International Review of the Red Cross

International Review of the Red Cross is a scholarly journal published by the International Committee of the Red Cross that addresses issues of International humanitarian law, humanitarian assistance, and armed conflict through historical, legal, and policy-oriented analysis. The journal serves as a forum linking practitioners from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, scholars from institutions such as Harvard Law School, University of Oxford, and Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, and policymakers from bodies like the United Nations Security Council, European Union, and African Union. Founded in the late nineteenth century, the journal traces debates involving actors such as Henry Dunant, Florence Nightingale, and states party to the Geneva Conventions.

History

The journal originated amid nineteenth-century debates following the Battle of Solferino and the advocacy of Henry Dunant, paralleling the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross and later interaction with the Geneva Conventions of 1864. During the early twentieth century the Review engaged with issues raised by the Franco-Prussian War, the First World War, and personalities like Lord Bryce and T. E. Lawrence, while later editions reflected jurisprudence from the Nuremberg Trials, rulings by the International Court of Justice, and conventions such as the Additional Protocols (1977). The Cold War era prompted dialogue on crises involving the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and humanitarian access in contexts linked to states like the Soviet Union and the United States. In the post-Cold War period the Review covered interventions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Rwandan genocide, the Iraq War, and subsequent normative development led by instruments including the Rome Statute and decisions from the International Criminal Court.

Scope and Content

The Review publishes analyses on topics at the intersection of legal doctrine, operational practice, and historical precedent, addressing cases from Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan to protracted situations in Palestine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Articles examine jurisprudence from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, evidence discussed at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, treaty interpretation under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, and doctrine shaped by scholars at Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. Thematic issues have focused on customary international humanitarian law, detainee treatment in contexts like Guantanamo Bay, humanitarian negotiation with non-state armed groups such as Hezbollah and Taliban, protection of cultural property in line with the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property, and the humanitarian implications of technologies discussed at forums like International Telecommunication Union and World Health Organization.

Editorial Structure and Peer Review

The editorial board comprises editors and advisers drawn from institutions including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, university faculties at University of Cambridge, Sciences Po, and research centers such as the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. The Review follows a rigorous peer review process engaging external reviewers affiliated with entities like Oxford University Press peer networks, the American Society of International Law, and specialist panels convened with experts from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and academic departments at King's College London. Editorial policy balances contributions from practitioners—such as delegates to Diplomatic Conference of Geneva sessions—and academics whose work appears alongside analyses of decisions from the European Court of Human Rights and case law from national tribunals in states like France, Germany, and Canada.

Publication and Access

Published quarterly in English and French by the International Committee of the Red Cross from Geneva, the Review issues thematic editions and standalone articles available in print and digital formats distributed to libraries at institutions including the Library of Congress, the British Library, and the United Nations Library in Geneva. Subscriptions and individual article access interact with digital platforms used by publishers such as Cambridge University Press and indexing services like Scopus, Web of Science, and the Directory of Open Access Journals for discoverability. The Review also collaborates with academic conferences at venues such as International Association of Genocide Scholars meetings and workshops held at Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.

Impact and Reception

The Review is cited in scholarship from law faculties at New York University School of Law, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and research outputs by think tanks including the International Crisis Group and Chatham House. Its influence appears in policy briefs from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and training curricula adopted by national armed forces and humanitarian actors influenced by guidance from the Geneva Conventions and interpretations by the International Criminal Court. Reviews in periodicals linked to Foreign Affairs, Le Monde, and The Economist and references in judgments by the European Court of Human Rights and advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice reflect its standing among practitioners, scholars, and policymakers.

Category:Humanitarian law journals Category:International Committee of the Red Cross