Masters of disorder: rituals of communication and monitoring at the International Committee of the Red Cross

Abstract

The mandate of the ICRC as granted by the Geneva Conventions is to act as a ‘guardian of International Humanitarian Law’ on the frontlines of conflicts. While its humanitarian relief operations have contributed to its international reputation, this monitoring function is rather unknown to the public. In this paper, I pay specific attention to activities carried out by ICRC delegates to protect various categories of victims in times of war. By focusing on the ways in which delegates interpret the principles (‘neutrality’, ‘impartiality’, ‘confidentiality’) that guide their actions, I seek to decipher the organisation’s ethos and worldview. I highlight the hopes as well as the frustrations and disappointments generated by myriad administrative techniques devised to engage parties to a conflict in a ‘confidential dialogue’ on the conduct of hostilities. Finally, I examine how these techniques, built on the hope in the possibility of communication, are changing as a result of external sources of pressure for ‘evidence‐based programming’, turning personalised case‐based monitoring into a new form of ‘audit culture’ based on statistical evidence. Paradoxically, relying on numbers to realise the utopia of ‘humanising war’ makes the very ‘humans’ who are supposed to benefit from it disappear from view.

Reconsidering the vignette as method

“…As the anthropology of refugeehood increasingly considers the work of others and the power dynamics it is embedded in, we look to the work of humanitarians (Feldman, 2010; Malkki, 1996; Rozakou, 2012), NGOs (Billaud, 2020; Fassin, 2007; Ticktin, 2011), artists (Ossman, 2019; Strohm, 2012; Yalouri, 2019), and legal professionals (Cabot, 2014; Good, 2007; Harrell‐Bond & Voutira, 1992; Knudsen, 2009). In a field in which knowledge is ever complex and political (Demetriou, 2022; Scheel & Ustek‐Spilda, 2019), these communities are at once research subjects and researchers.…”

Humanitarian technologies of trust

“…In Manguadora, for example, where the ICRC has been present since 2010, the UV programme is not designed to address the root causes of violence but to turn vio lence into a manageable risk. In other words, its purpose is not to eradicate violence but rather to make it a liveable condition (Billaud 2020). The main method used for achieving this objective is 'confidential dialogue' with weapon bearers, a method grounded in the belief that protection of vulnerable populations can be achieved if men in arms are sensitised to international norms related to the use of force.…”

The ‘New Humanitarians’: Vernacular aid in Greece

“…It is a form of containment, but to maintain order in chaos does not solve the problem (Redfield, 2005). Billaud (2020) analysed the mandate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to humanise wars. She describes the symptom that the humanitarian system suffers from:…”