It is not clear that a hierarchy of suffering is the best way to honour our sense of
humanity. Furthermore, as we will see in Chapters 3 and 5, the building blocks of
our moral concern, both at psychological and political levels, are not situated at an
impartial position. For instance, there may be a trade-off between maximising
solidarity in the short term, and impartially assessing the justice of a given situation
over a longer time-frame.^64
Neutrality
In order to continue to enjoy the confidence of all, the Red Cross may not
take sides in hostilities or engage at any time in controversies of a political,
racial, religious or ideological nature.^65Hugo Slim playfully remarks that in the Inferno , Dante reserves a special torment for
those who have been neutral, committing the sin of moral indecision and
vacillation. They are destined forever to rush after an aimlessly whirling banner
while being attacked by swarms of hornets. He drily notes that this is not, after all,
so far removed from the everyday experiences of many aid workers.^66 Neutrality
has been the most obviously controversial humanitarian principle. The most vivid
illustration of its limitations was the strict neutrality, and silence, maintained by the
ICRC in relation to Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War. The
decision not to speak out, in order to enable to ICRC to pursue its core wartime
functions, has haunted the organisation, and arguably the whole humanitarian
sector, ever since.^67
64
For an interesting discussion of the some of the tensions and limits of impartiality, see
Bronwyn Leebaw, "The Politics of Impartial Activism: Humanitarianism and Human Rights",
Perspectives on Politics 65 5, no. 2 (2007).
66 Pictet, The Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross , unpaginated text.
Hugo Slim, "Relief Agencies and Moral Standing in War: Principles of Humanity,
Neutrality, Impartiality and Solidarity", 67 Development in Practice 7, no. 4 (1997): 342.
See Jean-Claude Favez, The Red Cross and the Holocaust (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1999). Moorehead, Dunant's Dream. Slim, "Humanitarianism and the
Holocaust: Lessons from the ICRC's Policy Towards the Jews". Questions about strict
neutrality and confidentiality have continued to arise, for instance in the context of ICRC
visits to detention facilities such as Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.