Human Rights Law Review Advance Access originally published online on February 18, 2009
Human Rights Law Review 2009 9(1):95-126; doi:10.1093/hrlr/ngn044
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The International Committee of the Red Cross and International Human Rights Law
*Sergey Sayapin, Dr. iur. candidate at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin's Chair for German and International Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Contemporary Legal History (sergey.sayapin{at}yahoo.com).
Throughout a considerable part of its history, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has customarily refrained from invoking international human rights law, for reason of this law's alleged politicisation. However, the changing character of armed conflicts and other situations of violence where the ICRC is currently operating have prompted it to set a framework for making some limited use of selected and applicable human rights, for the purpose of reinforcing the protection and assistance it provides. This article examines how the ICRC may use human rights in this way during armed conflicts, through the prism of international humanitarian law, as well as the conditions for their invocation in accordance with relevant ICRC doctrines.
In 2000 to 2008 the author worked at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Regional Delegation for Central Asia and, most recently, was responsible for the ICRC Programme on the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law. Whilst the author has made every effort to ensure maximum accuracy in the interpretation of ICRC documentation, this article, as a piece of legal scholarship, may not necessarily reflect the ICRC's institutional views on some issues under consideration. The author thanks Mr Pierre-Emmanuel Ducruet, Ms Sevil Velieva and an anonymous referee at the Human Rights Law Review for their insightful comments and suggestions on the text.