ICRC Bulletin

Issue No.7
Fall 2009

Head of Office, Nagamine, gave a lecture at the "Exploring Humanitarian Law" seminar held in Gotenba, Shizuoka: August 7, 2009

Dear Readers,Six months have already passed after theinauguration of the ICRC Tokyo Office. It
might be a tiny passage in comparison
with this year being the 60th anniversaryof the Geneva Conventions and 150thanniversary of the battle of Solferino(which marked the birth of theConventions), but it is certainly a big stepfor IHL in Japan.
Since the signing of the Geneva
Conventions in 1949, the nature of armedconflict has changed. Today, the majorityof hostilities are non-international armed
conflicts and other situations of violence.
We continue to witness a growing
number of civilians taking an active partin hostilities blurring the line between
them and legitimate targets of armed
attack.
In addition, there are now more situations
in which accountability in IHL isquestioned, such as when private militarycompanies engage in armed conflict.

The ICRC, with its presence in nearly all
theatres of armed conflict, hopes tocontribute to the clarification andinterpretation of these rules. Forinstance in July 2009, the ICRC and theNational Institute of Defense Studies
jointly organised a two-day seminar on
issues related to Peace-SupportOperations, Private Military Companies
and Civil-Military Cooperation, attended
by many government officials andexperts. Presentations were also made toother audiences on the Interpretative
Guidance of Direct Hostilities (a result of a
six-year long debate among 50 legal
experts), as well as the ICRC's experienceswith prisoners of war.
In this Bulletin, we would like to seize
the opportunity to recall again thefundamental principles of the Geneva
Conventions of 1949 and the two
Protocols of 1977 in the forms of astatement by the ICRC Vice-President
and a Q&A sheet. In addition, we draw
readers' attention to an article from ournational partner, the Japanese Red Cross

Society, which has taken the lead in IHL
dissemination to students, using a
programme designed by the ICRC called
Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL).
Finally, readers might be interested toknow that there is a growing number of
JRCS medical staff working in Iraq,
Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the samevein, we would like to highlight thepossibility of Japanese nationals tobecome ICRC delegates to undertake
prison visits, work for family links, organise
relief assistance or teach IHL to armedforces.
As the saying goes, "a journey of athousand miles begins with a single step".
We invite you to join us in taking the firststeps together in fulfilling the ICRC's
mandate in the field.
Yours sincerely,

Yoshinobu Nagamine
Head of Tokyo OfficeInternational Committee of the Red Cross

The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949
Background

The ICRC and the Geneva Conventions
Christine Beerli,
ICRC Vice President

The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols protect people who are nottaking part in hostilities (civilians, health workers and aid workers) and those who nolonger directly participate in the conflict (wounded, sick and shipwrecked military
personnel and prisoners of war). Sixty years ago, the then-existing three Geneva
Conventions were revised and expanded and a fourth Convention was added specificallyto protect civilians.
The Second World War saw civilians andmilitary personnel being killed in equal
numbers, compared to a ratio of 1 to 10 in
the First World War. In 1945, the ICRC
continued its pre-war push to extend theprotection of the Geneva Conventions tocivilians. In 1949, the international
community responded with 64 nations
revising and expanding the three existing
Geneva Conventions and adding a fourth
Geneva Convention relative to theprotection of civilian persons in timesof war. The four Geneva Conventions canbe summarised as follows:
The first Geneva Convention protects
wounded and sick military personnel
in war on land
● The second Geneva Convention
protects wounded, sick and●shipwrecked military personnel inwar at sea● The third Geneva Convention protects
prisoners of war● The fourth Geneva Convention
protects civilians, including in
occupied territory

The Geneva Conventions, whichmake the protection of civilians andprisoners of war mandatory,celebrate their 60th anniversary on 12
August 2009 and they are as relevant
today as they were 60 years ago.
Meanwhile the nature of war haschanged and the number of noninternational armed conflicts andasymmetric wars between states andnon-state actors has increased.

Article 3 common to the four Geneva
Conventions marked a breakthrough,covering for the first time situations of
non-international armed conflict.
Today, the Geneva Conventions apply
universally: 194 States are party to them.
The Conventions are at the core ofinternational humanitarian law (IHL) , thebody of international law that regulates
the conduct of armed conflict and seeks tolimit its effects.

In 2008, non-international armed
conflicts were seen in Afghanistan,
Sudan and the Democratic Republic of
the Congo. Both regular forces andnon-state actors need to respect IHLeven in asymmetric warfare. However,a militarily weak party facing a more
powerful opponent tends to violate
the Conventions because of its weak
position. The violation of the one islikely to be reciprocated by the other,leading to a string of violations. If we
accept the fact that war can never be
eliminated, we have at least theobligation to try to limit its impact upon
persons who are not, or no longer
participating in the hostilities. This iswhat IHL calls for.
I express my appreciation to Japan
concerning the adoption of legislationin 2004 with regard to the domestic
implementation of the Geneva
Conventions. I hope that the ICRC's close
relationship with Japan sets an example
to other states for the respect of IHL.

c ICRC
Delegates of the states signing the four Geneva Conventions in Geneva, Switzerland: August 12, 1949

Beneficiaries of the Geneva Conventions & ICRC
1952, JapanA woman reads the first letter received fromher husband who remained imprisoned inthe Soviet Union.

2009, North Darfur, Sudan
ICRC registers and interviews released
detainees before handing them over tothe concerned authorities.

c ICRCc ICRC

Q&A on the Geneva Conventions at 60
Some critics have suggested that the Conventions are approaching the 'age of retirement ' andare no longer suited for the kind of contemporary wars that pit regular armies against armed
groups, and in an era when most wars are fought within States, not between them.
Knut Dörmann, Head of the ICRC's Legal Division, weighs in on the organisation's ongoing
efforts to ensure that the Conventions continue to stand the test of time:
Q: What are the Geneva Conventions
and what purpose do they serve?
The Conventions are the mostimportant component of international
humanitarian law, or IHL, as it iscommonly known. Their purpose is not
to stop war but rather to limit thebarbarity of armed conflict.
The Geneva Conventions only apply tointernational armed conflicts, with theexception of Article 3 common to all four
Conventions, which also covers noninternational armed conflicts. The
adoption of this article in 1949 was a
breakthrough since previous IHL treaties
had only covered situations of wars
between States. As most of today's wars
are non-international armed conflicts,
Article 3 remains vitally important because
it sets a baseline for the protection ofpeople who are not or no longer fighting,to which all sides - State and non-State
parties to conflict - must abide.
Q: What is the ICRC's link to the Conventions?
Henry Dunant, whose vision led to theestablishment of the ICRC, also had theidea for the First Geneva Convention, "forthe amelioration of the condition of thewounded in armies in the field," which wasadopted in 1864.
From the very beginning, we have beenpart of a dynamic process which
ensures that IHL is adapted to ongoingchanges in warfare.
For example, in the years leading up to theSecond World War, the ICRC drafted andsought approval for an International
Convention on the condition andprotection of civilians of enemy
nationality who were on a territory
belonging to or occupied by abelligerent. The international
community agreed in 1949 to adopt
the Fourth Geneva Convention for theprotection of civilians. This was really awatershed moment in terms of ensuringthat civilian populations and property arespared during times of armed conflict.
Today, the ICRC derives its humanitarian
mandate - its job description, in a sense from the Conventions, which task the ICRC
with visiting prisoners, organising relief
operations, re-uniting separated families
and similar humanitarian activities during
armed conflicts.

Q: In what ways has IHL developed overthe past six decades?
IHL has expanded considerably as thecharacter and impact of war have evolved
over the years. Notably, in 1977, two
Additional Protocols were adopted.
Additional Protocol I strengthened theprotection of victims of internationalarmed conflicts, while Additional Protocol
II did the same for non-internationalarmed conflicts, including civil wars.
The 1980s and '90s saw other international
treaties come into force, banningcertain conventional weapons, such as
antipersonnel landmines, as well as
chemical weapons. Just last year, morethan 100 States signed up to an
historic treaty against the use ofcluster munitions.
Finally, there has been significant
progress in terms of investigating andpunishing war crimes, thanks to the workof the international tribunals for theformer Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and theestablishment of the International
Criminal Court.
To me, these are all signs thatinternational humanitarian law is fully
capable of keeping up with the times.
Q: What are the current challenges you
observe with respect to the law and therealities on the ground?
There is still room to strengthen andclarify the existing legal framework. For
example, the ICRC recently published aninterpretive guidance on the concept of"direct participation in hostilities".
Neither the Geneva Conventions nor
the Additional Protocols spell out
what this actually means. If there is noshared understanding of what thismeans, there is a risk that civilians will
fall victim to erroneous or arbitraryattacks.
Let me give you an example. Imagine a
civilian truck driver is delivering
ammunition to a shooting position on afront line. This would almost certainly beregarded as taking a direct part inhostilities. But what if that same drivertransports ammunition from a factory toa port far away from the conflict zone? In
our view, while he is still supporting thewar effort, this driver is not directly
participating in the fighting and istherefore protected against attack.
These questions are all the more pertinent
when you consider that traditional
military functions are increasingly being
outsourced to private contractors, andthat civilians regularly support non-State
armed groups through a range ofactivities, from military and logisticalsupport to feeding and sheltering fighters.
Q: Do the people the ICRC seeks to help
believe that the Geneva Conventions
are effective?
The ICRC recently commissioned an
opinion poll in eight conflict- andviolence-affected nations, which asked
people about their views on the conductof hostilities and other related issues.
The vast majority of people support thecore principles of IHL and the idea thateven wars should have limits, but theresearch also shows that, in reality, far
fewer are aware that the rules exist.
Meanwhile, some doubt that the law hasa real impact on the ground.
The actions most widely viewed as
unacceptable are "the killing ofcivilians/children/the innocent", "specifictypes of violence/oppression, such as
kidnapping, torture and stealing", "attacks
on buildings/specific areas, including
looting and attacks on civilian areas" - and"sexual violence," which is mentioned by
43% of respondents in the DRC. In
addition, the single most widely rejected
practice of all relates to attacking religious
and historical monuments. Almost
everyone (96%) objects to this, withsimilar levels of opposition across all thecountries.
This, coupled with the fact that civilians
keep on being killed, separated from their
loved ones and forced to flee their homes
in conflicts across the globe, indicates thatwhat we really need is better compliancewith the law.

To learn more about the survey:
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/research-report-240609

International RC/RC Movement
Teaching young people about international humanitarian law
Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) is aneducational programme aimed atdisseminating to young people about
international humanitarian law (IHL) andrelated issues. Since the Japanese versionof EHL was published in 2005, the Red
Cross Youth (RCY) has been a strong
advocate of the programme in thecountry, often using elements of it as a tool
to educate youth on IHL at an annual
training for the RCY teacher sponsors.
Recently, the RCY organized a four-day"EHL course", which covered the complete
programme translated into Japanese.
This EHL course was held in conjunction
with another training course on RCY
which together comprised a training for
RCY teacher sponsors held between the5th and 8th of August at YMCA TOZANSO,Gotenba, Shizuoka. As I have been
fortunate enough to have attended aregional training seminar on EHL
organized by the ICRC in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia in March 2009, I was involved in
the course as one of trainers. Mr.
Nagamine, Head of the ICRC Tokyo Office,also gave a lecture.
The EHL training in Gotenba
In the beginning, the RCY teacher
sponsors looked bewildered uponhearing about IHL, as it was not something
they had heard about in their daily lives. As
they learned more, however, they started
to realize that "treating a person
humanely during the conflict" isconnected to the concepts of "protectionof one's life and respect for a person" and"humanity" in peace and war that are thepillars of the Red Cross Youth. Recognizingthese ideas allowed participants to thinkof IHL as "a useful tool for students to learn
about one's life, connection with people,and compassion."
The response to the Japanese version ofEHL videos for students made by the ICRC
was particularly significant. Some of theparticipants were seen to be crying while
watching the video; meanwhile the other
RCY teacher sponsors who were nottaking part in the EHL course came up withideas of showing the video in classrooms
or teaching on child soldiers andlandmines.
During the training in Kuala Lumpur I had
in March, I learned two major things. One
was about a technique called"exploration" (which encourages
students to take initiatives in class basedon their opinions, interests, and concerns).
Additionally, I learned that those taking
part in the course, whether teachers or
students, should think about basic and key
concepts for EHL such as "human dignity","bystander", "humanitarian action", and"dilemma" in advance, before embarking
on further "explorations". What I learnedat the training has been a great help to me
in dealing with the participants' responses
during this EHL course in Japan. For
example, some of the questions asked by
the participants included: "Do you think
it's possible to get opinions on IHL fromstudents in Japan where they are not as
used to discussing as compared to thestudents in Western countries?"; "Thecontents of EHL are so interesting, and I

would like to use EHL materials in my class,yet I think it needs to be made simpler forthe elementary student". These opinions
were very useful for me to think about thefuture development of EHL in Japan.
I would like to have more opportunities for
the RCY teacher sponsors to learn EHL asa means to teach young people on theideals of the Red Cross Movement - IHL
and its basic concept of humanity, as wellas the protection of one's life and dignity.
At the same time, I would like to introducethe EHL materials and present theoutcomes from the course to the Ministryof Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology, in order for the government
to consider integrating the EHL
programme into the curricula forJapanese schools. For that purpose, I am
currently planning to look at how to adapt
the EHL programme to the Japanese
school system.
Reported by Rika Ueno
JRC/RCY and Volunteers
Division, Japanese Red
Cross Society

Dedicated nurse receives the 42nd FlorenceNightingale Medal Award
On August 12, in conjunction with the 60th Anniversary of the signing of theGeneva Conventions, H.M. the Empress awarded the ICRC's Florence Nightingale
Medal to Mrs. Tokiko Saita, 84. The Vice President of the ICRC, Ms. Christine Beerli,also attended the ceremony which took place in Tokyo.
This Medal - the highest international distinction that can be awarded to a nurse- honours exceptional courage and devotion shown in caring for the victims ofarmed conflict and/or disasters, or for exemplary services and a creative andc Japanese Red Cross Society
pioneering spirit in the areas of public health or nursing education.
Mrs. Saita worked as a nurse for 47 years, donning the formal uniform of a Red Cross Nurse in 1943 to help to relieve thesuffering the sick and the wounded in a Shanghai hospital during WWII. After the war, she returned to Japan where she
was a pioneer in the area of nursing education.
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
E-mail:tokyo.tok@icrc.org / Website:www.icrc.org

Website:www.jrc.or.jp