This dissertation examines monitoring of state compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL) conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In subjecting this particular monitoring regime to systematic analysis, the dissertation sheds light on the more general question of the effects of international law on state behavior. The project first places the de facto monitoring regime that governs IHL in the broader context of other monitoring regimes in international politics. Here the decentralized nature of the monitoring regime that governs IHL is highlighted. The central role played by a non state actor, the ICRC, in both the initial codification of the law and its monitoring is partial indication of the tepid interest of states in securing compliance with the law. This chapter likewise examines variation in the IHL monitoring regime across time to explain how exogenous changes in the nature of war in the post-World War II period led to the obsolescence of the institution of the protecting power and its replacement by an ad hoc monitoring system with the ICRC at its center. The informality of this institutional arrangement proved an asset, as it was not hamstrung by the same considerations that bedeviled its competitors, the protecting power and the International Humanitarian Fact Finding Commission (IHFFC). The dissertation proceeds to introduce an original dataset and to test via statistical analysis a set of hypotheses about the conditions under which states grant access to the ICRC as a monitor of IHL compliance. Though both regime type variables and variables related to the military-strategic context prove significant, there is substantial evidence that states make strategic use of monitor access, for instance offering partial but incomplete access as a way to accrue at minimum cost the benefits of signaling compliance. There is further evidence that, while some indicators of military urgency decrease monitor access as realists would predict, other such indicators have the opposite effect. I read this as indication that offering a degree of access holds some political value to warring states and thus is an incentive for states to offer partial access even absent full commitment to the law. This intermediate level of access that appears so attractive to states is thus a potential moral hazard. The next chapter examines the strategic decisions, not of states, but of the ICRC itself, probing in particular the circumstances under which it is most likely to break its confidentiality policy and "go public." Examining the full universe of ICRC press releases from 1995 to 2005, I find evidence that the organization is particularly likely to choose a policy of silence in situations in which states refuse it access. This decision may sometimes be problematic. As in the case of the Algerian civil war, the organization may hold its tongue during a civil war in which IHL violation is rampant only to happily announce that it has been welcomed back into the state once the opposition has been routed. This chapter also finds evidence for the relevance of a cultural variable. Because ICRC neutrality is particularly suspect in contexts in which a politicized strand of Islam is a salient conflict dimension, the ICRC tends toward a general policy of silence in such conflicts. A notable exception, nevertheless consistent with the general logic explicated here, is the Israeli Palestinian conflict, in which the ICRC has been unusually critical of Israel in an attempt, I argue, to demonstrate the organization's credibility to Arab and Muslim audiences.

Thesis (LL.M.)--The Judge Advocate General's School, United States Army, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (LLMC Digital, viewed on Mar. 22, 2010). "April 2007". Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A. (Political and International Studies))--Rhodes University, 2005. / A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts.

The Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal Movement is the largest humanitarian movement in the world with 97 million volunteer workers around the globe. The organisation relies on seven fundamental principles, the Neutrality Principle being one of them. The questions of this essay are: *Is it yet possible to provide neutral humanitarian aid in the 21st century? *Have the humanitarian crisis’s changed between the 20th century and the 21st century?

The aim of this study is to analyse how the concept of ‘women and children’ is represented bytwo humanitarian organisations; International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) andMédecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The analyses concludes that there is (still) an assumptionthat women have an inherent vulnerability and women are often described together with‘children’ as if they are one vulnerable group instead of two. This study suggests aproblematization of the concept since activities planned by humanitarian organisations mayhave a big impact on people’s lives when assuming one group to be more vulnerable thananother.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / This thesis is a quantitative and qualitative study, reflecting the health promotion I needs of individuals with lower limb amputation in Rwanda. Individuals with physical disabilities are at risk of secondary complications due to the impact of the disability, and this may be exacerbated by poor choices of lifestyle. Rehabilitation services have been traditionally designed for those experiencing sudden on-set, traumatic disabling conditions. Although physically disabled persons desire to engage in wellness-enhancing activities, limited programs based on their health promotion needs' assessment have been developed. In this study, participants' health promotion needs and factors that influence their health-related behaviours were examined using a questionnaire survey and in-depth face-to-face interviews. Data analysis, using SPSS version 10.0, was used to obtain frequency tables and histograms. Chi-square tests, Fisher's exact Tests and Pearson's correlation coefficient were utilized to test for associations between several variables. Audiotape recordings and process notes were translated, and then transcribed verbatim. Strong themes that ran through the data were identified. In order to qualify for between method triangulation used in the study, complementally strengths were identified by comparing textual qualitative data with numerical quantitative results and vice versa. Participants were 334, comprising more males (8O%) than females (20%). The most frequently reported cause of amputation was land mines injuries (44.6%). Most participants were either unilateral below-knee (40.7%) or above-knee (40.1%) amputees. The. majority of participants led physically inactivity lifestyles (64.7%), others consumed alcohol (60.5%), used tobacco (33.5%) and drugs (9.6%). In-depth interviews revealed that participants' low psycho-social status and self-perception led to depression and frustration. Negative peer influence and lack of access to relevant information predisposed them to involvement in risky health behaviours. Further interviews indicated that the participants' perceived health-related needs included access to relevant information and new lifestyle habits to improve their health. Participants also desired job opportunities, particularly vocational training programmes and the formation of support groups, to enhance various programmes. The study findings are extremely challenging. Over 50% of participants were engaged in health-risk behaviours, which would certainly result in the deterioration of their health status. This places a greater demand on rehabilitation services, increasing morbidity and mortality rates, thus further straining the national health -- budget. There is therefore an urgent need to develop, encourage and promote - wellness-enhancing behaviours and activities, to improve the participants' health status and ultimate quality of life. Finally, further studies need to focus on barriers and determinants of health-promoting behaviours, and to explore more about issues related to self-perception and risky health behaviours.

Cette thèse porte sur les missions du Comité international de la Croix Rouge (CICR) pendant la guerre d’Algérie et ses suites. Le CICR intervient, d’une part, dans le cadre de guerres opposant des États et, d’autre part, en cas de conflit armé non international afin de tenter d’assurer le respect des règles humanitaires. Au cours des « évènements » algériens, les arrestations massives de membres et militants du Front de libération nationale (FLN) finissent par saturer les prisons et contribuent à la création de centres d’assignation. Par ailleurs, dès l’indépendance de l’Algérie, des milliers de supplétifs de l’armée française sont internés dans des camps, puis incarcérés pour nombre d’entre eux. L’objectif de ce travail doctoral est l’étude des principales initiatives entreprises par le CICR afin de faire appliquer quelques règles du droit humanitaire aux personnes concernées, pendant les sept années et demi de guérilla et après l’indépendance algérienne. Il est essentiellement question de prisons et de camps d’internement où les délégués contrôlent les conditions matérielles, le traitement et la discipline appliqués aux nationalistes et, plus tard, aux Européens pro-Algérie française arrêtés à partir du début de l’année 1961 ainsi qu’aux anciens supplétifs, de février à août 1963. Il s’agit également d’actions mises en place par le CICR afin d’accéder aux prisonniers français aux mains du FLN. Ce travail aborde également, dans une moindre mesure, diverses actions d’aide humanitaire en direction des populations réfugiées au Maroc ou en Tunisie et des personnes déplacées puis reléguées par l’armée française dans des camps de regroupement. / This thesis examines the missions of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) during the Algerian War and its aftermath. The ICRC intervenes both in wars between states and in non-international armed conflicts, in an attempt to ensure the respect of humanitarian rules. During the “events” in Algeria, mass arrests of members and militants of the FLN (Algerian National Liberation Front) led to overcrowding in the prisons and was a factor in the establishment of internment camps. Immediately after independence, thousands of Muslim auxiliaries in the French army were interned in camps; many were subsequently imprisoned. This study looks at the main initiatives taken by the ICRC to ensure that the rules of humanitarian law were applied to the people involved during the seven and a half year of guerrilla warfare and after Algeria’s independence. It focuses on prisons and internment camps in which its delegates inspected material conditions and the treatment and discipline applied to nationalists and, later, to Europeans known to be pro French Algeria, who were arrested from the beginning of 1961, and former auxiliaries, interned between February and August 1963. It also examines initiatives taken by the ICRC to gain access to French prisoners in the hands of the FLN and, to a lesser degree, various humanitarian actions to help refugees in Morocco and Tunisia as well as people forcibly displaced by the French army and grouped together in camps.

With the seemingly infinite existence of complex emergencies and the overwhelming presence of humanitarian organizations responding to such crises, it is essential that the assumptions, precepts, and actions of humanitarian organizations be critically examined and understood. The aim of this thesis is to explore differing traditions within humanitarian thought: neutrality and solidarity. In the process, this thesis will determine whether it is possible to maintain clear ideologies in the context of a complex emergency and whether the existence of different humanitarian ideologies results in a dichotomy or polarization of humanitarian action. This study is of great import as it delves into the contemporary literature claiming that humanitarianism is currently in a state of crisis – the unsustainability of competing humanitarian ideologies operating together in a complex emergency. Primary documents from both the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) regarding their operations in the 1994 Rwandan complex emergency were examined in order to provide a foundation for the theoretical investigation. Although the ICRC and MSF occupy seemingly polarized positions in the neutrality – solidarity debate, the investigation into their humanitarian activities during the 1994 genocide and the resulting refugee crisis reflected the difficulties of providing relief based upon humanitarian ideals. Due to the complex realities of the 1994 Rwandan crisis, the ideological notions dividing the ICRC and MSF were overshadowed by the simple humanitarian desire to aid those in need.

中華民國紅十字會為我國從事國際人道救援主要組織之一。由於我國特殊的國際地位，中華民國紅十字會並非國際紅十字會的一員。1999年921地震後，我國紅十字會得到紅十字會與紅新月會國際聯合會的幫助，開始發展救災備災計畫。2004年的南亞海嘯，則是我國紅十字會首次實地進行國際人道救援工作。唯近年來，隨著我國從事國際人道救援的非政府組織蓬勃發展，我國紅十字會則逐漸面臨許多挑戰。 本論文分析的重點，包括我國紅十字會與國際紅十字會的關係，我國紅十字會從事國際人道救援的策略，以及我國紅十字會面臨的挑戰。 / The Red Cross Society of the Republic of China is one of the country’s major organizations in charge of international humanitarian assistance. Yet, the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China is not a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). After the 921 earthquake in 1999, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies not only offered emergent aid to Taiwan but also helped develop the “Disaster Preparedness Project of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China.” The recovery program for the Tsunami in South Asia in 2004 is the first time that The Red Cross Society of the Republic of China participated in international humanitarian actions. In recent years, the number of humanitarian NGOs in Taiwan is rising and flourishing. Meanwhile, the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China is facing a lot of challenges. This thesis will first analyze the strategy of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China in carrying out humanitarian assistance. Then, the effectiveness of this strategy will be evaluated. Finally, the thesis will examine the challenges that have confronted the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China.