
The Philanthropic Society (predecessor ofJRCS) was founded by Tsunetami Sano during
the hostilities between government troops andthe Satsuma military during the Southwestern
Rebellion in 1877. There was resistance toits formation as the government did notunderstand a Society which aids woundedsoldiers in war, regardless of which side they
are on. Finally, Sano obtained permission from
Arisugawanomiya, Imperial Prince Taruhito
who was the head of the government forces.
In May 1887, the organisation was renamed as
the Japan Red Cross Society (JRCS).

The Beginning of JRCS-ICRC Cooperation
Finally, the Edo government’s national isolation
policy ended and 30 years after opening up
the country, in September 1887, JRCS began
to work with the ICRC. Thereafter, Japansurprised the World by its careful treatmentof prisoners of war during Japanese-Sino War
and Japanese-Russo War.

Reference: Olive Checkland (ed.), Norikazu Kudo (tran.), "Humanitarianism and the Emperor's Japan, 1877–1977", Hosei University Press, 2002.
Takashi Masui, "Sekai to Nihon no Sekijuji", Times, 1999.
Takashi Masui, "Iwakurashisetudan no Sekijuji Homon" from "Sogo Bunka 2", Sogo Bunka Kyokai, Dec. 1999.
URL : JRCSHP : http://www.jrc.or.jp/about/jrc/est/index.html Sano Tsunetami Museum HP : http://www.saganet.ne.jp/tunetami/

Tsunetami Sano, founder of the Japan Red Cross Society

1863 Establishment of the International Committee for1939 World War 2

Relief to the Wounded1877 the battles of the Southwestern Rebellion
Establishment of Philanthropic Society

1864 Signing on the First Geneva Convention

1886 Signing of the Secomd Geneva Convention

1867 The first Red Cross International Conference Paris

1887 Renamed JRCS Joined in ICRC

© JRCS1941 the Pacific War
1942 Establishment of representative office of ICRC in
Japan
1945 Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

World Expo

1894 Japanese-Sino War

1871 Iwakura Mission

1904 Japanese-Russo War

1873 Vienna World Expo Meeting of Iwakura Mission

1914 World War 1

1949 Establishment of Four Geneva Conventions

and Moynier, the Chairman of the International

1919 Establishment of IFRC

1953 Accedence of Japan to four Geneva Conventions

Committee for Relief to the Wounded.

1920 Three JRCS nurses receive prized Nightingale

1977 Establishment of two Protocols

1876 Renamed the International Committee of Red
Cross

Medal
1931 Manchurian Incident
1937 Sino-Japanese War

War’s end

2004 Accedence of Japan to two Protocols
2009 Establishment of Japan Office of ICRCThe Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement- JRCS activities as a part of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement -Need for Humanitarian Law
education for youth
Recently, JRCS organized a seminar on “Exploring Humanitarian Law(EHL)” for the principals of elementary, junior high and high schools fromall over the country. Mr Sukhdave Singh, the ICRC's Regional Adviser on
EHL, explained its methodology, citing examples of its implementationin other Asian countries.
What is EHL?
Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) is an international education
programme for young people between the ages of 13 and 18.
The ICRC, together with the National Red Cross/Red Crescent Society
in each country, works with the authorities (usually the Ministry of
Education) in the integration of EHL into mainly the public school
education curriculum.
“Exploration” is the curriculum's main pedagogical approach
EHL encourages both teachersand students to discuss issues
such as humanitarian concepts
and principles, the rules of war(International HumanitarianLaw), the needs of vulnerable
populations, child soldiers andso on through various activities(Role Playing, Discussion, Brain
Storming, Video viewing, etc.).

Purpose of the EHL Programme
1. Understand the need to respect life and human dignity, especiallyin times of violence and armed conflict
2. Be aware of the various aspects of the humanitarian issues/the Humanitarian Law and of the complexity of putting theInternational Humanitarian Law into practice
3. “Read” local and international current events from a humanitarianpoint of view
4. Engage actively in community initiatives that promote solidarityand prevent or defuse violence
By learning to look from the humanitarian viewpoint, participants
understand the need for rules during armed conflicts. They also see
how international humanitarian law applies to situations of conflict
and what it says about limiting the impact of war on vulnerable
groups. Finally, they are able to connect the ideas that they learnt
together and relate them to events in their daily lives.

Singh delivering a lecture to teachers

China: Shanghai Expo, Under theTent of Humanity
From 1 May until 31 October, the ICRC and its Red Cross/Red Cresent
partners had an exhibition booth at the Shanghai Expo.

© ICRCTop : Outside the pavilion
Bottom-left : Face photographs of volunteers from around the world
Bottom-right : Students staring at a screen made of fog© ICRC/C.Lee© ICRC/C.Lee

Past the white tent entrance and inside the pavilion, visitors enter an
area of darkness where images are displayed that illustrate many kindsof situations in which the need for humanitarian assistance may arise. A
short film introduces audiences to the diverse array of activities carriedout by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement tomeet needs and strengthen communities.Visitors also discover how totranslate their humanitarian ideals into concrete reality. A "great wall" of
Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers consists of faces from around theworld, as a way of paying respect to the central role played by individual
volunteers. Visitors are encouraged to "make their move" by learning
how to join the nearly 10 million volunteers throughout the world whoare already part of the Movement, finding out more about specificactivities and by meeting Chinese Red Cross staff and volunteers.
This Pavilion is not the only Red Cross/Cresent Movement presence.
Staffed by 165 volunteers and Red Cross doctors in rotating 16-hour
shifts, first-aid posts were set up, representing one of the ways throughwhich the International Red Cross/Crescent Movement is actively anduniquely involved in humanitarian affairs worldwide.

Updates From ICRC Tokyo- Reports on Tokyo activity -Making a clearer distinction between civilian and combatant- The ICRC's "Interpretive Guidance on Direct Participation in Hostilities (DPH)" -In a recent visit to Japan, the ICRC’s legal adviser, Dr. Nils Melzer,
delivered a lecture on “Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct
Participation in Hostilities (DPH)” at a seminar hosted by the Japan
Institute of International Affairs, Japan International Law Association andKyoto University International Law Students Society. He also had theopportunity to exchange views with Ministry of Defense officials.
During the lecture, Dr. Melzer explained the need for discussion on theconcept of DPH. An important rule of International Humanitarian Law
is the importance of making a distinction between combatants andcivilians, as a means of protecting persons who are not, or no longer
participating in hostilities. Thus under IHL, there are those who would
be considered as legitimate targets while others are protected persons.
The former includes anyone from organized armed forces belonging toa party in the armed conflict while the latter includes civilians, hors decombat and so on.
It is becoming more and more diffficult to distinguish between civilians
and combatants because of the changing nature of armed conflicts.
For example, armed groups may change their uniform to less readily
identifiable designs and colours. In addition, armed groups may blend
into civilian populations or civilians themselves may intermittently
participate in internal armed conflicts. In an attempt to address thesesituations, the Interpretive Guidance defines the concept of civilian,
direct participation in hostilities, and the modalities governing the lossof protection.

Clearly, they arecivilians and entitledto protection against
direct attack unlessand for such time as
they take a direct partin hostilities. Their
activities or location
may, however, expose
them to an increased
risk of incidental deathor injury even if they
do not take a directpart in the hostilities.

ICRC's legal adviser, Dr. Nils Melzer, delivering a lecture at
Kyoto

Those who attended the lecture were obviously interested, leading to a
lot of questions and opinions expressed.
The "Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in
Hostilities" can be downloaded from the following website:
http://www.icrc.org >Humanitarian Law >Reaffirmation and Development >ICRC Publication

One of the categories addressed by the Guidance is that of privatecontactors and civilian employees of a party to an armed conflict.

More Japanese into the Humanitarian Field- Lecture at the Aoyama Gakuin University -ICRC Tokyo was given time to talk to students during an International
Humanitarian Assistance class at the Graduate School of Aoyama Gakuin
University International Politics, Economics, and Communications Global
Expert Program (GLEP). We spoke about the ICRC’s history, sructure,legal basis, international humanitarian law, the training of ICRC staff andso on (GLEP is the programme which trains Japanese nationals for the
diplomatic service or as International Organization Officers).

Establishment of ICRC Support Unit (ISU)The ICRC Support Unit (ISU), which is a joint GLEP-ICRC programme,
will be operational from this September. Students will work on holding
events, research, update of ICRC’s Japanese Website, and so on, withsupport from ICRC Tokyo.
The aim of ISU is, by making students participating in the ICRC activities,
to give them a glimpse of the activities and the reality of humanitarianassistance they could take advantage of into their future careers.

The ICRC's Mission Statement
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organisation whose exclusively humanitarian
mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance.
The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles.
Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the Geneva Conventions and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It directs
and coordinates the international activities conducted by the Movement in armed conflicts and other situations of violence.

ICRC Tokyo Office

La Piazzolla 6F, 2-9-3 Higashi-Shimbashi
Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0021 Japan
TEL：+81(0)3-6459-0750 / FAX：+81(0)3-6459-0751
Website：http://www.icrc.org

Website：http://www.jrc.or.jp