OneWorld.net (U.S.)

OneWorld.net note: After Israel released five Lebanese members of the Shiite militantorganization Hezbollah in return for the bodies of two Israelisoldiers, the International Committee of the Red Cross discusses itsunique role as a neutral facilitator of the peaceful handover.

• A flag depicting Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev, and Gilad Shalit © maxnathanThe ICRC has continually called for both Hezbollah and Israel -- engaged in intermittent bouts of violent conflict for over two decades -- to respect the humanitarian needs of civilians. Specifically, the humanitarian group has stated, "Since the beginning of the military operations, the ICRC has reminded the parties – publicly and through its dialogue with them – of the object to distinguish between civilians and civilian objects on one hand, and military objectives on the other."
• Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the two Israeli soldiers whose remains were returned this week, were abducted on July 12, 2006. Another soldier, Gilad Shalit, was abducted a month earlier. Israeli bloggers' reactions to the return of Goldwasser and Regev's remains can be read here.
• In June 2006, the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross, the Magen David Adom, was inaugurated as a full member of the ICRC. The MDA had previously been barred from membership because the 1949 Geneva Convention states that all ICRC chapters must use the name and emblem of either the Red Cross or the Red Crescent to identify themselves. In 2005, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society signed a formal mutual recognition agreement with the MDA.

Israel-Lebanon: transfer operation completed

From: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

The transfer operation between Israel and Lebanon was completed at sunset on 16 July, when the remaining ten ICRC trucks and trailers containing 185 coffins of human remains crossed from Israel into Lebanon and were handed over to Hezbollah representatives. Eric Marclay, the ICRC's senior deputy head of operations for the Middle East and North Africa, provides details on the handover and describes the ICRC's role as a neutral intermediary between Israel and Lebanon to facilitate the handover of freed detainees and human remains.

Can you provide some detail on the handover?

While important preparatory work was donepreviously, the effective handover operation started at around 09:00local time when Hezbollah handed over to the ICRC medical documentsconcerning the two Israeli soldiers. An hour later, the two coffinswere given to ICRC delegates, who in turn handed them over to Israeliauthorities who performed DNA identification tests.

At around 11.30 local time, a first truck (out of11 trailers) bearing the ICRC emblem arrived at Rosh Hanikra on theIsraeli side carrying the mortal remains of 12 persons. The ICRC handedthem over to Hezbollah on the other side. When the Israeli authoritiesconfirmed the positive DNA identification of the two Israeli soldierscaptured in 2006, the five Lebanese detainees were freed by Israel andhanded over to Hezbollah by the ICRC. At the same time, a coffincontaining unidentified human remains was handed over by Hezbollah tothe ICRC who in turn transferred it to Israeli authorities.

The whole transfer operation of detainees and humanremains lasted the entire day. In total, the ICRC facilitated thehandover of 197 coffins containing human remains from Israeliauthorities to Hezbollah. Hezbollah handed over two coffins containinghuman remains that the ICRC transferred to the Israeli authorities.

The five Lebanese detainees freed by Israel wereinterviewed in private by the ICRC to make sure that they are beingrepatriated of their own free will.

The Israeli authorities and Hezbollah are carryingout DNA tests on the mortal remains. The ICRC does not carry out DNAidentification.

What is the ICRC's role in the handover of freed detainees and mortal remains?

The ICRC always maintains an open dialogue with all warring partieswith the aim of alleviating the suffering of people whose lives havebeen disrupted by armed conflicts. In this case, our primary concern isto help reunite families with their loved ones and to put an end toyears of distress for those whose relatives went missing.

As there is no direct contact between Israel and Hezbollah the ICRCoffered its 'good offices' as soon as it heard of an agreement beingnegotiated between the parties. We informed both sides that we wereready to act as a neutral intermediary, if requested to do so. A fewdays ago, the Israeli authorities and Hezbollah asked us to facilitatethe handover of several detainees as well as the mortal remains ofabout 200 persons killed during conflicts over the past decades.

Southern Lebanese border crossing of Naqura,
16 July 2008. Personnel ofthe Islamic Health
Committee linked to Hezbollah unload coffins
containing the remains of Hezbollah and
Palestinian fighters from anICRC truck.
©ICRC/A. Amro/lb-e-001088

Was the ICRC involved in the negotiations on this operation?

Not in the negotiations, per se. The ICRC's role of neutralintermediary can also involve mediation between the parties if that'swhat they want, but this is rarely the case. Usually, agreements suchas this one are reached by the parties themselves, often with thesupport of states acting as honest brokers.

Given the present circumstances, this operation would certainly not bepossible without the involvement of a third party. Apart from the factthat we have a mandate to act as a neutral intermediary, the ICRC isalso considered as a serious and credible actor in this type ofsituation. Most importantly, it has the trust and confidence of theparties, which puts it in a position to help ensure the success ofthese sensitive and often complex operations.

Present in the region since 1948, the ICRC has acted on a number ofoccasions in the repatriation of detainees and mortal remains betweenIsrael, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Syria. In recent years, it wasparticularly involved in similar operations between Israel andHezbollah in January 2004, October 2007 and June 2008.

16 July 2008. Freed Lebanese prisoners
accompanied by ICRC staff arrive at the
Israeli-Lebanese border.©ICRC/A. Amro

Are there limits to what the ICRC can do?

The ICRC cannot impose itself if its role is not accepted by theconcerned parties. All we can do is persuade those who control thesituation to act in accordance with the spirit and letter ofinternational humanitarian law. Unfortunately, in some instancespolitical considerations tend to outweigh humanitarian concerns makingit impossible to help the missing and their families. Nevertheless, westrongly believe that developing and maintaining contacts with allparties to a conflict or a situation of internal violence, be it statesor non-state armed groups, is of paramount importance in order to makeprogress on issues related to detainees and missing persons, as well asto enable the development of humanitarian operations for the benefit ofthe victims.

We will thus continue to act on behalf of missing and detainedpersons and their families across the region. This includes, forexample, those who went missing during the first and second Gulf wars,as well as those missing in action following the various phases of theconflict between Israel and Lebanon or between Israel and thePalestinians. Moreover, ICRC delegates are visiting detainees orseeking access to detainees in several countries in the region.

Where else in the Middle East is the ICRC acting as a neutral intermediary?

The ICRC is, for example, facilitating the passage into Syria ofsome people living in the Israel-occupied Golan. They include studentsand pilgrims as well as brides and grooms getting married on the otherside. It has even made possible the transfer into Syria of apples grownby Druze farmers in the occupied Golan.