The Humanitarians

The International Committee of the Red Cross

Bibliographic Data

ID23397157
AuthorsDavid P Forsythe (University of Nebraska–Lincoln, corresponding author)
Year2005
Publication date2005-08-11
Open AccessYes
TypeBOOK
VenueHumanitarians (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/cbo9780511755958
OpenAlexW4298334718
Open LibraryOL34450699M
ISBN9780511755958
LanguageEN
Citations received66
References cited95

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) coordinates the world's largest private relief system for conflict situations. Its staff operates throughout the world, and in recent years the ICRC has mounted large operations in the Balkans and Somalia. Yet despite its very important role its internal workings are mysterious and often secretive. This book examines the ICRC from its origins in the mid-nineteenth century up to the present day, and provides a comprehensive overview of a unique private organisation, whose governing body remains all-Swiss, but which is recognized in international law as if it were an inter-governmental organization. David Forsythe focuses on the policy making and field work of the ICRC, while not ignoring international humanitarian law. He explores how it exercises its independence, impartiality, and neutrality to try to protect prisoners in Iraq, displaced and starving civilians in Somalia, and families separated by conflict in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. David Forsythe received the Distinguished Scholar Award for 2007 from the Human Rights Section of the American Political Science Association.

Human rights · Impartiality · Independence (probability theory) · Neutrality · Political science · Politics · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Public Administration

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