IHL and other fundamental norms that protect individuals in situations of violence impose obligations on the authorities and parties to an armed conflict and guarantee the rights of civilians and other persons not, or no longer, participating directly in hos­tilities or violence. ICRC protection activities seek to ensure that the parties to a conflict meet their obligations and that the rights of individuals under IHL and other fundamental norms are respected. They focus on preventing violations and abuse, putting an end to them when they occur and avoiding their recurrence.

They also help alleviate the suffering caused by violations and abuse.

Protection work essentially comprises:

• protecting civilians and other individuals not, or no longer, taking part in conflict or violence, notably persons or groups exposed to specific risks such as children, women, the elderly, the handicapped and displaced persons;

• protecting persons deprived of their freedom, particularly those detained in connection with an armed conflict or other situation of violence;

• re-establishing links between members of families who are separated from each other and unable to establish contact by themselves, with priority given to children separated from their parents;

• clarifying the fate of people missing as a result of an armed conflict or other situation of violence.

• persuading and encouraging the authorities and weapon bearers to fulfil their obligations, with the aim of preventing, putting a stop to or alleviating the suffering of people affected by armed conflicts or other situations of violence;

• reinforcing the authorities’ ability to meet their obligations;

• mobilizing other players able to influence and assist the authorities;

• directly providing services to the persons affected;

• in stringently defined circumstances, publicly raising concern and awareness.

The implementation and scope of protection activities for the civilian population depend on several factors, notably security conditions and the readiness of the authorities to enter into dia­logue and to address issues brought to their attention. The fact that the ICRC is able to develop protection activities and discuss sensitive issues with the authorities concerned does not necessarily mean that the desired results will be achieved. In many contexts, the ICRC is aware of the need to maintain or increase its protection activities despite unfavourable conditions, and develops innovative approaches to enhance respect for IHL and other fundamental norms devised to protect individuals in situations of violence.

In 2006, security concerns continued to restrict ICRC access in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Iraq, and made it impossible to address genuine protection needs in other vast regions. The organization pursued its dialogue on the protection of civilians with the authorities and weapon bearers in many countries, such as Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Israel and the occupied and autonomous territories, Lebanon, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Despite concerns spawned by the prevailing security situation, considerable protection work continued to be per­formed in Darfur, Sudan.

People deprived of their freedom are vulnerable because they depend entirely on the detaining staff and authorities to meet their basic needs and ensure their physical protection. People arrested and detained in connection with an armed conflict or other situation of violence are more likely to be subjected to harsh conditions of detention or to ill-treatment than ordinary detainees.

The main objective of ICRC work to protect people deprived of their freedom is to prevent or put an end to summary executions, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, inadequate conditions of detention, the severing of contact between detainees and their families and disregard for fundamental judicial guarantees and procedural safeguards.

ICRC access to places of detention is not an end in itself. Rather, visits are a means of collecting first-hand information about the situation in such places. The ICRC monitors and assesses detainees’ conditions of detention and treatment by sending trained staff to visit places of detention, talk with the authorities concerned, hold private interviews with detainees/prisoners and prepare an overall analysis of their findings. ICRC findings, assessments and related recommendations are discussed with the authorities at the appropriate levels. ICRC monitoring is a repeated process held to strict professional standards.

In countries affected by both armed conflict or some other form of violence and longstanding severe economic difficulties, the detaining authorities may be unable to ensure conditions of detention that meet the basic needs of detainees held under their authority, regardless of the reason for their detention. Such a situation may require specific efforts and activities on the part of the ICRC. The ICRC’s response will vary, depending on the protection needs identified and the will and capability of the authorities to address them, from confidential reporting and recommendations to the relevant authorities, to a catalogue of activities that includes material assistance, the repair or installation of water supply and sanitation systems, the provision of medical and hygiene supplies, capacity building and training for penal staff, law-enforcement officers, the military and the judiciary, the mobilization of other players and, in exceptional circumstances, public communication of ICRC protection concerns.

In 2006, the ICRC had access to persons deprived of their free­dom in nearly 80 countries and made numerous recommenda­tions to improve often unsatisfactory conditions or treatment. It also continued its visits to people held in The Hague by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in Arusha by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and in Freetown by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. For the first time it conducted visits to persons held under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

States’ policies of repression relating to acts of transnational “terrorism” continued to challenge the ICRC’s ability to engage in constructive dialogue with the authorities responsible for compliance with IHL and other fundamental norms, and to pro­mote respect for the relevant rules among specific groups/actors and to offer a humanitarian response to the needs of people affected by “terrorist” acts. The ICRC visited persons held in connection with acts of “terrorism” in several contexts, and continued to seek access to persons detained on similar charges wherever they were held.

In countries such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Rwanda and Peru, the ICRC provided support to the penitentiary administrations, initiating or pursu­ing activities to address structural problems with a view to enabling the authorities to improve their response to the needs and rights of people deprived of their freedom.
For various reasons, the ICRC put on hold or was unable to resume its visits to persons deprived of their freedom in coun­tries such as Myanmar, the Russian Federation (for Chechnya) and Tajikistan, all the while pursuing its efforts to resolve the problem with the authorities. It maintained and intensified its dialogue with several governments with the aim of gaining access to persons deprived of their freedom. While in several countries those discussions were encouraging, in some contexts progress was slower than expected. For the first time, the ICRC conducted visits to persons deprived of their freedom in Togo.

Armed violence and natural or man-made disasters may lead to massive displacements of people and the separation of families. To re-establish contact between dispersed family members or to reunite families, the ICRC provides services for restoring family links and networks for the exchange of family news. It pays particular attention and gives priority to children separated from their families and those demobilized from fighting forces, as they may encounter specific protection problems.

The tracing services of National Societies reinforce the ICRC’s operational capacities in this area. The family-links network

– comprising the ICRC’s Central Tracing Agency, ICRC delegations and National Society tracing services – provides essential services to those in need, enabling people to communicate with one another, reuniting those who have been separated, locating missing relatives or identifying and recovering human remains.

The ICRC acts both in its direct operational capacity and in its lead role for restoring family links within the Movement. This lead role means that the ICRC acts as the Movement’s technical adviser in this field and coordinator of its international response, even in situations of natural disaster occurring outside conflict zones or violence-prone areas.

In 2006, needs for assistance in restoring family links and related activities remained particularly acute in Africa, mainly in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Horn of Africa. In West Africa, family-links services continued to be provided but to a lesser extent than in the past, as the situation stabilized. In South Asia, work continued to meet the needs generated by the 2005 earthquake. In cooperation with National Societies, the ICRC acted, whenever necessary, following smaller-scale natural disasters that struck in 2006, particularly in Asia (Indonesia and the Philippines), to make sure that people who had lost touch with their relatives were able to get the assistance they needed.

In December 2004, the ICRC launched a project called “Restoring Family Links – strengthening the response of the Movement”. The project aims to enhance response capacity to the needs of those without news of their families by developing and implementing a ten-year Movement strategy to restore family links. With the support of an advisory group composed of representatives of 20 National Societies and the International Federation the ICRC drew up the strategy in 2005 and 2006. It was then discussed at four regional conferences held in November and December 2006 in Nairobi, Kyiv, Buenos Aires and Bangkok, and attended by senior National Society leaders. Comments made during the conferences will be incorporated into a revised consolidated strategy to be submitted to the Council of Delegates in November 2007.

Following the 2003 International Conference of Governmental and non-Governmental Experts on the Missing, the 28th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent adopted the Agenda for Humanitarian Action, which sets out clear objectives for the States and the Movement to achieve between 2004 and 2007. The ICRC, for its part, pledged to resolve the problem of people unac­counted for as a result of armed conflict or internal violence and to assist their families.

Since then, the ICRC has continued to expand its activities in favour of missing persons and their families, promoting the rel­evant humanitarian rules, developing appropriate national law, cooperating with armed forces, arranging for the exchange of family news, tracing persons unaccounted for, handling human remains and providing support to the families of missing persons. It backed the development of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted in December 2006 by the UN General Assembly. The ICRC also maintained constant dialogue with the authorities with a view to ascertaining the fate of missing per­sons and assisting their families, often households headed by women. In particular, it continued to promote the establishment of national or multilateral mechanisms for clarifying the fate of people missing in connection with armed conflicts or internal violence and to provide support to, or participate in, existing mechanisms, particularly in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Nepal, Serbia (including Kosovo) and Timor-Leste.

The ICRC participated in various meetings, round-tables and conferences on general and specific protection issues. It also maintained bilateral relations with the main organizations and institutions active in this area. Within the UN framework, it fol­lowed in particular discussions on the protection of IDPs and participated as an observer in protection “cluster” meetings, both in the field and at headquarters level. The main purpose of these contacts was to promote the specific approach of the ICRC, ensure complementarity and prevent gaps in protection work, avoid duplication of efforts and the weakening of profes­sional standards, and accurately identify the added value of each individual organization, in terms of its mandate, experience and specific nature.

See ICRC Annual Report 2006.