Intercross The Podcast

Almost 40 years after the Falkland Islands/Malvinas conflict, we look back on the ICRC’s efforts to identify unknown soldiers. Figuring who these unknown soldiers were took decades to resolve. But in 2012, the ICRC received a request from the Argentine government to help identify their remains. Then in 2016 with the ICRC as a neutral intermediary, Argentina and the UK negotiated and signed an agreement known as the Humanitarian Project Plan. The crucial work of exhuming the graves and identifying remains fell to Luis Bernardo Fondebrider, co-founder of the Argentinian Forensic Anthropology Team. He worked with a multidisciplinary team of scientists from around the world, who began the exhumations at the Argentine Cemetery at Darwin--on the central eastern side of the islands. Subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss an episode. See bonus materials and additional information on our website. Follow us on Twitter @ICRC_dc

In this episode, we tell the story of the more than 150-year-old Central Tracing Agency, a division of the ICRC that today is a crucial resource for families searching for loved ones gone missing due to conflict, violence, natural disasters, or along the migration route. We take you for a trip back in time to the foundations of the CTA in 1860 to understand how this history has made it what it is today. You’ll hear from Geneva Tour Guide Catherine Hubert Girod and ICRC Historian Daniel Palmieri recount the history. See bonus materials and additional information on our website. Follow us on Twitter @ICRC_dc Subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss an episode. 

In this episode, we’re going to learn about how the ICRC works with what are known in Mexico as, colectivos, or groups of families and friends who unite to search for their missing loved ones and defend their rights. We speak with Beatriz Adriana Martinez about her husband, Juan Alvarez Gil’s disappearance in 2013, to understand what a family goes through when a loved one goes missing and how these colectivos support Beatriz and the hundreds of thousands of other families. We also speak with Marlene Herbig, an ICRC delegate with the Missing Persons Program in Mexico, who works to help those who are searching for their missing loved ones know their rights, and how and when to seek mental health counseling. See bonus materials and additional information on our website. Subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss an episode.  Follow us on Twitter @ICRC_dc

This mini episode kick starts the 2022 season of Intercross: The Podcast. In this episode, we rewind the tape and listen to an interview with Florence Anselmo, Head of the Central Tracing Agency, a division of the ICRC that's been a crucial resource for families affected by conflict, disaster, and other situations of violence to restore contact with their loved ones. Florence helps break down what the agency does and why it's crucial to the work of the ICRC.  See bonus materials and additional information on our website. Subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss an episode.  Follow us on Twitter @ICRC_dc

More than 10 years of brutal conflict in Syria has left most of the population in need of assistance and without access to basic services in places all over the country. In part one of our special series on Syria, Intercross heard the stories of two Syrians living in Aleppo, Mouna Shawakh and Rami Asfar, in their own words. In part two, we zoom into Northeast Syria, in a camp called Al Hol. Today Al Hol houses around 58,000 people -- two thirds of whom are children, and most under the age of 5. Tens of thousands of children are spending their childhoods in appalling harsh conditions no child should experience. For the young people now growing up in camps like Al Hol, living conditions are far below international standards in terms of access to food, water, health care and education. We talk about the seemingly insurmountable challenges of those who remain stranded living in the camp, and what the Red Cross Red Crescent movement is doing about them, such as operating a field hospital to provide emergency life-

After 10 years of conflict in Syria, thousands of people are missing, hundreds of thousands are dead, and millions of people are displaced. In the past 12 months, millions more Syrians have been pushed into deeper hunger and poverty. In Northeast Syria, we’re seeing the world’s most complex child protection crisis unfolding in front of us. In two special episodes, Intercross shares stories of those affected by a decade of brutal and unrelenting conflict, and the efforts made by the ICRC and our partners to assist them. In Aleppo, we hear from young Syrians Mouna Shawakh and Rami Asfar, telling us in their own words about how their lives have changed due to conflict. We interview ICRC’s NAME Regional Director Fabrizio Carboni and ICRC psychotherapist Alessandra Lennar about the severe humanitarian consequences for thousands of stranded women and children living in Al Hol camp. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

After 10 years of conflict in Syria, thousands of people are missing, hundreds of thousands are dead, and millions of people are displaced. The past 12 months has seen millions more Syrians pushed into deeper hunger and poverty. For young people especially, this has been a decade of savage loss, marked by missed milestones, stolen futures, immense economic hardship and a profound psychological toll. In this episode, Intercross brings you part one of a special two-part series, hearing directly from those affected by a decade of brutal and unrelenting conflict, and about the efforts made by the ICRC and our partners over the past decade. We are introduced to two young Syrians living in Aleppo, Mouna Shawakh and Rami Asfar, who we met when the ICRC surveyed thousands of young Syrians earlier this year, to ask how their lives changed trajectories. What are their most pressing needs? And, crucially, what are their hopes for a more normal future?

Long after returning home to the US, a staggering number of veterans suffer from untreated depression, PTSD, trauma and other mental health conditions, which in some cases, run deep. A connection is unclear, but some of these veterans also become incarcerated and must learn to cope with these issues behind bars. The American Red Cross is seeking to help them through a resiliency program that sends trained facilitators into prisons to provide mental health support to incarcerated veterans. For this episode, we’ll learn how the American Red Cross supports some of the 180,000 incarcerated military veterans in the US today, building new skills for life in — and outside — of prison.

World leaders have converged on the Scottish city of Glasgow for COP26—the United Nations climate change conference. The stakes could not be higher. Sea levels are rising. Heatwaves, droughts, floods, and wildfires are more frequent, more intense, and threatening the survival of humanity. In a brand-new episode of Intercross, we hear from our communications colleague in London, Sam Smith, who’s been closely following this story for the past year, writing about the very real human impacts of climate change in a conflict zone. He starts in Somalia with ICRC’s Abdikarim Abdullahi. Three decades of conflict have weakened the country’s institutions and left some 2.9 million people internally displaced. Somalia is ranked as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change when it comes to its ability to improve resilience. The recurrent nature of climatic shocks, such as droughts and floods, and the instability created by conflict, meaning herders and pastoralists—several of which share their stories—have lit

Digital technologies – both their presence and absence during crises – are impacting humanitarian action and civilians’ lives. They are also impacting the means and method of warfare - leading to a “digitalization of armed conflicts”. In this podcast, Intercross host Elizabeth Rushing speaks with Saman Rejali, ICRC Law and Policy Advisor based in Geneva, and Yannick Heiniger, Deputy CEO of swissnex San Francisco, on their views about digital technologies and humanitarianism, exiting the echo-chambers of both the public and private sector to exchange views on using “tech for good”, balancing risks and opportunities brought forth by digitalization, the relevance of international humanitarian law in the digital age, and establishing bonds of trust – with affected people and across sectors - amidst the COVID-19 pandemic through digital diplomacy and more.

The average time that the ICRC has been present in its ten largest operations is 42 years. With these seemingly endless wars come layers of humanitarian consequences, including the cumulative effects of hostilities on infrastructure and healthcare systems, prolonged displacement, increased barriers to accessing essential services, and interruptions to education. The duration of humanitarian operations in protracted conflict settings has caused organizations like the ICRC to re-think their way of working. In light of the humanitarian imperative to respond to the needs of people affected, the International Review of the Red Cross recently dedicated an edition to protracted conflict. In this podcast, Intercross host Elizabeth Rushing speaks with ICRC’s Policy Advisor Filipa Schmitz Guinote and ICRC’s Special Envoy on Humanitarian and Development Affairs Colin Bruce about the stress points and blind spots of the so-called ‘humanitarian-development divide’ in protracted conflict settings.

Contemporary crises and armed conflicts are increasingly complex, with humanitarian needs made even more acute by the protracted and urban nature of conflicts, the challenges of influencing the behavior of warring parties, and the crippling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. With 20,000 staff present in 104 countries, the ICRC is mandated by the international community, through the Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols, to assist and protect people affected by armed conflict and violence, including through the promotion of respect for humanitarian law. In this special edition of the podcast, two ICRC Directors – Helen Durham, Director of International Law and Policy, and Dominik Stillhart, Director of Operations – discuss today’s operational and legal challenges and how to overcome them to reach the people affected.

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned nearly every aspect of society on its head. Law enforcement agencies and services play a crucial role in their countries and communities supporting national authorities in various ways, including to control the disease alongside their normal daily duties of serving and protecting their communities. In this podcast, Intercross host Elizabeth Rushing speaks with Calum McDonald, ICRC’s Regional Delegate for Relations with Police and Security Forces, and Maciej Polkowski, Head of the Health Care in Danger initiative at the ICRC, to unpack and examine the challenges of policing during a pandemic, the legal framework and tools that could help police officers navigate the humanitarian consequences, and the lessons learnt from other contexts such as the Ebola epidemic

What are the humanitarian consequences of urban warfare, and how can international humanitarian law (IHL) reduce them? The conversation continues with ICRC advisors Caroline Baudot, Stephen Kilpatrick and Abby Zeith. Hosted by Elizabeth Rushing.

What are the humanitarian consequences of urban warfare, and how can IHL reduce them? A conversation with Cordula Droege, ICRC's Chief Legal Officer. Hosted by Elizabeth Rushing.

COVID has turned our world upside down and amplified challenges on a global scale. Issues like the spread of disinformation and the role of behavioral change to create real impact in humanitarian situations were significant before the pandemic but in today’s reality, they have become nothing short of critical. In this episode of the podcast, we have several guests to discuss the role and influence of information and community engagement in instilling tangible behavioral change in humanitarian settings, particularly in a time of COVID. Joining us are Pradmudith Rupasinghe, (Head of Operations- Sri Lanka Red Cross Society), Indu Nepal (Community Engagement Advisor, ICRC), and Syed Masood (Freelance Behavioral Design Strategist. We discuss the challenges of change in times of pandemics and disinformation, how earlier experiences with other pandemics such as Ebola helped feed into current COVID responses, and how we can be better prepared in the future. Hosted by Niki Clark.

This week, Intercross the Podcast has a special Audio Diary from Yemen. It features Tobias Ehret, ICRC’s Field Team Leader, and Samar Al-Aghbari, ICRC’s Protection Field Officer as they travel from Aden to the Ad Durayhimi district, a remote area very close to the frontlines for a distribution. The trip took some ten days, and their diaries give insight into the intense work and collaboration needed in providing humanitarian aid in a time of COVID.

With over 24 million in need of aid and only half of its health facilities functioning, Yemen is the world's single largest humanitarian crisis. In this episode of the podcast, we sit down with Franz Rauchenstein, the outgoing head of ICRC in Sana’a. He has served in South Sudan, Afghanistan and the DRC over the course of his 25 years with the organization but recently called Yemen ‘the worst crisis he had ever seen.’ We discuss the devastating impact of COVID, why adhering to a ceasefire has been so difficult, and the future of a country in conflict. Hosted by Trevor Keck.

What is acceptable and what is prohibited in armed conflict? The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 form the foundation of international humanitarian law and provide a framework setting out the answers to that question. In the 1950s, the ICRC published a set of commentaries on these Conventions, giving practical guidance on their implementation. But to reflect the developments in law and practice since then, the ICRC commissioned a new set of commentaries that seek to reflect the current interpretations of the Conventions. The updated Commentaries on the First and Second Conventions were published in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Just this summer, the updated Commentary on the Third Geneva Convention related to the treatment of prisoners of war was launched after years of research and analysis. In this episode of the podcast, we discuss the Commentary’s main findings on key humanitarian issues related to the treatment of prisoners of war. Guests include Jean-Marie Henckaerts, ICRC’s legal advisor and head of ICRC

During armed conflicts, other situations of violence, natural disasters, or migration, countless people go missing, causing great anguish for their families and loved ones, who often make desperate attempts to find them. Waiting to learn about a missing person’s fate and whereabouts means living in limbo, between hope and despair, facing the pain of ongoing uncertainty and unable to grieve. Such uncertainty has severe psychological and emotional effects. It can also create legal, administrative, social and economic difficulties. International humanitarian law (IHL) includes important provisions aimed at preventing people from going missing, clarifying the fate and whereabouts of missing persons and upholding the right of the families to know the fate and whereabouts of their relatives. States and parties to an armed conflict must take all possible measures to prevent people from going missing, to account for those who do, to protect those that die and to deal with the consequences of such events. Other bodies