Can the Red Cross be used for Putin propaganda?
- To date, the International Committee of the Red Cross has transported 200 tons of relief supplies to Ukraine and is negotiating with the conflicting parties about a humanitarian corridor.
- Nevertheless, you have been doing without the official emblem on your employee’s uniform for weeks – out of fear of attacks.
- Did Russia set a trap for one of the most important humanitarian organizations in the world?
In the picture, which will soon explode around the ears of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), two men can be seen smiling friendly at each other. The one on the right is Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister and is currently waging a war of aggression against Ukraine with his country. The one on the left is called Peter Maurer, is a Swiss diplomat and has headed the ICRC, one of the most important humanitarian aid organizations in the world, for ten years. In the background, the flag of the Red Cross is optically equated with that of Russia, both are draped on poles, as is usually the case at summit meetings between two friendly states. Looking at the photo, you have no idea that this is not the G7 summit, but the meeting of two men, one of whom is suspected of supporting serious war crimes.
In the week at the end of March in which the picture was taken, Maurer had a marathon of negotiations behind him. In Kyiv, the 65-year-old met with a number of high-ranking Ukrainian government officials, including Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov and the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, to discuss, among other things, the construction of humanitarian corridors. Maurer then travels to Moscow, where he meets Lavrov and a number of other Russian ministers. It is what the neutral ICRC qua statute does in almost all conflicts around the world: Talking to the conflicting parties involved, exploring solutions, negotiating humanitarian corridors, organizing aid deliveries – over and over again.
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Lavrov set a trap and the head of the ICRC fell into it
It is unclear whether the diplomat is inattentive, clueless or just pragmatic that day. The only thing that is obvious is that Lavrov sets a trap for the head of the ICRC at the joint meeting with the entire production. And this taps into it like a novice diplomatic. In any case, in a subsequent press conference, Lavrov talked for several minutes about the good relations with the ICRC. Shortly thereafter, the friendly-looking photo is taken, which Russia then diligently shares via government accounts. In a war that is also fought over images, the meeting is a small victory for Russia.
In Ukraine, the anger at the ICRC is also great because Maurer and his colleagues have not had a particularly good reputation there for a long time. The ICRC, it is said, is being too gentle with Moscow, the alleged neutrality is cowardice in a cop-out, and the results for the civilian population are far too meager despite reaching out to Moscow. In addition: In the Ukraine at this time the rumor was spreading that the ICRC wanted to set up a kind of camp in Rostov-on-Don, not far from the Ukrainian border, with Russian approval, in order to finance displaced persons there. In this way, Russia wants to legitimize its so-called “humanitarian corridors” on its own territory, even though Ukrainian citizens are being illegally kidnapped by the enemy, complained the Ukrainian Minister for the Reintegration of the Occupied Territories, Iryna Wereshchuk. A tremendous accusation. A member of parliament from Mariupol even called for Maurer to resign on Facebook, and also said that the ICRC should be banned from Ukraine at least until the end of the war. The Red Cross rejected all allegations with an unusually sharp communiqué.
ICRC relies on Russian aid
Founded in Geneva in 1863, the organization finds itself in a dangerous dilemma – in business one would probably call it a ‘strategy trap’. Without access to violators of international law, autocrats and dictators, caring for victims or visiting prisoners of war is hardly possible, and this also applies to this war. The organization is therefore dependent on the Russians’ willingness to compromise if they want to achieve anything at all. If the parties to the conflict do not want to, and do not allow a ceasefire, for example, there are no humanitarian corridors in which the helpers can set up emergency shelters, blood donation centers or medicines. The example of Mariupol, where Russia apparently wants to starve the remaining population, shows this.
Critics like Roman Rukomeda from the Norwegian Center for Integrity in the Defense Sector (CIDS) criticize that the ICRC is currently acting too pragmatically, if not even naively. Instead of tough negotiations with Moscow, Russia is using the organization as a resource of political legitimacy. “In my opinion, there is no place for pragmatism in the current Russian aggression,” Rukomeda said in an interview with the editor. “Either the ICRC does its job according to its statutes, saving lives and doing everything possible to help the victims of the aggression. Or they continue to play political games with Russian terrorists.”
With ‘games’, Rukomeda refers in particular to the accusation that the ICRC is involved in kidnapping Ukrainians from Mariupol to Russia. “The discussion about opening an office in Rostov, Russia is helping Russian terrorists kidnap Ukrainians from Russian-occupied lands,” Rukomeda said. In addition, the ICRC is taking too few minutes to gain access to Ukrainian POWs in Russia, while Ukraine has full access to Russian POWs in Ukraine. Rukomeda’s criticism is widespread among the Ukrainian population these days, and accusations of partisanship resonate.
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Allegations of partisanship have existed for centuries
Nonetheless, this is not the first time this accusation has been heard in Geneva, where the ICRC is based. During both world wars, the ICRC had had to justify speaking to all sides, including known war criminals. At that time, the accusation was even that ICRC representatives transported the destruction gas Zyklon B for the Nazis in their vehicles – which was later refuted. “Our neutrality is often misunderstood,” says Florian Seriex from the ICRC to the editors. “Establishing and establishing a dialogue with the parties to the conflict is essential to move aid across borders, facilitate the safe passage of civilians, gain access to all affected people and act as a neutral mediator on humanitarian issues. “
The allegations are part of a disinformation campaign and pose a serious threat to teams on the ground: “Disinformation and false information intentionally or confidentially disseminated through the ICRC can cause great harm to our staff and can quickly become a physical security risk on the ground. ” As the ‘NZZ’ reported, some employees now prefer to take off their official emblems for fear of attack. Elsewhere there are said to have been attacks on offices and transport vehicles. A modern Red Cross organization was denied a lease for an apartment.
Also read: Prominent Russian journalist Zhanna Agalakova condemns Moscow’s state propaganda
Russia uses NGOs specifically for propaganda
As part of his research for the book “Syria and the Cases of Neutrality”, the former UN adviser Carsten Wieland dealt intensively with Russia’s actions in the Syrian civil war. He views the behavior of the ICRC critically, but also sees the situation as a result of Russian warfare. “The impediment to the impartial and neutral work of humanitarian organizations and the manipulation of humanitarian aid are part of the script of the conflict in Syria, where Russia is significantly involved,” he said in an interview with the editor. “We can also observe these procedures in Ukraine. This includes the attempt to direct humanitarian aid to where the stronger war party wants it, preferring ‘loyal’ parts of the population, while other people are starved out as in the Middle Ages.” It now depends on how hard humanitarian organizations negotiate with such regimes or whether they have taken the easier route and delivered their aid wherever it is possible to get through. “These are very difficult decisions and often a dilemma,” says Wieland.
Wieland can understand that the ICRC is also being tried with war criminals. “But the rather chummy-looking greeting between Maurer and Lavrov was of Lavrov’s specific interest and is certainly not part of the ICRC’s diplomatic tour de force in this situation, while other foreign ministers such as Annalena Baerbock met Lavrov with a serious expression even before the war.” While researching his book, he also spoke to diplomats who would like to see the ICRC and other humanitarian organizations take a more consistent stance on international humanitarian law and human rights in international bodies and negotiations, including and especially in times of peace. “Uncomfortable topics are often left out.”
Incidentally, Peter Maurer was probably so uncomfortable with his photo with Lavrov that, unlike the Russians, he did not send it via social media. On March 17, however, his Twitter account shared a photo with another man: Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal.
About the experts:
dr Carsten Wieland is an author, Syria expert and former UN adviser. He served as senior expert on intra-Syrian talks and political advisor to three UN special envoys for Syria. He has also written a political response to the Syrian conflict for the Federal Foreign Office. Most recently his book “Syria and the Neutrality Trap” was published
Sources used:
- ICRC – President ends visit to Russia to discuss humanitarian issues in armed conflict
- Cepa.org – Soups with the Kremlin devil: the Red Cross dilemma
- Twitter account of Peter Maurer, President of the ICRC (accessed 2022-04-24)
- Pravda.com – Public appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
- NZZ-Magazine – Distrust of the ICRC – ‘People ask: What is the Red Cross doing in Russia?’
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