International Committee of the Red Cross
Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada
In This Issue:
ICRC News fromAround the Globe
NEW ICRC Photo Gallery:
Improving Living Conditions for Inmates in Haiti
In this photo gallery, we share withyou a recent detention success story.Working closely together with Haiti's
prison administration, the ICRC has just completed major repair andrefurbishing work on the "Titanic"wing of Port-au-Prince prison, thelargest place of confinement in thecountry with a capacity of over 2,000people. The completion of this projectprovides improved living conditionsfor hundreds of detainees.
News and Notes
July 2011
This month we focus on the issue of detention.As part of its
mandate to ensure humanitarian protection and assistance forvictims of armed conflict and other situations of violence, theICRC visits both prisoners of war and civilians interned during
armed conflict.The objective of its visits is to ensure respectfor the life and dignity of the detainees. Detention-relatedactivities are a central of the ICRC's work. In 2010, ICRCdelegates visited 500,928 detainees held in 1,783 places ofdetention in 71 countries and in 5 different international courts.
First we present you with an interview with Edouard Delaplace, who
advises the ICRC's Geneva-based Unit for Persons Deprived ofLiberty. Last month, we shared the ICRC's new policy on torture.Here, Mr. Delaplace provides additional details on what the policymeans for the detainees. We also take this opportunity to direct yourattention to the results of a survey conducted by the American Red
Crossthis April on the views of Americans on torture.Moving from global to local, we take a look at the work of ICRCWashington on U.S. detention related to armed conflict. Ralph
Wehbe, Guantanamo Team leader from 2009 to 2011, shares hisexperiences in coordinating visits to the island.
Lastly, we highlight a key facet of the ICRC's work on detention, whichforms a cornerstone of the organization's approach to carrying out itsmandate:confidentiality.Our emphasis on bilateral dialogue enables
us to engage substantively and directly with those who detain.Confidentiality, however, is often misunderstood. We take thisopportunity to explain why the ICRC has chosen this method toachieve concrete results.
As always, please write us with your thoughts and feedback.
This new leaflet summarizes the
problems faced by families who havebeen separated by conflict. It includesa description of the methods used torestore family links, reunite separatedfamilies and ascertain the status of detainees and missing persons.
detainees held in an armed conflictmust be treated humanely andallowed contact with their families. InJune 2007, Israeli authoritiessuspended family visits for detainees
ICRC Policy on Torture: An Interview with EdouardDelaplace
Last month, to commemorate International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, we shared with you the ICRC's new operational policy
on torture and cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment inflicted on persons deprived of liberty. With the adoption of this policy,the ICRC reaffirmed its strong commitment to the fight against this practice, all too widespread in detention facilities. In this interview ,Edouard Delaplace, who
advises the organization's Geneva-based Unit for Persons Deprived of Liberty, explains what the ICRC's approach aims to achieve for detainees.
First, could you summarize the ICRC's position ontorture?
The ICRC's position is very clear: torture constitutes an
intolerable outrage upon the victims themselves and uponhuman dignity. It is and must be prohibited absolutely. Tortureconstitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law
and the international human rights law. However, it is not onlya reflection of the law - it is first and foremost our profoundconviction based on ethical considerations and a sense ofhumanity. No grounds, be they political, economic, cultural orreligious, can justify torture or other forms of ill-treatment. Norcan torture be justified on the grounds of national security.
Yet, torture is very widespread. There is no country, no society today
that is entirely immune from this phenomenon in one form or another.In some cases, we may be talking about a single, isolated act in apolice station or a prison, and in others a systematic, institutionalizedpractice.
After more than a century of visits to detainees, the ICRC possessesa large body of knowledge on the subject of torture. In recent years,over 500,000 people have been visited by the ICRC in some 80countries. Every day we see the distress and dehumanization of
thousands of people who have been physically and mentallydamaged, sometimes beyond repair. It is this firsthand contact withtorture victims that has forged our conviction and strengthened our willto actively fight against this scourge.
Practically speaking, what does the ICRC do to helptorture victims?
The ICRC's work is based on the visits it makes to people
deprived of their liberty to assess the conditions in which theyare held and the way they are being treated. Of course, ourpresence alone is not always enough to stop or prevent ill-treatment, but people in detention often tell us that these visitsprovide them with a welcome respite.
For men and women detainees who have been tortured, a visitby an ICRC delegate provides reassurance that someonerecognizes their existence and their suffering. Helping thosepeople recover a sense of their dignity by speaking to them,giving them time and attention, is the first thing an ICRCdelegate does when he meets someone who is in prison.These visits are sometimes an opportunity for a man or womanwho has suffered ill-treatment to see a doctor. They also
demanding proof of life of Gilad Shalitand to allow family contact. This film
portrays two cases of broken familyties in Gaza and the importance of family visits for detainees.
The ICRC follows the same standardprocedures for all visits to personsdeprived of liberty, listed below. For more information on the history,purpose and characteristics of detention visits, we encourage you toread Protection of Detainees: ICRC Action Behind Bars,by Alain
Aeschlimann's, former head of theICRC's Central Tracing Agency andProtection Division.- In confidential discussions with theauthorities before and after each visit,delegates raise concerns and makerecommendations where appropriate.- ICRC delegates must have accessto all cells where detainees are heldand other facilities used by detainees,such as kitchens, showers, infirmariesand punishment cells.- ICRC delegates must be able tospeak privately with each and everydetainee of their choice.- The ICRC registers detainees fallingwithin its area of concern individually,so as to be able to monitor thesituation of each person as long as heor she remains in captivity.- The ICRC must be allowed to repeatits visits as frequently as it chooses.
Upcoming Events
A multicultural and multidisciplinarylearning experience created toenhance professionalism inhumanitarian assistance programmesconducted in emergency situations.
July 11-29
Baltimore/USA
July 11-22
Hawaii/USA
August 28-30
Co-sponsored by and held at theRobert H. Jackson Center at the
enable the ICRC to provide detainees with humanitarianservices, such as the opportunity to contact and exchange
Outside places of detention, the ICRC aims to act moreconsistently and on a greater scale to offer victimsrehabilitation. It is increasingly working with organizations thatspecialize in this field. In addition, the organization also workswith national authorities to help them improve the practices oftheir officials with regard to detainees.
Lastly, how can the ICRC help eradicate torture? Can yougive us a few examples?
Torture is an extremely complex phenomenon. Its prevalence,or otherwise, may be influenced by a wide range of factorsinvolving individuals, the law, the mechanisms of governance,and ethical convictions. The ICRC takes a comprehensiveapproach, the primary aim of which is to provide victims withprotection, assistance and rehabilitation. At the same time,however, it works to create a legal, institutional and ethicalenvironment conducive to stopping these practices, and wheresuch an environment already exists, to bolster it.
In terms of the legal environment, the ICRC tries to ensure thatthe prohibition on torture and other forms of ill-treatmentbecomes an integral part of national constitutions and thatthese rules are incorporated at the various levels concerned.When it comes to the institutional environment, there needs tobe monitoring and disciplinary measures in place, and theseneed to be effective. The ICRC works with a variety of entitiesto strengthen these mechanisms.
Bolstering the ethical environment is perhaps the biggestchallenge of all. Where certain values are not deeply rooted insociety, it is much more difficult to have an impact on thephenomenon of ill-treatment. For the ICRC, ethical argumentsshould therefore be at the forefront. It is vital to be able toinfluence the debate on torture if we are to have a chance ofmaking a real impact.
ICRC Washington's Work on Detention
The ICRC has been visiting people captured in the context ofarmed conflict and the fight against terrorism who are beingheld at U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan and inGuantanamo Bay since January 2002 and in Iraq since March2003. When our Washington-based team conducts its visits at
Guantanamo Bay, it adheres to the same detention proceduresfollowed by the organization worldwide; for more informationon these, see the side bar at left.As of July 2011, the ICRC has carried out a total of 81 visits tothe detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. The 171 individualscurrently being held on the island originate from 24 differentcountries.To provide some insight into the work of ICRC Washington on
U.S. conflict-related detention,we first share an interview withRalph Wehbe, ICRC Washington's Detention Coordinator from2009 until earlier this month.
Interview with Ralph Wehbe, outgoing Detention
Coordinator for ICRC Washington
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