Attacks On Medical Missions: Overview Of A Polymorphous Reality: The .

C. Abu Sa’Da, F. Duroch and B. Taithecontradictory currents, that is, teams that accept or even tolerate violent incidentson a daily basis, and an institutional dynamic which appears increasingly unwillingto accept the taking of risks.9 It must be admitted, however, that currently thereare security issues in medical circles, and in very different contexts; this situationmay create the possibility of a new perception of problems which have, nevertheless,existed for a long time.10 In both cases it would appear justified to focus on thisviolence as a subject of research.11The theoretical and historical implications of the issueDiscussion of the problem of violent acts against humanitarian medical organisations often takes the form of questions regarding the notion of neutrality of medicalactivities. While it is not automatically synonymous with a reasoned approachto violence, medical neutrality has been claimed by certain organisations fromthe origins of the modern humanitarian movement.12 Without reverting to thenumerous attacks perpetrated against doctors and patients during the war of 1870,13soon after adoption of the first Geneva Convention, the issue of medical neutralityin conflict situations described as ‘insurrectionary or revolutionary’ was consideredimportant enough in the 1950s14 et 1960s to justify the holding of conferenceson the subject and the publication of articles in the Revue internationale de laCroix-Rouge.15 The problem is therefore not a new one. Partisan use of medical9101112131415312In this regard, see Michel Tondellier, ‘L’action organisée face à la prise de risque: l’héroïsme au travail etson institutionnalisation’, Proceedings of the symposium ‘Acteur, risque et prise de risque’, 25 and 26November 2004, Centre lillois d’études sociologiques et économiques, UMR 8019 Centre national de larecherche scientifique.The Chinese press, for example, reported 17,000 incidents in 2011: Wall Street Journal, 22 October 2012;see Therese Hesketh, Dan Wu, Linan Mao and Nan Ma, ‘Violence against Doctors in China’, in BMJ2012;345/e.5730. Violence in hospitals is also at the centre of investigations in France and in the UnitedKingdom. See Ministère du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Santé (French Ministry of Work, Employment andHealth), Bilan national des remontées des signalements d’actes de violence en milieu hospitalier, 2011.A series of semi-structured interviews was carried out in order to substantiate this article. Four membersof MSF took part in interviews held to record the issues relating to incidents they had experienced whileworking for the organisation in the field. The reports were recorded and written up in extenso. Thequestions and all the replies are available on request.Frank T. Carlton, ‘Humanitarianism, Past and Present’, in International Journal of Ethics, Vol. 17, No. 1,1906, pp. 48–55; John F. Hutchinson, ‘Rethinking the Origins of the Red Cross’, in Bulletin of the Historyof Medicine, Vol. 63, No. 4, 1989, pp. 557–578; Bertrand Taithe, ‘The Red Cross Flag in the FrancoPrussian War: Civilians, Humanitarians and War in the “Modern” Age’, in Roger Cooter, Steve Sturdyand Mark Harrison (eds), War, Medicine and Modernity, Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 1998, pp. 22–47; JohnHutchinson, Champions of Charity: War and the Rise of the Red Cross, Westview Press, Oxford, 1996.Charles Duncker, Les violations de la convention de Genève par les français en 1870–1871, Berlin, 1871;J. M. Félix Christot, Le Massacre de l’ambulance de Saône et Loire le 21 janvier 1871; rapport lu au comitémédical de secours aux blessés le 7 juillet 1871, Vingtrinier, Lyon, 1871; Charles Aimé Dauban, La Guerrecomme la font les prussiens, Plon, Paris, 1871; Bertrand Taithe, Defeated Flesh: Welfare, Warfare and theMaking of Modern France, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1999, pp. 169–173.John H. Herz, ‘Idealist Internationalism and the Security Dilemma’, in World Politics, Vol. 2, No. 2, 1950,pp. 157–180.Jean des Cilleuls and Raymond de la Pradelle, ‘Medical Neutrality in Subversive Wars’, in InternationalReview of the Red Cross, Vol. 13, No. 10, 1960, pp. 195–204.

Attacks on medical missions: overview of a polymorphous reality: the case of MédecinsSans Frontièresresources,16 the theft or exclusive appropriation of health services, and violent actsperpetrated against medical personnel with the aim of depriving the adversary ofmedical treatment are unfortunately all features of warfare examples of which maybe found throughout the twentieth century. More recently, ongoing events in Syriaare forceful reminders that health systems can be the object of targeted attacks.17Medical activities may thus be perverted to serve logistic and belligerent purposes.The issue of access or denial of access to medical care can deprive entire populationsof vital assistance.18 Hence attacks on medical facilities allow the parties to theconflict to assert their power in an effective and symbolic manner.19Violence in war must nevertheless be analysed in its own context. Whilethere is no golden age for humanitarian action in the face of conflict, it should benoted that responsibility for such violence against medical facilities has beenclaimed only in the context of efforts to rid a country entirely of a foreign presence,and that since the 1870s attacks on health facilities and personnel have always givenrise to international controversy.20Nevertheless, beyond their specific contexts, such attacks are heterogeneous. A distinction must therefore be drawn between several elements, and theporous nature of possible analytical categories must be recognized.21 However,certain common points may be stressed in order to distinguish, perhaps artificially,the causal connections which often overlap:.The brutal nature of the social relations in which attacks on medical missionsgenerally occur;2216 Laurence Brown, ‘The Great Betrayal? European Socialists and Humanitarian Relief during the SpanishCivil War’, in Labour History Review, Vol. 67, No. 1, 2002, pp. 83–99.17 Médecins Sans Frontières, ‘Syria: All Parties To The Conflict Must Respect Medical Facilities’, 26 January2013, available at: .cfm?id 6582&cat press-release(last visited 13 June 2013); Olivier Falhun, ‘En Syrie, l’humanitaire confronté à ses limites’, CRASH, 12March 2012, available at: 2/en-syrie-lhumanitaireconfronte-a-ses-limites (last visited 13 June 2013).18 ‘A deeply worrisome pattern is emerging, where people and their scarce resources are deliberately targetedby all the armed groups involved in inter-communal violence. Hospitals, health clinics, and water sourcesare all targets, suggesting a tactic of depriving people of life’s basic essentials, precisely when they needthem most’. See Médecins Sans Frontières, ‘Even Running Away Is Not Enough: Attacks in Jonglei, SouthSudan, Perpetuate Extreme Violence’, 24 January 2012, available at: .cfm?id 5740ost (last visited 13 June 2013).19 ‘Biopolitics designates the assumption of control by the power of the processes that affect life, from birthto death (disease, age, disability, environmental effects, etc.) and that, while absolutely random on the scaleof the individual, have, as a collective phenomenon, decisive economic and political effects’ [ICRCtranslation]. See Marie Cuillerai and Marc Abélès, ‘Mondialisation: du géo-culturel au bio-politique’, inAnthropologie et Sociétés, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2002, p. 22.20 In this regard, international law governing the use of armed force ( jus ad bellum) and internationalhumanitarian law governing the use of force ( jus in bello) coincide. See Martti Koskenniemi, The GentleCivilizer of Nations: The Rise and Fall of International Law, 1870–1960, Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, 2002; Samuel Moyn, The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History, Harvard University Press,Belknap, 2010; David. G. Chandler, ‘The Road to Military Humanitarianism: How the Human RightsNGOs Shaped a New Humanitarian Agenda’, in Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 3, 2001, pp. 678–700.21 An argument to this effect is put forward by Larissa Fast, ‘Characteristics, context and risk: NGOinsecurity in conflict zones’, in Disasters, Vol. 31, No. 2, 2007, pp. 130–154.22 The concept of brutalisation is a reference to the work of George Mosse, De la Grande Guerre autotalitarisme, la brutalisation des sociétés européennes, Hachette, Paris, 1999.313

C. Abu Sa’Da, F. Duroch and B. Taithe.The chronic insecurity of patients and personnel resulting from the fact thathospitals, and health facilities in general, are perceived first and foremost aspossible targets for predation, with essentially criminal objectives;The strategic or tactical importance of medical facilities in the wider context ofurban or psychological warfare or insurgency;The perception of health care as being a private asset or resource (of the enemy)rather than being for the common good.While attacks on medical facilities may be a sign of an escalation in hostilities(for they are aimed at premises usually devoted to preserving vital interests commonto the entire population), they usually occur in a context marked by other typesof violations of international humanitarian law, such as attacks on civilians – inparticular counterinsurgency operations which make the distinction betweencivilians and combatants (an essential precept of international law) illusory23 – oracts of torture perpetrated on the civilian population by government forces,a phenomenon which, sadly, may be observed in many situations.24The sequence of such events is also a matter for investigation. In particular,the stage at which these eruptions of violence occur – the moment in time whensuch acts against medical facilities are most frequent or appear advantageous forthose who carry them out – remains a subject for analysis.Semantic choicesSeveral studies have demonstrated the importance of the terminology used byhumanitarian organisations in their responses to difficult situations.25 As well asmore general discussions on principles, debate centred on the very terms of suchdiscussions takes on an autonomous dimension. For example, MSF very often refersto the notion of ‘medical sanctuaries’, but without taking into account themetaphysical dimension that this idea may embody. The term ‘sanctuary’ might alsogive rise to confusion in that it suggests that medical services belong in anextraterritorial sphere, that is, outside national sovereignty which is itself often atissue in conflicts. By being considered as a refuge, or a safe haven, protected fromany national or international interference, a sanctuary may appear to be a nonindigenous structure, in contradiction with the idea of common good which isessential to its safety.26 The fact that the existence of any ‘medical sanctuary’ is amyth, albeit an advantageous and necessary one, is not often the subject of internaldiscussion within MSF and it is perhaps illusory to imagine that such a notion can23 Gilles Andréani and Pierre Hassner (eds), Justifier la guerre? De l’humanitaire au contre-terrorisme,Presses de la Fondation nationale des sciences politiques, Paris, 2005.24 Médecins Sans Frontières, ‘Libya: Detainees Tortured and Denied Medical Care, MSF Suspends Work inDetention Centers in Misrata’, 26 January 2012, available at: .cfm?id 5744 (last visited 13 June 2013).25 With regard to the terminology used by humanitarian agencies, see Caroline Abu Sa’Da, Dans l’œil desautres: Perception de l’action humanitaire et de MSF, Editions Antipodes, Lausanne, 2011, pp. 43–50.26 Sarah Kenyon Lischer, Dangerous Sanctuaries: Refugee Camps, Civil War, and the Dilemmas ofHumanitarian Aid, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 2005.314

Attacks on medical missions: overview of a polymorphous reality: the case of MédecinsSans Frontièreshave any meaning or indeed, a priori, any useful purpose.27 Several other examplescould be cited, but suffice it to note here the critical importance of terminology in allapproaches and responses to violence.Pertinence of the parameter of intentionalityWhile it is often difficult to analyse the causes of attacks on medical activities, theirconsequences are essentially difficulties in the delivery of care or in accessibilityby patients to health services. Lack of security resulting from unpredictable acts ofviolence also has secondary effects. Fiona Terry, referring to her long experiencewith MSF and in humanitarian activities in general, points out:The most widespread consequence of violence against health-care is its absenceor inaccessibility when needed most. Violence causes health structures to closeand staff to flee, leaving no one to treat patients. Resupplying health centreswith drugs, materials and equipment is a major problem in insecure contextssuch as Somalia today. People in the south and central regions are deprived ofhealth-care because resupply trucks cannot get through.28Trying to distinguish between criminal violence and tactical violence, whether on abattleground or more sporadically in street fighting, or even during strategic combatin which deprivation of medical care is a war objective, is thus hardly pertinent fromthe viewpoint of the primary victims. In many cases such distinctions emerge onlyafter the event, from historical or legal analysis.In fact, light can be shed on the issue of intentional deprivation of medicalcare by means of political analysis which is often carried out after the event.Neglecting to perform such analysis sometimes leads to deferring the issue ofresponsibility to a later date and focusing attention on the medical consequences.Analysis of a situation from the angle of deprivation of medical care ignores thevarious forms of violence to concentrate only on their effects. This approach maybe necessary during local negotiations, but it might seem to set such practicesapart from the political responsibilities with which they must be linked, and toamalgamate events that are highly diverse. From the opposite viewpoint,an approach focusing on an analysis of intentionality might be distorted by abiased or ill-informed perception of highly complex situations. In either case, a nongovernmental medical organisation (NGO) is hardly qualified to carry out acomprehensive analysis of the situations of insecurity in which it attempts to27 In fact, the term ‘sanctuary’ implies the capacity of society to remove individuals from a situation ofdanger and to produce a situation in violation of the usual rules; in the North American context theconcept of sanctuary refers to local and exceptional campaigns run by churches or other religions relyingon ‘pastoral power’ in aid of a few refugees. As this concept has no implications for the majority of otherrefugees, it is not a universally recognized principle, but merely a locally negotiated balance of power. SeeRandy Lippert, ‘Sanctuary Practices, Rationalities, and Sovereignties’, in Alternatives: Global, Local,Political, Vol. 29, No. 5, 2004, pp. 535–555.28 Interview with Fiona Terry, Geneva, 14 May 2013.315

C. Abu Sa’Da, F. Duroch and B. Taitheoperate, often because of its fragmentary view of the causal links and themotivations underlying such phenomena.Challenging principlesIt is partly to transcend these analytical limits that recalling the fundamentalconcepts of humanitarianism might be a possible solution. In fact, attacks onmedical missions are attacks on the principles of humanitarian action as set outin the MSF Charter and constitute a grave violation of international humanitarianlaw.29 While the neutrality of MSF is called into question by the very existence ofits operational and medical choices, which remain a political decision on the part ofthe organisation, this principle is at the heart of reflection regarding attacks onmedical activities.30 The interpretation of neutrality as a condition for negotiationsor as a fundamental principle is often placed in an historical perspective. In thisconnection, Fiona Terry remarks:When the founder of the Red Cross Movement, Henri Dunant, proposed thatmedical personnel and volunteers agree to be neutral in time of war, it waswith the quite clear objective of avoiding attacks on them. Medical staff andtheir assistants were not allowed to take part in fighting and their status had tobe clearly indicated by a distinctive sign. But, like all good ideas, the neutrality ofhumanitarian workers in times of war has given rise to many dilemmas, bothpractical and philosophical.31[ICRC translation]Moreover, as pointed out by Hugo Slim, neutrality and impartiality are the mainpoints of tension in both law and practice.32 Article 23 of the Fourth GenevaConvention states clearly that aid may be suspended if there is any evidence thatthanks to that aid ‘a definite advantage may accrue to the military efforts oreconomy of the enemy.’33 In this legal perspective, therefore, aid is not intended tohelp or develop the capacity of the parties to the conflict. It may be difficult to claimthat medical assistance is entirely impartial if it is seen not as a common asset butas a private resource or an advantage for one of the parties to the conflict.29 Certain public statements made by MSF concerning security incidents explicitly mention the attack on thefundamental principles of medical humanitarian aid. For example: ‘The attack on our team in Kismayohas been an attack on the very idea of humanitarianism and our ability to alleviate the suffering inSomalia’, available at: ability-alleviate (last visited 13 June 2013).30 For two historical examples at critical moments, see Max Huber, ‘Croix-Rouge et neutralité’, in Revueinternationale de la Croix-Rouge, Vol. 18, No. 209, 1936, pp. 353–363; Carola Weil, ‘The ProtectionNeutrality Dilemma in Humanitarian Emergencies: Why the Need for Military Intervention?’, inInternational Migration Review, Vol. 35, No. 1, 2001, pp. 79–116.31 Interview with Fiona Terry, Geneva, 14 May 2013; Jean Pictet, The Fundamental Principles of the RedCross, Henry Dunant Institute, Geneva, 1979.32 Hugo Slim and Miriam Bradley, ‘Principled Humanitarian Action and Ethical Tensions in Multi-MandateOrganizations in Armed Conflict, Observations from a Rapid Literature Review’, in World Vision, March2013, p. 13.33 Ibid. See also Barbara Ann Rieffer-Flanagan, ‘Is Neutral Humanitarianism Dead? Red Cross NeutralityWalking the Tightrope of Neutral Humanitarianism’, in Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2009,pp. 888–915.316

Attacks on medical missions: overview of a polymorphous reality: the case of MédecinsSans FrontièresWhile neutrality is an historical concept, the history of its application is rifewith tension and temptation. Indeed, humanitarian medical staff have often beenactive in favour of one or other party to the conflict. From the Vietnam War to theconflicts in Afghanistan against the Soviet invaders,34 humanitarian involvementin the Cold War did not always abide by the principles of neutrality and impartiality.Instead, humanitarian personnel acted in accordance with other, more partisanconsiderations, often focusing on identifying victims of oppressive regimes, whichled them to concentrate their efforts on a particular cause and group. In theoperational history of MSF, such choices clearly demonstrate that there is a degree ofambivalence regarding principles when it comes to practice.35Certain dynamics of war – which could be termed totalizing, for theyconsist in the gradual invasion of all public and private places in pursuance of thepolitical and military aims of the conflict – sometimes appear inconceivable for anorganisation such as MSF. Yet here we have to analyse such phenomena in contrastto what is termed the ‘total’ warfare of the past, during which the nature of medicalneutrality and the protection of medical facilities were more or less established,although recent historiography reveals many breaches of the generally acceptedrules.36 On the other hand, civil wars offer numerous examples of violence againstthe wounded and medical personnel.In French history, the insurrectionary régime of the Paris Commune inApril 1871 was not legally competent to sign the Geneva Convention, so could claimadherence to it only implicitly:The International Aid Society for Nursing of the War Wounded having protestedto the Versailles government about the atrocious violations of the GenevaConvention committed daily by the monarchy’s troops, Thiers gave thisheinous reply:‘As the Commune has not adhered to the Geneva Convention, the Versaillesgovernment is under no obligation to comply with it.’The Commune has done better to date than to adhere to the GenevaConvention.It has scrupulously respected all the laws of humanity in the face of the mostbarbarous acts, the most bloodthirsty challenges to civilization and to modernlaw: our wounded finished off on the battlefield, our hospitals shelled, ourambulances riddled with bullets, our doctors and nurses even having theirthroats cut in the performance of their duties.37[ICRC t

symptom of what British sociologists call 'moral panic', that is, a moral crisis within the organisation created by a general feeling of anxiety in the face of acts of . See Stanley Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics, Blackwell, Oxford, 1972; Kenneth Thompson, Moral Panics, Routledge, London, 1998. For more