On 12 August 1949 in Geneva, 58 countries signed four Conventions in the hope of limiting the horrors of war and strengthening the necessary protection of civilians, during both international and internal conflicts.
Fifty years later, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Swiss Cornelio Sommaruga (67), explains the determining role of parliamentarians in implementing these instruments of international humanitarian law (ratified by 188 States), as well as the importance of the Manual for parliamentarians to be published jointly by IPU and ICRC at the 102nd Inter-Parliamentary Conference in Berlin.
Q: As President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), you have expressed a desire to work with MPs. What role can they play with regard to international humanitarian law?
Cornelio Sommaruga: Parliaments are important for the ICRC. First, they are the bodies which adopt and ratify international texts, and second, they legislate
on the national level to apply these texts. We absolutely need
their co-operation. Moreover, in the democratic countries, parliaments
are the key to political authority. Accordingly, parliamentarians
must know what international humanitarian law consists of and
what the Geneva Conventions represent, in order to lobby their
governments.
Q: August 12th will mark the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. Do they command greater respect or less respect than before?
CS: That is a difficult question to answer. There are very positive elements
to which the media devote little coverage, such as, for example,
an awareness that even in wartime, there are limits. And these
limits are spelled out in international humanitarian law, in the
Geneva Conventions. But we also know that the Geneva Conventions
are violated daily. Should this come as a surprise? We have
to be realistic, we live in societies where national laws are
violated, which is why criminal courts continue to operate and
prisons remain full in almost all countries. We also know that
several other international conventions are not respected. Thus,
the Geneva Conventions are no exception, but such violations are
more visible because they endanger human life and dignity. We
must combat such violations, and parliaments are also essential
in this respect. If national parliaments are aware of the need
to respect the Geneva Conventions, they will pass the message
on to the appropriate officials: the police and the armed forces.
Q: Granted, but the nature of war has changed
CS: Indeed, one hears today that wars are primarily internal conflicts.
I would say that education and training, not only for specialised
forces but also for the public at large, must promote acceptance
of the fact that, even in internal conflicts, there are minimum
rules which have to be respected.
There are three categories of persons who are protected by the Geneva Conventions and who
therefore need to be respected. First of all are civilians who,
in a war, may not become a target for belligerents. This implies
a series of provisions protecting children and women which pertain
to methods of combat. For example, belligerents are not authorised
to use weapons with indiscriminate effects. The second category
of persons to be protected is prisoners of war, who are no longer
fighting because they have laid down their weapons. The Geneva
Conventions do not say that they must be sent home, but specify
that they must be detained and treated humanely. One of the important
provisions of these Geneva Conventions is ICRC delegates' access
to prisoners, to check on their conditions of detention, not to
alert the press but to advise the authorities on how to treat
prisoners. The third category is the war wounded and the sick.
Moreover, the Red Cross came into being because of the soldiers
wounded at the battle of Solferino, in the north of Italy, where
the French fought the Austrians in 1851. A Geneva businessman,
Henri Dunant, who was looking for Napoleon the Third, was so upset
at the sight of the havoc wrought by this battle, which claimed
40,000 victims in 24 hours, that he took steps to care for these
wounded. It should be noted that it was the Lombard women who
cared for the wounded, in all impartiality. Such impartiality
is the real message of the Geneva Conventions.
Q: The ICRC and the Inter-Parliamentary Union have prepared a manual for MPs, due for launching at the 102nd statutory Conference to be held in Berlin
from 10 to 16 October. What is the aim of this manual?
C.S.: This manual is essential because it will help MPs the world over to
understand better the content of the Geneva Conventions. Its
importance transcends parliaments, because these texts, well written
and couched in simple language, will help to facilitate the dissemination
of international humanitarian law, a priority task for the ICRC.
I am very pleased that the ICRC and the Inter-Parliamentary Union
have joined forces to achieve this goal. This dissemination is
first and foremost the responsibility of States, because it is
States which must apply the Geneva Conventions.
Q: So you are asking MPs to be the messengers of international humanitarian law
C.S.: Exactly. And to be responsible messengers. In this period of
globalisation, we get the impression that what is lacking is a
globalisation of responsibilities, which have now diminished.
The State has lost power to other circles, especially economic
ones. MPs can therefore recall the importance of the State, which
is capable of introducing safeguards so that people may live in
harmony. There are limits to war and limits to be respected within
society.
Q: As the guest of honour of the 102nd Inter-Parliamentary Conference in Berlin, what message would you like to send to the delegates, given your
long experience at the head of the International Committee of
the Red Cross?
C.S.: I have not written my speech yet, but it will run along the lines I have just mentioned: respect for the Geneva Conventions, individual
responsibility of parliamentarians and depoliticisation of humanitarian
law. I am very pleased to be one of the guests of honour of this
inter-parliamentary assembly.
Q: You are going to leave the ICRC at the end of the year, after 12 years as its President. What are your plans?
C.S.: It is true that I am coming to the end of my third term. I have put a lot into this institution and I know that I will miss it
a great deal. I have had many offers but have not yet decided
what I would do next
Q: Maybe enter politics?
C.S.: You know me well enough to understand that even if someone told
me that I was cut out for politics, I wouldn't become a politician!