IRRC No. 869
Crossing the desert – the ICRC in Iraq. Analysis of a humanitarian operation
Reading time 6 min read
Abstract
This article describes the humanitarian operations of the ICRC in Iraq from 1950 to the present day. It is shown, that the challenge for the ICRC is to strike a balance between meeting its treaty-based obligations and exercising its right of humanitarian initiative, and to avoid selecting the recipients of its aid on the sole basis of opportunities made available by governments.