Invasion: Clara Barton International Humanitarian Law Competition

 By: Andrew Klein, Communications Volunteer          

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“A few weeks after Country A crossed the border into Country B, an international mission, including the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, was sent to the region to evaluate and report on the crisis. The situation in northeast Country B is undeniably grim. However, the worst may be yet to come.

More than 2 million people live in northeast Country B. Since fighting began, over 215,000 people have been driven from their homes. While roughly half of these internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned, more than 100,000 people remained displaced, including tens of thousands of women and children” 

Country A believes strongly their actions are justified because Country B’s northern provinces have been hiding places for rebels who kill and maim in their effort to overthrow Country A’s government. Country B sees this as an oil-rich land grab with limited evidence of the accusation about the rebels. (A fictional account derived from reporting on real events)”

https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law

What really is justified under the law? What happens to all the displaced people? Whose responsibility is it to keep the utilities working, food available, and law and order in place? Who pays for this? Is this a humanitarian crisis? If so, will others in the region help? 

Many questions and many reference documents from conventions, treaties, and law. Diplomats and lawyers will be needed. Aid and assistance will be of paramount importance to the hundreds of thousands seeking to survive.

How is this resolved?

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members, and staff worldwide, and was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering.

International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war. It is a branch of international law which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting persons who are not participating in hostilities, and by restricting and regulating the means and methods of warfare available to combatants.

 

International humanitarian law, like the Red Cross and Red Crescent, is inspired by considerations of humanity and the mitigation of human suffering. It comprises a set of rules, established by treaty or custom, that seeks to protect persons and property/objects that are, or may be, affected by armed conflict, and limits the rights of parties to a conflict to use methods and means of warfare of their choice. 

Sources of international law include international agreements – the Geneva Conventions, customary international law, general principles of nations, and case law. It defines the conduct and responsibilities of belligerent nations, neutral nations, and individuals engaged in warfare, in relation to each other and to protected persons, usually meaning non-combatants. It is designed to balance humanitarian concerns and military necessity, and subjects warfare to the rule of law by limiting its destructive effect and mitigating human suffering.

As in almost any disagreement, each side – or multiple sides – has their own perspective, rationale, and reasoning which justifies, to them, what they did or did not do – or why what others did is not right. It is not hard to imagine the above scenario is viewed very differently by all the direct and indirect parties to these events. Often, the United Nations or similar international bodies gather representatives of the parties in conflict, allowing debate and legal considerations to be aired. These are complex, emotional, and politicized gatherings. And while almost all parties subscribe to the rule of law, interpretation of events and the law produce vigorous, even boisterous, discussions.

The American Red Cross, in partnership with the Clara Barton Competition Corporation and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), organizes and sponsors a competition to continue the spirit of Clara Barton’s work – the founder of the American Red Cross.

Some participants of the Clara Barton IHL Competition

The Clara Barton International Humanitarian Law Competition is a simulation-based, experiential legal competition designed to expose rising professionals to the practice of IHL and to real-world challenges facing IHL practitioners during armed conflict. The Clara Barton IHL Competition is open to students currently pursuing Juris Doctor (J.D.), Bachelor of Laws (LL.B), or Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees at law schools in North, Central, and South America, as well as students attending United States and Canadian military academies and institutions. The 2021 Competition was held remotely during the weekends of  March 13-14, and March 20.

Final Round of the Competition

The Competition tests participants’ knowledge of international humanitarian law and public international law, as well as their ability to present, advocate for, and defend legal positions. This year, four teams made it to the verbal, debate-style face-off semi-finals. These were American University, the US Military Academy, the University of Buenos Aires, and the Loyola School of Law. The University of Buenos Aires was judged the champion. There are essay competitions that also brought some law schools, college undergraduates, and smart high schoolers into the international law discussions around topics of Child Soldiers and Girl’s Education.

The University of Buenos Aires team after finding out they won!

It is a challenging world out there and this competition is a chance to see and hear from the scholars who are likely to be part of the future of war and peace, justice, and the rule of law.

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International Committee of the Red Cross: https://www.icrc.org/

The 2021 Competition Clara Barton International Humanitarian Law Competition: https://www.clarabartoncompetition.org/

Viral’s Story on the Tragedy that Inspired Him to Become a Red Cross Volunteer

What Being Trapped for 5 days in the Rubble of an Earthquake that Took My Family Taught Me About Survival and Life’s Blessings

Written by: Rosalind SE Carney, volunteer

In late January 2001, Viral Dalal went to visit his family at the apartment his father had rented while working in Bhuj, Western India. Viral’s father had planned a family trip to a local beach resort. Devastatingly, Bhuj was the epicenter of an earthquake that caused this trip never to be realized and killed more than 20,000 people.

At 8:45 am on January 26th, Viral was still in bed while his father, mother, brother, sister-in-law and two-year-old nephew were up and about in the apartment. Suddenly, Viral heard a noise that sounded like thunder. He looked outside and saw darkness; he could not figure out what the noise was. As he tried to kick his comforter off him, he felt the earth shake and furniture started rattling. Before he could get out of bed, the furniture became airborne 8-10 inches off the floor. This was the just start of an earthquake that measured 7.7-7.9 on the Richter scale and lasted 1.5 to 2 minutes.

The rattling sensation caused the bed to become airborne, which rendered Viral with no control over his body. He could hear the deafening roar from underneath the ground, the utensils in the kitchen crashing to the floor and his mother screaming. He looked up and saw the blades of the ceiling fan touching the ceiling and was sure the dangling fan would fall on his head. A 6-8 inch crack appeared in the ceiling and steel rods, once embedded in the concrete ceiling, became exposed. Viral tried to move but could not get off the bed. Plaster and concrete started to drop from the ceiling and the room went dark. This was only still only 5-7 seconds after the earthquake started. A few seconds later, the eight-story building started to collapse and fall to the side. The rented apartment was on the second floor. As the building crashed down, Viral braced his body for the impact. He felt as if he was falling through a tunnel as he fell to the ground. The shaking continued for another minute.

Viral was now enclosed in a small space, no larger than a coffin; the fallen ceiling was two inches from his forehead. He had no injuries but had no room to move. He shouted for help but the concrete muffled his voice. He thought this must be a nightmare as only a few minutes prior he had heard his family’s voices. Viral knew he must figure out a way to survive, to see his family.

Viral was wearing a wristwatch that his father had given to him on his previous birthday. The watch had an iridium blue light that Viral used to light up the small confined space in which he was trapped. He saw no way out. Concerned about a lack of oxygen, he restricted himself to one breath every twenty seconds. Using the light of the wristwatch, he found a strip of aluminum, part of a broken electrical fitting on the wall. He tried to scratch a hole in the wall, but to no avail. Luckily, sufficient oxygen would continue to reach him until his rescue…five days later.

Throughout the five days, Viral’s primary thoughts were about his family’s safety; his only hope was to see them again. He was disconnected from the entire world…not even an insect knew of his existence. Deprived off food and water, he forced himself to become mentally strong, telling himself such things were bad and unnecessary. Thus, he didn’t feel hungry or thirsty. To keep himself alive, he drank his own urine, which then became recycled urine. With the light of the wristwatch, he had also found a plastic electrical fitting. It was cup-shaped and had a hole in the bottom through which electrical wires normally pass. Viral blocked the hole of this fitting with his finger and used it as a receptacle to collect his urine. He estimated he could survive like this for eight days.

On the fifth day, the rescuers were clearing the rubble when Viral’s voice was heard. A Scottish volunteer team from the International Rescue Corps came at 3 pm that day. They could not pinpoint his exact location, so Viral told them whether the tapping sounds the rescuers made seemed to be coming from above or below him. The rescuers put supports above and below the slabs of the pancaked structure to prevent collapse and retrieved Viral through a small hole. The rescuers were concerned he was dehydrated, but Viral could only think of his family. At the insistence of the rescuers, Viral went to hospital but returned only 30 minutes later to help locate his family. He drew sketches in the dirt that detailed the layout of the apartment and indicated where he thought his family members were when the earthquake started.

Viral did not know that his brother’s body had already been found. Over the next four days, they found the bodies of his sister-in-law, nephew, father and mother. Viral felt as if his life was over. He returned to the family home in Ahmedabad, a four bedroom house, now empty. Two months later, he was still trying to reconcile what happened. He could no longer face looking at photos of his family. The missing smiles of his loving family in the photos made Viral realize he was doing something wrong with his life. He needed to stand up and finish the collective dreams of his family.

Viral’s father was looking forward to the day his son completed his Master’s in Computer Science at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. Eight months after the earthquake, Viral returned to the US and resumed his studies. He made a decision to move his life forward; he would sometimes have slip ups, but he never gave up. Viral is now married, with a 5-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. This would never have been possible if he had not chosen to live life again.

Viral recently joined the Red Cross as a volunteer. He wants to share a message with other victims of natural disasters. The message is “choice”, “choosing light over darkness” and “live in the present.” Viral says, “People go through different things in life. If you go through darkness, it is then your choice to choose light. You can remember the past, but you do not have to become stuck by it. By being trapped for five days and losing my family, I learned that happiness is within myself and under my control. Life is beautiful, but sometimes you do not see how blessed you are until tragedy happens.”

Learn How To Become A Red Cross Volunteer

Learn About Red Cross Disaster Relief Efforts

August is National Immunization Awareness Month

Written by: Keegan Wieland, volunteer

This month we recognize National Immunization Awareness Month. Along with blood donations and disaster relief, the Red Cross helps cultivate immunization around the world in places such as Kenya, Benin and Ethiopia. This is critical because about 360 children die every day from the measles virus. This tragic reality is attributed to a lack of access to proper immunizations. To provide help where it's needed most, the American Red Cross partners with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Crescent Societies to create Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIA) that provide funding, awareness, and education in support of immunizations.

One of the SIA tactics used is house-to-house consultations, which educates the public and gets as many people vaccinated as possible. Since 2001, roughly two billion children have been vaccinated, reducing global measles deaths by 79% or approximately 20.3 million. The Red Cross and all of its volunteers are committed to putting an end to child deaths caused by the measles and rubella viruses. It costs about $2 to vaccinate a child against measles and rubella, making it one of the most cost-effective health interventions available. 



Together, we can make a difference.

Please consider donating to the Measles & Rubella Initiative. Text PREVENT to 90999 to give $10 to the Red Cross and help us vaccinate children against measles.

Learn more about the Measles and Rubella Initiative. 

Living Like a Refugee

The Global Refugee Simulation and Conference

By Dana Ayers, Volunteer Contributor 

A few weeks ago I learned that the Red Cross was creating the largest refugee simulation in history in Bull Run park in Virginia. I knew I had to go check it out. 

I was aware that Red Cross strives to educate civilians about international humanitarian law (IHL) through efforts like Raid Cross, so to hear about a full-scale exercise to hammer these issues home was intriguing. 

As I started learning more about the simulations, it became clear that this was a massive undertaking. More than 500 people were expected to attend the 6+ hour event (it ended up being more like 13+ hours for some of the committed volunteers). Students, volunteers, Red Cross personnel, Marines, Special Forces, humanitarian NGOs, local industry - all were involved to support this.

The purpose? To simulate what it's like in real life for those who are forced to leave their homes due to conflict. One Red Cross volunteer, Sue, explained that the simulation would expose participants to every aspect of humanitarian law and refugee crises. "Maybe they are doctors, or lawyers, or ditch-diggers - but they've all lost something," she explained, referring to the reality of displaced populations. 

The base camp was already set up when I arrived, but no refugees had yet made it through their journey to the camp. The "refugees" were brought by bus from DC and dropped off in waves at the park. They were given back stories, with details such as how many were in their family, what ethnicity and religion they were, and why they were fleeing their country. The country in conflict was referred to as "Quinta" in the scenario, while the country across the border - which held the refugee camp - was referred to as "Renimar."

The back story of the citizens from Quinta included the fact that many of them would be discriminated against for their gender, ethnicity, or religion. Some were given 5 pound flour sack "babies" to carry along the journey, while others would "have" new babies inside the camp. Some would lose family members along the way, others would lose possessions while being robbed by rebel forces on the border. All would lose some part of their dignity - represented by two red coins - before the day was over. It was all based on true realities of conflict and displacement. 

I decided to leave the camp and trek out into the woods to follow one of the waves of refugees on their journey. Once they arrived, the wave had to go through simulated minefields - complete with trip wire and smoke bombs, not to mention live gunfire going off at the Bull Run shooting range next door for added realism. The group then worked their way through a disorienting forested area, which is where I caught up to them. They were lost, and it was raining. This, again, added to the realism of the simulation.

Eventually, they found their path and about 15 minutes later, finally reached a set of vendor stalls selling food and other items. The refugees began to barter for goods to keep them going. It was there that they were approached by fake members of the media, who asked them to tell their stories. Again, a realistic experience for these wearing, displaced citizens.

I asked one of the vendors - a local college student - about her experience so far. She told me she had learned so much already that day, and she noted that the nasty weather made her all the more empathetic to those who really go through this type of crisis. 

Shortly after leaving the vendors, the wave of refugees I was following was seized upon by rebel forces in Quinta. A group of volunteers - led by real-life Special Forces personnel - began yelling at the group and brandishing weapons. The group was told to form a line and give up their money, food, and, at times, their dignity - a reminder of the horrors that refugees actually face when trying to escape. 

I asked one of the active-duty Marines helping with the simulation why he got involved. "I did a humanitarian mission in '05 and I've been deployed to Third World countries. I just wanted to see a different side of this and facilitate the Red Cross putting the participants through the exercise," he explained. His team's efforts definitely made the simulation more memorable for the participants!

After the rebels eventually let the group go, the refugees finally made it to the border of Renimar. But, here again, they were roughly approached - this time by border patrol soldiers who were speaking a foreign language. The simulation used French-speaking international students and volunteers in military uniforms to create realism. There was even a border patrol K9 played by real-life Iraq war-deployed military dog "Junior."

At the border, the refugees were harassed, questioned for IDs, yelled at in a language they didn't understand, and often separated from their families and detained while their intentions were questioned. Here, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stepped in - as they would in real life - to ensure everyone complied with the Geneva Conventions. As I stood in line behind the group attempting to make it through, I overheard the participants assuring each other of things they had learned. "Remember, they can only touch you on the shoulders..." Clearly, this event was hammering home some humanitarian law education. 

Once the refugees finally made it through the border, they entered the open field where the camp was waiting. There, they were to go through the real life steps of joining a camp. First, they were to head to the registration tent where they were questioned again on their background. From there they could receive medical attention at the first aid tent, receive food rations at the market, receive supplies to build their own tent, and report missing family members to the "restoring family links" office.

I started asking some of the participants inside the camp about why they did this simulation. One local George Washington University student told me she was going to Jordan this summer to work with refugees from Syria. The simulation was a way for her to better understand what they've gone through. 

Another student I encountered, Juliette, is a peace and conflict resolution major at American University. "This was everything I thought it would be, which is good and bad," she told me. She went on to explain that how the displacement experience is such a big journey. "Crossing the border was so dangerous in itself, but here it's still dangerous," she said, referring to the camp and how pandemic diseases could easily break out in a group so large, all living in close quarters. 

I learned that at the end of the day, the participants would be able to talk about their experiences with IHL experts, Red Cross staff, and mental health experts - as well as discuss things such as the ethics of covering news in a conflict zone. All very important, considering several of the participants will likely end up in careers focused on humanitarian assistance. 

Beside those who have interest in future work, there were also participants who are already working in teh field who took part in the simulation because they will soon deploy to real life conflict zones. Some merely found out about the simulation through their Friends' Facebook pages and came just to check things out. Regardless of why they showed up, there's no doubt that everyone walked away from the day with a deeper appreciation of the plight of displaced citizens and the need for humanitarian aid. I know I did.

World Hello Day

By Kelly Norton, Volunteer Contributor 

Today - November 21st - marks the 40th annual World Hello Day. This holiday was founded in 1973 as an opportunity for people worldwide to promote peace and encourage the global community to resolve conflicts through communication rather than war or force.

Anyone can participate in World Hello Day by simply greeting 10 people. I encourage you to do that today!

In the spirit of the holiday, today I'm sharing some information about the work the American Red Cross does internationally. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) coordinates the efforts of national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in 189 countries, including the American Red Cross here in the U.S. The IFRC's work focuses on four core areas:

1. Promoting humanitarian values
2. Disaster response
3. Disaster preparedness
4. Health and community care

The unique and strong network of the IFRC, - which covers almost every country in the world - allows for cooperation between National Societies. One of the efforts that is made possible through this global network is IFRC's ability to help reunite loved ones who've been separated by armed conflict and international disasters. The American Red Cross, with the help of the IFRC, works tirelessly to help reconnect people who so desperately want to say "hello' to a missing loved one. This work is done through the Family Links Network.

The American Red Cross helps families separated internationally when:

• War, disaster, migration, or other humanitarian emergencies take place
• Families have already tried normal channels of communication to the extent possible with no results
• The family member making the request is able to provide essential information on the missing person
• The family member making the request is a relative who had been in direct contact with the missing person before the crisis occurred

The work of the Network includes searching for family members, reuniting families, restoring contact, and trying to find out the fate of those who remain missing. The Network makes a priority to the family members of unaccompanied or separated minors and other vulnerable people at the onset of an emergency. The American Red Cross Family Links Network has brought comfort to thousands of families by delivering both simple messages like "I am alive," as well as coordinating incredible reunions like these: