In the absence of a single armed conflict that monopolized world attention, the media spotlight centred on several key contexts, especially Afghanistan, Darfur (Sudan), Iraq and Israel and the occupied and autonomous Palestinian territories. To a lesser extent, it also covered ongoing humanitarian problems in Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Sri Lanka. As well as reporting on political developments, the media regularly focused on the plight of those affected by armed conflict and the extent to which parties to a conflict conducted hostilities in accordance with IHL. Conversely, several conflicts and other situations of violence remained outside the international media spotlight despite the considerable suffering they engendered. Examples include the Central African Republic, Haiti and the Philippines.

It remained a challenge for the ICRC to ensure that its messages were understood in a global environment in which everyone – governments, armed groups, civil society, pressure groups and, increasingly, members of the general public – uses the media and the Internet to “spin” a particular version of the story, and in which others frequently communicate about the ICRC and its activities.

In 2007, the ICRC engaged in successful public communication on key contexts such as Afghanistan, Iraq and the occupied and autonomous Palestinian territories, thus placing its analysis and concerns firmly on the agenda of relevant decision-makers. Moreover, the ICRC’s added value as a neutral intermediary was powerfully illustrated through media coverage of its role in several hostage-release operations, Afghanistan and Ethiopia being but two examples. The organization also took the rare step of publicly condemning the serious violations of IHL in Myanmar, having exhausted all other possibilities of resolving the issue directly with the authorities.

The ICRC also managed to raise public awareness of the plight of vulnerable groups particularly hard hit by the effects of armed conflicts, such as missing persons and their families, and victims of mines and cluster munitions. On these issues, as on other humanitarian crises, the organization’s ability to produce and distribute quality video footage enabled it to reach new audiences, for example in China and Latin America.

The ICRC’s network of communicators in Geneva, its field delegations and media hubs such as Beijing (China), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Amman (Jordan), London (United Kingdom), Moscow (Russian Federation), Paris (France) and Washington (United States) enabled it to promote the organization’s work to great effect across the globe and around the clock. In addition, most delegations invested considerable effort in building quality relationships with local media in conflict areas, encouraging them to take humanitarian concerns and IHL into consideration in their reporting.

In November 2007, the ICRC hosted a meeting in Geneva at which more than 100 representatives of States, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the media and media-related organizations considered the relevance of IHL to media coverage of armed con­flicts and discussed ways of improving the safety of media personnel in such situations. The meeting formed part of an ICRC project on covering war and armed conflicts, and aimed to draw attention to IHL as a means of both giving media reporting on war greater relevance and impact and of providing protection for media professionals. The ICRC is in the process of developing a digital tool, which it expects to release in 2008, to teach the media about the basics of IHL.

The ICRC strives to ensure that the rank and file of armed, security and police forces know and apply IHL and human rights law in their daily practice, and that other weapon bearers respect IHL and support, or refrain from actively opposing, humanitarian action. To this end, it maintained relations throughout the year with the armed forces of some 140 countries and with about 60 armed groups and several private military and security companies.

Conducted within a reference framework adopted in 2007 for relations with all weapon bearers, these activities are performed by a variety of ICRC personnel, including some 25 specialized delegates, backed up by a network of national officer-instructors around the world.

Throughout 2007, the ICRC consolidated its relations with armed forces worldwide, with a particular emphasis on those needing to resort to force, either at home or abroad. To enhance understanding of the ICRC’s role and its operational procedures among US and NATO officers, two additional delegates were posted to Budapest (Hungary) and Washington. Similarly, an additional position was created in Yaoundé (Cameroon) to reinforce the existing dialogue with African Union forces. Specialized delegates in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America represented the ICRC and observed the implementation of IHL or interna­tional human rights law in a dozen international military exer­cises. They took part in numerous pre-deployment briefings or exercises, in particular for US and NATO units on their way to Afghanistan or Iraq.

Specialized delegates continued to support the efforts of weapon bearers to disseminate IHL or international human rights law, to integrate those norms into their doctrine, education and training, to purchase adequate equipment and to adopt disciplinary and penal sanctions in the event of a violation. They engaged in dialogue throughout the year with armed, police or security forces on the use of force, further consolidating contacts with key individuals at policy-making level and with academies and institutes. Two additional positions were created for relations with the police and security forces of Latin America and of the Indian sub-continent.

A new two-week “Senior workshop on international rules governing military operations” enabled the ICRC to reinforce its relations with 55 generals and senior officers from 53 countries, using practical case studies to foster exchanges on ways of implementing relevant legal norms. Two new publications were produced: Integrating the Law, summarizing this process, and Violence and the Use of Force, summarizing the essential norms of IHL and international human rights law. Ten new officer-instructors, both police and military, were trained to give lectures on IHL and international human rights law in support of the regular activities carried out by specialized delegates.

Delegates around the world continued their efforts to establish a dialogue with armed groups and to strengthen their acceptance of the ICRC and respect for IHL. To this end, countless disseminations sessions were conducted, for instance in the Gaza Strip (occupied and autonomous Palestinian territories) and in Darfur. A film entitled Words of Warriors, intended to raise awareness among armed groups of the need to respect IHL and ICRC action, was tested in the field. It will be distributed to delegations as a dissemination tool in early 2008. Representatives of armed groups originating from Africa and from Nepal were invited to take part in consultations on the need for disciplinary and criminal sanctions for violations of IHL.

Delegates held discussions with some of the most active private military or security companies, notably in Washington and London and talked with government representatives in the same capitals on the need for a regulatory framework and for discipli­nary or criminal sanctions in the event of violations. The ICRC, for its part, thoroughly reviewed its own use of security companies around the world and adopted internal guidelines on the matter.

Internally, the coherence of the ICRC’s dialogue with armed forces operating at global level was reinforced. Mechanisms were put in place in 2007 to allow for better internal communication and coordination. Hence, the delegation in Haiti formulated key messages linked to the use of force or to humanitarian action to be raised by delegations elsewhere with the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations and with countries contributing troops to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. The delegations in Afghanistan and Iraq will proceed along the same lines.

The International Institute for Humanitarian Law in San Remo, its military department in particular, continued to receive financial and technical assistance and advice from the ICRC. In 2007, the ICRC sponsored courses for air force and naval operators. Similarly some 21 officers from 12 countries received ICRC fellowships to attend courses. Projects to review the basic courses offered at San Remo and to modernize the classes were also financed by the ICRC.

Academic circles

As the reference organization for IHL, the ICRC continued to provide curriculum input and support for a network of aca­demic institutes and universities identified as training grounds for future leaders and decision-makers. More than 700 copies of the ICRC’s IHL casebook How Does Law Protect in War? were distributed to practitioners, lecturers and students around the world. More than 50 ICRC delegations were working with aca­demic circles and many were developing context-specific course materials.

About 300 advanced students and faculty members selected from a wide range of applicants benefited from intensive IHL courses organized by ICRC headquarters in a number of locations, such as Modane (France) and Warsaw (Poland). ICRC delegations in the field also reinforced partnerships with universities and higher-education institutes specializing in IHL through events such as courses, symposiums, working sessions and IHL competitions.

Youth

The ICRC continued to consolidate two large-scale programmes for young people in formal education settings: the Exploring Humanitarian Law programme and the secondary school programme for member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Through these programmes, the ICRC actively promoted the integration of IHL instruction at the secondary school level, working in close cooperation with the educational authorities and National Society of the countries concerned.

To ensure the programmes’ success, the ICRC worked with ministries of education and National Societies on the basis of identified best practices, providing academic, technical and financial assistance for translation, teacher training and teaching materi­als. Five regional advisers continued to provide guidance to ICRC delegations with a view to fostering a coherent institutional approach to implementation in their regions. To encourage the sharing of experience and build confidence, the ICRC held several regional and sub-regional meetings with educational authorities and National Society personnel responsible for introducing the programmes at country level.

The Exploring Humanitarian Law Virtual Campus, funded by the Government of the Netherlands, was successfully launched in 2007. The Virtual Campus aims to provide teachers at second­ary level with programme-related news, information, teaching aids and distance-learning tools. During 2007, revisions to the Exploring Humanitarian Law teaching materials were posted on the campus website. These revisions were based on feedback collected worldwide. In parallel, a new visual design and packaging concept for the entire range of Exploring Humanitarian Law products was developed. The aim of both initiatives was to improve the quality of material and support offered to teachers using the programme.

The evaluation report on the European Union Education Leadership Conference, which had been held under the auspices of the Austrian presidency of the European Union in May 2006, was distributed in 2007 and further follow-up carried out within the framework of the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

As part of the revisions and review of the Exploring Humanitarian Law programme, the ICRC decided to conduct a global external evaluation of the programme after it had been in operation for seven years, i.e. in 2008. The evaluation should provide the ICRC with indications of the challenges, risks and best practices associated with the programme.

Other civil society target groups

The ICRC and the Nordic National Red Cross Societies met on several occasions to follow up on their agreement on “Communicating IHL and Neutral and Independent Humanitarian Action”. Pursuant to the agreement, the ICRC and the Nordic National Societies conducted a survey among parliamentarians in the Nordic countries to determine their views on humanitarian action and co-organized a workshop on neutral and independent humanitarian action at the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. A second plan of action, covering 2008–2009, was signed at the end of the year.

In cooperation with the Harvard Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, two courses on IHL and current conflicts were organized for policy-makers and practitioners from around the world concerned with the role of IHL in the work of governments, international organizations and humanitarian NGOs. ICRC delegations organized similar courses at the national and regional level. In addition, the ICRC, together with the Crimes of War Project, began to develop a digital resource tool to be used in IHL workshops for media staff.

The ICRC Visitors’ Service continued to raise awareness of the ICRC and IHL and to liaise with present and future decision-makers and opinion-leaders, welcoming over 5,000 people to ICRC headquarters. It further strengthened its interaction with key stakeholders of the ICRC and developed its networking function.

Over the past decade, the ICRC has carried out a number of studies on people’s attitudes towards IHL, on the roots of combatants’ behaviour, and on IHL violations. Such studies have given the organization a clearer understanding of the complex psychological and social factors influencing behaviour, and have high­lighted both the limitations of strategies to influence that behaviour and the need to define clear and realistic objectives for prevention activities. Periodic evaluations and reviews of prevention activities have confirmed these conclusions, helped clarify the success criteria for such activities and emphasized the synergies between different ICRC activities.

In 2007, the ICRC continued to work closely with academic circles specializing in research on armed conflict and preventing viola­tions of IHL and other fundamental rules that protect people in situations of violence. It participated in a number of round-tables and seminars focusing on issues related to behaviour change. In addition, it initiated a research project on how to prevent young people from taking part in organized armed violence.

The ICRC pursued its efforts to clarify the prevention dimension of its action. The Directorate confirmed that prevention aims to create an environment conducive to respect for the life and dig­nity of persons affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence and for ICRC operations. Policy guidelines on the ICRC’s prevention activities will be finalized in early 2008.

The ICRC began to develop a methodology for ensuring a cohesive and comprehensive approach to evaluating the effects of its prevention activities, both at headquarters and in the field. This long-term project is part of the organization’s overall efforts to enhance accountability to donors and beneficiaries by means of result-based management.

The ICRC, together with the Movement, seeks to reduce the social and economic impact of mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) through a flexible, multidisciplinary approach. Activities to prevent accidents and reduce the impact of these weapons are implemented alongside activities that provide support to victims, including physical rehabilitation, surgical and economic security activities. The composition and specific objectives of prevention activities are dictated by the context in which they are implemented; they normally include a flexible combination of data gathering, risk reduction, mine/ERW surveys/clearance and risk education.

Within the Movement, the ICRC is the lead organization for mine action. As such, it develops Movement policy and provides coordination, guidance and support to National Societies. The major­ity of ICRC activities focus on building National Society capacity to work alongside national authorities in their own countries. In the field, activities to reduce the impact of mines and explosive remnants of war are carried out during routine protection, economic security, water and habitat work.

In 2007, the ICRC finalized a weapon contamination handbook, which is the central reference for all those engaged in the planning and implementation of activities in this domain. Further to this, elements of mine action continued to be integrated into relevant guidelines, toolboxes, policies, training and procedures, in accordance with the integration plan finalized in November 2005. In the field, the ICRC continued to review existing operations and realign them with the preventive mine-action framework.

Rapid response capacity was strengthened through the signing of memoranda of understanding with the Norwegian Red Cross on staffing, and with the Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA) on technical clearance capacity. This means that the ICRC now has the capacity to respond rapidly and the ability to survey and clear mine and ERW contamination where it is hindering the delivery of aid, affecting staff security or having a direct impact on the population. In all cases, such interventions are of a limited nature. A training exercise in Sweden, held jointly with the UN and SRSA, further added to this capacity by training staff in a simulated emergency situation.

The training course developed during 2006 on the basis of the weapon contamination handbook was held on two occasions in Nairobi (Kenya). The course is for ICRC managers and coordi­nators and gives them the knowledge to assess, plan and implement activities in areas contaminated by mines and explosive remnants of war.

Strengthening the capacity of ICRC delegations to communicate effectively in complex and sensitive environments remains one of the Communication Department’s priorities. In 2007, a dozen training courses were conducted at headquarters and in the field in order to enhance the skills and ability of ICRC staff to develop context-based communication approaches and products. The courses enabled both newly appointed and experienced staff to master media relations, to improve their production of print and audio-visual materials, and to develop coherent communication strategies for a wide variety of target groups. Several workshops were held in priority contexts, such as Sri Lanka and Sudan, with a view to more effectively integrating communication into the ICRC’s operational activities. To enable non-specialized staff to communicate more effectively, Department representatives con­tinued to participate in institutional training courses organized for newly recruited staff and managers.

The challenge of securing acceptance of the ICRC’s mission in highly polarized contexts calls for coherent communication strategies at the global, regional and local levels. Regional communication meetings were organized in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe in order to consolidate analyses of regional trends and to share best practices developed in the field. Priority issues and influential stakeholders were identified, and communi­cation plans were prepared in order to address perception problems and to support the ICRC’s humanitarian endeavours.

Throughout the year, 15 support missions were carried out to priority delegations, eight of them in Africa (Burundi, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan). Particular emphasis was put on providing guidance and coaching to locally recruited communication staff and on strengthening the management of human resources in priority contexts such as Iraq, Sudan and the United States. In a number of contexts, such as Guinea and the Philippines, the ICRC continued to provide support to National Societies with a view to enhancing their capacity to communicate in conflict situations.

As part of its efforts to heighten the impact of communication in support of its overall humanitarian response, the ICRC organ­ized a workshop on operational communication for experienced practitioners and operational managers in Geneva. Building on field experience and confirmed practices, the Communication Department was able to give the participants practical guidance on how to address problems of acceptance and foster respect for IHL in difficult contexts.

Developing the environment-scanning capacity of delegations is a key element of ICRC communication. In 2007, the organization conducted studies in Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jordan, Lebanon and Liberia in order to assess how the ICRC was perceived by influential audiences. The results were used to identify critical gaps in the organization’s communication and to review the delegations’ strategies.

As in previous years, recruiting, managing and retaining competent communication staff remained key priorities for the Department. Using the results of a comprehensive study of communication profiles and organizational setups in the field, the ICRC was able to draw up a new human resources strategy. The strategy includes a number of medium-term measures to improve the organization’s ability to ensure that it has qualified and expe­rienced communication staff in the field.