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In A discourse can be understood as the combination of the various statements and practices that come from a certain position of enunciation, and in turn reflect it. A discourse is more than simply language, as it encompasses the written, oral, imaginary and practical dimensions that together express, assert and defend the interests, sets of values and ideas, frames of reality, that are shaped by the position of enunciation (or standpoint). Discourses compete in social reality. Some are dominant while others are marginal, but according to Michel Foucault, all discourses involve and produce power See e.g. Lynne Rienner Publishers, London A discourse produces subjects as well as a ‘legitimation of power’ In contrast to languages, which are ‘groups of signs (signifying elements referring to contents or representations), […] [discourses are] practices that systematically form the objects of which they speak.’
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A discourse can be understood as the combination of the various statements and practices that come from a certain position of enunciation, and in turn reflect it. A discourse is more than simply language, as it encompasses the written, oral, imaginary and practical dimensions that together express, assert and defend the interests, sets of values and ideas, frames of reality, that are shaped by the position of enunciation (or standpoint). Discourses compete in social reality. Some are dominant while others are marginal, but according to Michel Foucault, all discourses involve and produce power. (See e.g. Jenny Edkins, Poststructuralism and International Relations: Bringing the Political Back In, Lynne Rienner Publishers, London, 1999, p. 59. A discourse produces subjects as well as a ‘legitimation of power’.) In contrast to languages, which are ‘groups of signs (signifying elements referring to contents or representations), […] [discourses are] practices that systematically form the objects of which they speak.’
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(1999)
Poststructuralism and International Relations: Bringing the Political Back
, pp. 59
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Edkins, J.1
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0004328310
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transl. A.M. Sheridan Smith, Routledge, London quoted in Edkins
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Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge, transl. A.M. Sheridan Smith, Routledge, London, 1989, p. 49, quoted in Edkins
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(1989)
The Archaeology of Knowledge
, pp. 49
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Foucault, M.1
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Some of the work of the sociologist Michel Foucault has concentrated on understanding what the conditions of existence of dominant discourses are
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The Archaeology of Knowledge., p. 47. Some of the work of the sociologist Michel Foucault has concentrated on understanding what the conditions of existence of dominant discourses are.
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The Archaeology of Knowledge
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See transl. Alan Sheridan Smith, Penguin, Harmondsworth, UK
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See Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, transl. Alan Sheridan Smith, Penguin, Harmondsworth, UK, 1991
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(1991)
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison
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Foucault, M.1
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Poststructuralist theories about the subject provide a useful perspective on identity formation. Each in turn, theorists like Saussure, Freud and Lacan participated in what is sometimes called ‘decentring the subject’, a move aimed at challenging the Enlightenment's Cartesian subject - conscious, rational - by questioning its sense of rationality and completeness. For Lacan, the subject is neither full nor the master creator of its identity; rather, it is always incomplete and subject to the meanings, structures and power relations existing within social reality. Social reality is understood as a symbolic realm that already exists when an individual enters it at birth. The discourses making social reality form the baby individual into a subject: giving it an identity (starting with a name), a gender, and a language structure carrying meanings and values. The subject is thus created through its confrontation with social reality. In turn, it identifies itself as ‘itself through this passage (Lacan's mirror stage), following the assertion by the external Other (parents, authority) that the reflected creature it gazes at (in a mirror or in external discourses) is none other but itself, a full, complete subject. Both the interpellation by the Other, and its validation of the subject's identification with itself are done through systems of signs, such as language. See namely Verso, London/New York
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Poststructuralist theories about the subject provide a useful perspective on identity formation. Each in turn, theorists like Saussure, Freud and Lacan participated in what is sometimes called ‘decentring the subject’, a move aimed at challenging the Enlightenment's Cartesian subject - conscious, rational - by questioning its sense of rationality and completeness. For Lacan, the subject is neither full nor the master creator of its identity; rather, it is always incomplete and subject to the meanings, structures and power relations existing within social reality. Social reality is understood as a symbolic realm that already exists when an individual enters it at birth. The discourses making social reality form the baby individual into a subject: giving it an identity (starting with a name), a gender, and a language structure carrying meanings and values. The subject is thus created through its confrontation with social reality. In turn, it identifies itself as ‘itself through this passage (Lacan's mirror stage), following the assertion by the external Other (parents, authority) that the reflected creature it gazes at (in a mirror or in external discourses) is none other but itself, a full, complete subject. Both the interpellation by the Other, and its validation of the subject's identification with itself are done through systems of signs, such as language. See namely Slavoy Żiżek, The Sublime Object of Ideology, Verso, London/New York, 1989, pp. 100–102 and 113
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(1989)
The Sublime Object of Ideology
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Żiżek, S.1
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transl. Alan Sheridan, Routledge, London
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Jacques Lacan, Ecrits: A Selection, transl. Alan Sheridan, Routledge, London, 1980.
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(1980)
Ecrits: A Selection
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Lacan, J.1
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Indian misstep to hit war on terror, US told: US military chief meets Zardari, Gen Kayani
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4 December President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, quoted in available at: http://www.dawn.com/2008/12/04/top1.htm (visited 18 March 2009)
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President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, quoted in Syed Irfan Raza, ‘Indian misstep to hit war on terror, US told: US military chief meets Zardari, Gen Kayani’, Dawn Internet Edition, 4 December 2008, available at: http://www.dawn.com/2008/12/04/top1.htm (visited 18 March 2009).
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(2008)
Dawn Internet Edition
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Raza, S.I.1
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La victoire des victimes
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See e.g. 1 December
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See e.g. ‘La victoire des victimes’, Le Temps, No. 3261, 1 December 2008, p. 1
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(2008)
Le Temps
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Pédophiles: Justice sans pardon
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1 December on the Swiss people's vote in favour of the non-prescription of punishment for paedophiles: ‘… le scrutin […] met en relief la difficulté de combattre une revendication qui nourrit sa légitimité en prenant, directement ou indirectement, le parti des victimes. Celui-ci est politiquement une valeur sûre.’
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Denis Masmejan, ‘Pédophiles: Justice sans pardon’, Le Temps, 1 December 2008, p. 2, on the Swiss people's vote in favour of the non-prescription of punishment for paedophiles: ‘… le scrutin […] met en relief la difficulté de combattre une revendication qui nourrit sa légitimité en prenant, directement ou indirectement, le parti des victimes. Celui-ci est politiquement une valeur sûre.’
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(2008)
Le Temps
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Masmejan, D.1
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India's 9/11? Not exactly
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Op. Ed., 2 December See e.g. available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/opinion/ (visited 4 December 2008). Ghosh writes: ‘Since the terrorist assaults began in Mumbai last week, the metaphor of the World Trade Center attacks has been repeatedly invoked. From New Delhi to New York, pundits and TV commentators have insisted that “this is India's 9/11” and should be treated as such. […] But […] [n]ot only were the casualties far greater on September 11, 2001, but the shock of the attack was also greatly magnified by having no real precedent in America's history. India's experience of terrorist attacks, on the other hand, far predates 2001…’
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See e.g. Amitav Ghosh, ‘India's 9/11? Not exactly’, The New York Times Online, Op. Ed., 2 December 2008, available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/opinion/ (visited 4 December 2008). Ghosh writes: ‘Since the terrorist assaults began in Mumbai last week, the metaphor of the World Trade Center attacks has been repeatedly invoked. From New Delhi to New York, pundits and TV commentators have insisted that “this is India's 9/11” and should be treated as such. […] But […] [n]ot only were the casualties far greater on September 11, 2001, but the shock of the attack was also greatly magnified by having no real precedent in America's history. India's experience of terrorist attacks, on the other hand, far predates 2001…’
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(2008)
The New York Times Online
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Ghosh, A.1
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Deadly bombings strike Iraqi city
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4 December Quotes taken from three articles available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7764576.stm (visited 18 March 2009)
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Quotes taken from three articles: ‘Deadly bombings strike Iraqi city’, BBC News Online, 4 December 2008, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7764576.stm (visited 18 March 2009)
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(2008)
BBC News Online
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Car bomb kills several in Pakistan
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(Al Jazeera.Net), 1 December available at: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2008/12/200812164740256637.html (visited 18 March 2009)
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‘Car bomb kills several in Pakistan’, Al Jazeera News Online (Al Jazeera.Net), 1 December 2008, available at: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2008/12/200812164740256637.html (visited 18 March 2009)
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Al Jazeera News Online
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Israel completes forcible evacuation of disputed Hebron house
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available at: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1043612.html (visited 1 December 2008)
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‘Israel completes forcible evacuation of disputed Hebron house’, Haaretz News Online, available at: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1043612.html (visited 1 December 2008).
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Haaretz News Online
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La revanche des victimes
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Société suisse d'histoire
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Irène Herrmann, ‘La revanche des victimes’, Revue Suisse d'Histoire (RSH), Vol. 57, No. 1, 2007, Société suisse d'histoire, p. 5.
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(2007)
Revue Suisse d'Histoire (RSH)
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Herrmann, I.1
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For this article a number of pieces of work were reviewed at the Library and Research Service of the ICRC in Geneva and the library of the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (as an independent visiting researcher), as well as on the Internet. Without being exhaustive, the review provided a good basis to detect the direction(s) of current research about victims. For an overview, see all the essays in RSH, above note 8) Paris
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For this article a number of pieces of work were reviewed at the Library and Research Service of the ICRC in Geneva and the library of the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (as an independent visiting researcher), as well as on the Internet. Without being exhaustive, the review provided a good basis to detect the direction(s) of current research about victims. For an overview, see all the essays in RSH, above note 8); Jean-Michel Chaumont, La Concurrence des Victimes, Editions La Découverte, Paris, 1997
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(1997)
La Concurrence des Victimes, Editions La Découverte
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Chaumont, J.-M.1
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Dunant's pyramid: Thoughts on the “humanitarian space”
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Cornelio Sommaruga, in March
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Cornelio Sommaruga, in Daniel Thürer, ‘Dunant's pyramid: Thoughts on the “humanitarian space”’, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 89, No. 865, March 2007, pp. 47–61 and 57.
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(2007)
International Review of the Red Cross
, vol.89
, Issue.865
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Editorial
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See September
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See ‘Editorial’, International Review of the Red Cross, No. 851, September 2003, pp. 465–466.
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International Review of the Red Cross
, Issue.851
, pp. 465-466
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The International Committee of the Red Cross, like the other components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement - the National Societies and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - must ensure that its work conforms at all times to the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, namely humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality
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International Review of the Red Cross., p. 465. The International Committee of the Red Cross, like the other components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement - the National Societies and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - must ensure that its work conforms at all times to the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, namely humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.
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International Review of the Red Cross
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Victimes du premier conflit mondial et justice
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above note 9 Several pieces of work consider how the position of the victim concept has changed in the discourse of international law and show how it has gained greater space, importance and centrality over the last few years, parallel to developments in those bodies of law. See e.g. Deperchin writes: ‘La Grande Guerre constitue un précédent historique dans la mesure oú elle voit apparaître l'idée de responsabilités liées à la guerre et cela suppose qu’émerge le concept même de victime de guerre. […] Cependant, les victimes civiles n'étaient pas assez nombreuses et n'avaient pas suffisamment conscience de l'être pour constituer le vecteur des progrès de la justice de guerre qu'elles deviendront par la suite.’ Deperchin therefore argues that the self-perception of civilians as victims was crucial in constituting their discourse, whose power helped shape the legal discourse. Some research, by contrast, argues that it is the discourse of justice and its legal counterpart that shapes and validates the identity of victim
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Several pieces of work consider how the position of the victim concept has changed in the discourse of international law and show how it has gained greater space, importance and centrality over the last few years, parallel to developments in those bodies of law. See e.g. Annie Deperchin, ‘Victimes du premier conflit mondial et justice’, in Salas, above note 9, p. 29. Deperchin writes: ‘La Grande Guerre constitue un précédent historique dans la mesure oú elle voit apparaître l'idée de responsabilités liées à la guerre et cela suppose qu’émerge le concept même de victime de guerre. […] Cependant, les victimes civiles n'étaient pas assez nombreuses et n'avaient pas suffisamment conscience de l'être pour constituer le vecteur des progrès de la justice de guerre qu'elles deviendront par la suite.’ Deperchin therefore argues that the self-perception of civilians as victims was crucial in constituting their discourse, whose power helped shape the legal discourse. Some research, by contrast, argues that it is the discourse of justice and its legal counterpart that shapes and validates the identity of victim.
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Salas
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In Salas, above note 9, it is pointed out that: ‘C'est ainsi seulement au terme de ce travail de justice, qui débute avec l'enquête, et s'achève à l'heure du verdict, qu'elles seront reconnues pour telles et définitivement investies de leur statut de victimes’, Bénédicte Chesnelong, ‘Victimes et justice des crimes de guerre et contre l'humanité’, in above note 9
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In Salas, above note 9, it is pointed out that: ‘C'est ainsi seulement au terme de ce travail de justice, qui débute avec l'enquête, et s'achève à l'heure du verdict, qu'elles seront reconnues pour telles et définitivement investies de leur statut de victimes’, Bénédicte Chesnelong, ‘Victimes et justice des crimes de guerre et contre l'humanité’, in Salas, above note 9, p. 31
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‘C'est avec la guerre en Bosnie que le viol en temps de guerre a été reconnucomme “acte de guerre”, et qualifié de crime, “crime contre l'humanité” par le Tribunal Pénal International pour l'ex-Yougoslavie (suivi en cela par le Tribunal Pénal International pour le Rwanda). C'est donc la première fois que les femmes qui l'ont subi se voient reconnaître comme des victimes’, Gisèle Donnard, ‘Les victimes de viol ’arme de guerre’: Crime contre l'humanité’, in above note 9
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‘C'est avec la guerre en Bosnie que le viol en temps de guerre a été reconnucomme “acte de guerre”, et qualifié de crime, “crime contre l'humanité” par le Tribunal Pénal International pour l'ex-Yougoslavie (suivi en cela par le Tribunal Pénal International pour le Rwanda). C'est donc la première fois que les femmes qui l'ont subi se voient reconnaître comme des victimes’, Gisèle Donnard, ‘Les victimes de viol ’arme de guerre’: Crime contre l'humanité’, in Salas, above note 9, p. 111
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Salas1
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‘Si le mot “victime” avait un sens, ce terme s'appliquerait à juste titre aux Cambodgiens. Il faudrait avoir subi les pertes des êtres chers, dans des conditions injustes, atroces et tragiques qui vous marquent à vie, pour pouvoir comprendre vraiment la douleur qui vous ronge et qui vous brûle. Chaque être, même un animal, a un besoin inné de justice. […] Nous les victimes insistons et demandons la création d'un tribunal pénal international …’, Billon Ung Boun Hor, ‘Les victimes du génocide des Khmers Rouges: Un cri contre l'oubli et pour la justice’, in above note 9
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‘Si le mot “victime” avait un sens, ce terme s'appliquerait à juste titre aux Cambodgiens. Il faudrait avoir subi les pertes des êtres chers, dans des conditions injustes, atroces et tragiques qui vous marquent à vie, pour pouvoir comprendre vraiment la douleur qui vous ronge et qui vous brûle. Chaque être, même un animal, a un besoin inné de justice. […] Nous les victimes insistons et demandons la création d'un tribunal pénal international …’, Billon Ung Boun Hor, ‘Les victimes du génocide des Khmers Rouges: Un cri contre l'oubli et pour la justice’, in Salas, above note 9, p. 164.
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Salas1
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Les victimes entre oubli et mémoire
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See above note 8. As Becker writes: ‘ … toute victime est bonne à secourir […] du moment qu'elle rentre dans les mesures conventionnelles. Or, les civiles, nouvelles victimes à partir de 1914, n'avaient pu être placés sous la juridiction conventionnelle comme les prisonniers militaires et les blesses’
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See Annette Becker, ‘Les victimes entre oubli et mémoire’, in RSH, above note 8. As Becker writes: ‘ … toute victime est bonne à secourir […] du moment qu'elle rentre dans les mesures conventionnelles. Or, les civiles, nouvelles victimes à partir de 1914, n'avaient pu être placés sous la juridiction conventionnelle comme les prisonniers militaires et les blesses’ (p. 18).
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RSH
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Becker, A.1
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The impact of the Northern Ireland “trouble” on victims in Britain
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Eureste.org, European Resources Terrorism, Belgium Red Cross, European Union For comments on this point, see e.g. available at http://www.eureste.org/userfiles/files/texteng/Joanne_DOVER_les_actes_ENG.pdf (visited 15 April 2009). Based on her work and research with people who experienced violence from acts of terrorism, the author observes that, ‘It is important also to remember the resilience of human beings. We have the ability to cope with the most demanding and horrendous circumstances, something I see in my work every day. People come through these experiences and come out the other side with a good quality of life, having integrated the experiences and losses into a new existence’
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For comments on this point, see e.g. Joanne Dover, ‘The impact of the Northern Ireland “trouble” on victims in Britain’, in Proceedings of the Study Days held in October 2005: Promotion of Resources for Victims of Terrorist Acts and Their Families, Eureste.org, European Resources Terrorism, Belgium Red Cross, European Union, 2005, available at http://www.eureste.org/userfiles/files/texteng/Joanne_DOVER_les_actes_ENG.pdf (visited 15 April 2009). Based on her work and research with people who experienced violence from acts of terrorism, the author observes that, ‘It is important also to remember the resilience of human beings. We have the ability to cope with the most demanding and horrendous circumstances, something I see in my work every day. People come through these experiences and come out the other side with a good quality of life, having integrated the experiences and losses into a new existence’ (p. 53).
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(2005)
Proceedings of the Study Days held in October 2005: Promotion of Resources for Victims of Terrorist Acts and Their Families
, pp. 53
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Dover, J.1
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For more on this subject, see e.g. ICRC, Geneva, October
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For more on this subject, see e.g. Daniel Munoz-Rojas and Jean-Jacques Frésard, The Roots of Behaviour in War: Understanding and Preventing IHL Violations, ICRC, Geneva, October 2004, pp. 8, 9, 11
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(2004)
The Roots of Behaviour in War: Understanding and Preventing IHL Violations
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Frésard, J.-J.2
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19 June available at http://icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/icrc-mission-190608?opendocument (visited 5 December 2008)
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‘The ICRC's Mission Statement’, 19 June 2008, available at http://icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/icrc-mission-190608?opendocument (visited 5 December 2008).
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(2008)
The ICRC's Mission Statement
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The principle of impartiality of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement reads: ‘It makes no discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. It endeavours to relieve the suffering of individuals, being guided solely by their needs, and to give priority to the most urgent cases of distress.’ See 1 January 1995, available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/57jmft?opendocument (visited 27 April 2009)
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The principle of impartiality of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement reads: ‘It makes no discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. It endeavours to relieve the suffering of individuals, being guided solely by their needs, and to give priority to the most urgent cases of distress.’ See ‘The Fundamental Principles: Extract from the XXVIth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent’, 1 January 1995, available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/57jmft?opendocument (visited 27 April 2009).
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The Fundamental Principles: Extract from the XXVIth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent
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The principle of humanity states that: ‘The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, born of a desire to bring assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battlefield, endeavours, in its international and national capacity, to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being. It promotes mutual understanding, friendship, co-operation and lasting peace amongst all peoples.’ See above note 20
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The principle of humanity states that: ‘The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, born of a desire to bring assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battlefield, endeavours, in its international and national capacity, to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being. It promotes mutual understanding, friendship, co-operation and lasting peace amongst all peoples.’ See ‘The Fundamental Principles’, above note 20.
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The Fundamental Principles
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Victims of natural disasters and the right to humanitarian assistance: A practitioner's view
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December
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Peter Walker, ‘Victims of natural disasters and the right to humanitarian assistance: A practitioner's view’, International Review of the Red Cross, No. 325, December 1998, p. 615.
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(1998)
International Review of the Red Cross
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above note 10
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Thürer, above note 10, p. 57.
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above note 10 See ‘Max Huber described humanity as the “unconditional recognition of the value of whatever has a human face, in particular where people are helpless, weak, sick, imprisoned, endangered, deprived of their rights and impoverished”.’
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See Thürer, above note 10, pp. 56–57: ‘Max Huber described humanity as the “unconditional recognition of the value of whatever has a human face, in particular where people are helpless, weak, sick, imprisoned, endangered, deprived of their rights and impoverished”.’
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Do wars ever end? The work of the International Committee of the Red Cross when the guns fall silent
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ff September See The author explains this ambition clearly and defines in her own words the notion of dignity: ‘[T]he ICRC wants the victims of armed conflicts to feel that their dignity is respected. The essence of dignity is a universal notion that is rooted in cultures, religions, value systems, ideologies and education. Its content varies from one context to another. Everywhere in the world, however, certain attitudes are basic to meaningful dignity: respect for life and for every person's physical and spiritual integrity; protection against arbitrary acts, abuse of power and discrimination; recognition of others as people able to find solutions; support for people who have been so humiliated that they have lost their self-esteem and no longer trust in their own capacities. The ICRC's ultimate goal is to help people or communities affected by armed violence to live in conditions that they consider respectful of their dignity. To that end, their fundamental rights must be respected, the needs they deem essential, in their cultural context, to a dignified life must be met, and they must play an active part in the implementation of lasting solutions to their humanitarian problems as identified by them.’
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See Marion Harroff-Tavel, ‘Do wars ever end? The work of the International Committee of the Red Cross when the guns fall silent’, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 85, No. 851, September 2003, pp. 471 ff. The author explains this ambition clearly and defines in her own words the notion of dignity: ‘[T]he ICRC wants the victims of armed conflicts to feel that their dignity is respected. The essence of dignity is a universal notion that is rooted in cultures, religions, value systems, ideologies and education. Its content varies from one context to another. Everywhere in the world, however, certain attitudes are basic to meaningful dignity: respect for life and for every person's physical and spiritual integrity; protection against arbitrary acts, abuse of power and discrimination; recognition of others as people able to find solutions; support for people who have been so humiliated that they have lost their self-esteem and no longer trust in their own capacities. The ICRC's ultimate goal is to help people or communities affected by armed violence to live in conditions that they consider respectful of their dignity. To that end, their fundamental rights must be respected, the needs they deem essential, in their cultural context, to a dignified life must be met, and they must play an active part in the implementation of lasting solutions to their humanitarian problems as identified by them.’
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International Review of the Red Cross
, vol.85
, Issue.851
, pp. 471
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above note 10 Another definition of human dignity is found in ‘… The general principle of respect for human dignity […], the very raison d’être of international humanitarian law and human rights law, [….] is intended to shield human beings from outrages upon their personal dignity, whether such outrages are carried out by unlawfully attacking the body or by humiliating and debasing the honour, the self-respect or the mental well being of a person.’
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Another definition of human dignity is found in Thürer, above note 10, p. 57: ‘… The general principle of respect for human dignity […], the very raison d’être of international humanitarian law and human rights law, [….] is intended to shield human beings from outrages upon their personal dignity, whether such outrages are carried out by unlawfully attacking the body or by humiliating and debasing the honour, the self-respect or the mental well being of a person.’
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Thürer1
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42
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Impunity versus healing
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se.iii For studies that discuss the importance of the inter-social act of recognition of a person's identity and its perception as an act acknowledging and respecting her humanity, see for example paper presented at the International Conference on ‘Impunity and its Effects on Democratic Processes’, Santiago de Chile, 14 December 1996, available at: http://www.derechos.org/koaga/xi/2/fields.html (visited 14 November 2008). From a psychological point of view, the author explains that: ‘The vindication and validation requisite to social and psychological wholeness, can only be provided through public acknowledgment. When the victim's suffering continues exacerbation by his/her pariah status vis à vis the social political system, torture is extended in perpetuity’
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For studies that discuss the importance of the inter-social act of recognition of a person's identity and its perception as an act acknowledging and respecting her humanity, see for example: Rona M. Fields, ‘Impunity versus healing’, Ko'aga Rone'eta, se.iii, v. 3, 1996, paper presented at the International Conference on ‘Impunity and its Effects on Democratic Processes’, Santiago de Chile, 14 December 1996, available at: http://www.derechos.org/koaga/xi/2/fields.html (visited 14 November 2008). From a psychological point of view, the author explains that: ‘The vindication and validation requisite to social and psychological wholeness, can only be provided through public acknowledgment. When the victim's suffering continues exacerbation by his/her pariah status vis à vis the social political system, torture is extended in perpetuity’, p. 5.
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(1996)
Ko'aga Rone'eta
, vol.3
, pp. 5
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Fields, R.M.1
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above note 9 See also An important point Chaumont touches on is that the gaze of the Other (external discourses, the public, the authority) in recognizing Jews who survived the Nazi concentration camps as ‘victims’, as opposed to other identities such as ‘survivors’, is the necessary condition for many of them to feel that they exist in social reality. To be denied recognition as a victim by the Other is described by those people as a second death
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See also Jean-Michel Chaumont, La Concurrence des Victimes, above note 9, pp. 36–37. An important point Chaumont touches on is that the gaze of the Other (external discourses, the public, the authority) in recognizing Jews who survived the Nazi concentration camps as ‘victims’, as opposed to other identities such as ‘survivors’, is the necessary condition for many of them to feel that they exist in social reality. To be denied recognition as a victim by the Other is described by those people as a second death.
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La Concurrence des Victimes
, pp. 36-37
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Chaumont, J.-M.1
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44
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See for example available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/si-teeng0.nsf/html/assistance_general_intro (visited 24 April 2009)
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See for example: ICRC, ‘Assistance: General Introduction’, available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/si-teeng0.nsf/html/assistance_general_intro (visited 24 April 2009).
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Assistance: General Introduction
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45
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ICRC action on behalf of prisoners
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Yael Danieli, Nigel Rodley and Lars Weisaeth (eds), Baywood Publishers, United Nations This section was handed over to delegates during their integration course (2006)
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Pascal Daudin and Hernan Reyes, ‘ICRC action on behalf of prisoners’, in International Responses to Traumatic Stress, Yael Danieli, Nigel Rodley and Lars Weisaeth (eds), Baywood Publishers, United Nations, 1996, p. 16. This section was handed over to delegates during their integration course (2006).
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(1996)
International Responses to Traumatic Stress
, pp. 16
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Daudin, P.1
Reyes, H.2
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46
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85022969494
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CD/07/4.1, prepared by the ICRC Central Tracing Agency, Geneva, October 2007, following the Council of Delegates of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Geneva, 23–24 November
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‘Report on the Restoring Family Links Strategy (and Implementation Plan) for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (2008–2018)’, CD/07/4.1, prepared by the ICRC Central Tracing Agency, Geneva, October 2007, following the Council of Delegates of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Geneva, 23–24 November 2007, p. 4.
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(2007)
Report on the Restoring Family Links Strategy (and Implementation Plan) for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (2008–2018)
, pp. 4
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The ICRC: A unique humanitarian protagonist
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March See for a discussion of the debate whether ‘… the ICRC, with its limited mandate, and tied as it is to states and the state system of international relations, can really do very much to protect human dignity’ (p. 64)
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See David P. Forsythe, ‘The ICRC: A unique humanitarian protagonist’, in International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 89, No. 865, March 2007, pp. 63–96, for a discussion of the debate whether ‘… the ICRC, with its limited mandate, and tied as it is to states and the state system of international relations, can really do very much to protect human dignity’ (p. 64).
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(2007)
International Review of the Red Cross
, vol.89
, Issue.865
, pp. 63-96
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Forsythe, D.P.1
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48
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5 September available at: http://icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/5R4JLY (visited 5 December 2008)
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‘Working for the ICRC: Values and principles’, 5 September 2003, available at: http://icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/5R4JLY (visited 5 December 2008).
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(2003)
Working for the ICRC: Values and principles
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50
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March See e.g. available at http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/iraq-women-newsletter-050309/$File/iraq-women-in-war-eng.pdf (visited 15 April 2009). ‘The voices of women affected by the war in Iraq, such as those we have collected here, need to be better heard.’ (p. 1)
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See e.g. ICRC Iraq Delegation ‘Women in war: The International Committee of the Red Cross in Iraq’ (newsletter), March 2009, available at http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/iraq-women-newsletter-050309/$File/iraq-women-in-war-eng.pdf (visited 15 April 2009). ‘The voices of women affected by the war in Iraq, such as those we have collected here, need to be better heard.’ (p. 1)
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(2009)
ICRC Iraq Delegation ‘Women in war: The International Committee of the Red Cross in Iraq’ (newsletter)
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51
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2 March available at http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/afghanistan-press-briefing-020309 (visited 4 March 2009)
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‘Civilians increasingly at risk in Afghanistan’, press briefing, 2 March 2009, available at http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/afghanistan-press-briefing-020309 (visited 4 March 2009).
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(2009)
‘Civilians increasingly at risk in Afghanistan’, press briefing
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52
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above note 29
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Harroff-Tavel, above note 29.
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Harroff-Tavel1
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56
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ICRC, Geneva, February available at http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/p0944/$File/ICRC_002_0944.PDF (visited 15 April 2009)
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Women and War, ICRC, Geneva, February 2008, available at http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/p0944/$File/ICRC_002_0944.PDF (visited 15 April 2009)
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(2008)
Women and War
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see also the first study on this subject ICRC, Geneva
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see also the first study on this subject: Charlotte Lindsey, Women Facing War, ICRC, Geneva, 2001.
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(2001)
Women Facing War
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Lindsey, C.1
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58
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7 February See available at http://icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/strategy-2007–2010?opendocument (visited 5 December 2008)
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See ‘ICRC Strategy 2007–2010: Committed to meeting new challenges through action’, 7 February 2007, available at http://icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/strategy-2007–2010?opendocument (visited 5 December 2008).
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(2007)
ICRC Strategy 2007–2010: Committed to meeting new challenges through action
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59
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Le sentiment d'humiliation dans les guerres contemporaines
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Editions Eclectica, Geneva in Philippe Cotter et Gilbert Holleufer For a similar and very interesting argument, see He writes about the need to … restituer la nature de l'impératif humanitaire et d'identifier un paradigme d'empathie qui permettrait d'inclure non seulement les victimes mais aussi les hommes ordinaires, détruits par la violence sans avenir des guerres infra-étatiques. Et, ainsi, de s'occuper des nouveaux besoins des communautés en conflit, qui, dans le long cheminement vers le retour à la normale, dépendent peut-etre davantage de ressources psychologiques et morales que matérielles.’ (p. 98)
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For a similar and very interesting argument, see Gilbert Holleufer, ‘Le sentiment d'humiliation dans les guerres contemporaines’, in Philippe Cotter et Gilbert Holleufer, La Vengeance des Humiliés: les révoltes du 21e siècle, Editions Eclectica, Geneva, 2008. He writes about the need to … restituer la nature de l'impératif humanitaire et d'identifier un paradigme d'empathie qui permettrait d'inclure non seulement les victimes mais aussi les hommes ordinaires, détruits par la violence sans avenir des guerres infra-étatiques. Et, ainsi, de s'occuper des nouveaux besoins des communautés en conflit, qui, dans le long cheminement vers le retour à la normale, dépendent peut-etre davantage de ressources psychologiques et morales que matérielles.’ (p. 98)
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(2008)
La Vengeance des Humiliés: les révoltes du 21e siècle
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Holleufer, G.1
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60
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Victims
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in David Bloomfield, Teresa Barnes and Luc Huyse (eds) International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Stockholm
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Luc Huyse, ‘Victims’, in David Bloomfield, Teresa Barnes and Luc Huyse (eds), Reconciliation after Violent Conflict: A Handbook, Handbook Series, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Stockholm, 2003, pp. 54–66.
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(2003)
Reconciliation after Violent Conflict: A Handbook, Handbook Series
, pp. 54-66
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Huyse, L.1
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61
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Barnes and Huyse (eds), above note 48
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Karen Fogg, preface in Bloomfield, Barnes and Huyse (eds), above note 48.
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preface in Bloomfield
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Fogg, K.1
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Victims and perpetrators in national memory: Lessons from post-World War Two Japan
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above note 8
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James J. Orr, ‘Victims and perpetrators in national memory: Lessons from post-World War Two Japan’, in RSH, above note 8, pp. 55, 57.
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RSH
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Orr, J.J.1
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above note 48, back page comments
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Bloomfield, Barnes and Huyse (eds), above note 48, back page comments.
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Bloomfield, B.1
Huyse2
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above note 23
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Walker, above note 23, p. 616.
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Walker1
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