Russia–Ukraine international armed conflict: Your questions answered about the ICRC’s work

The ICRC's role in the evacuation from Mariupol, in May 2022, was to facilitate the implementation of the agreement reached between Ukraine and Russia in our capacity as a neutral intermediary. Details related to the evacuation were agreed upon by both parties, including the logistics.

Based on the role conferred to us by parties to the conflict, our responsibility consisted in accompanying the convoy and being present through the whole operation. Our presence also allowed to remind parties to take humanitarian concerns into account.

We facilitated the evacuation of more than 470 civilians. During such evacuations, it is up to the parties to the conflict to decide whether or not to undergo a screening procedure. If they do, it must be conducted in a humane and dignified manner.

The ICRC does not have the power nor the mandate to decide on, nor to prevent, the screening of leaving civilians if it is decided by parties to the conflict. The ICRC couldn't and has never guaranteed that all people evacuating would successfully pass the screening procedure. Similarly, we could not and did not guarantee as such the safety of the POWs once in the hands of a party to the conflict, because it is simply not within our power to do so.

Our visible presence during the evacuation was to facilitate the process between those evacuating and the authorities concerned and remind them of the humanitarian nature of the operation. The ICRC teams stayed with the convoy the whole way and stayed with the persons evacuating throughout the process, including during the nights in tents.

Here or anywhere else around the world, the ICRC does not have the power nor the mandate to prevent the detention of civilians or combatants nor ask for their release. What we can do, at our level, is to continue to advocate for protected persons to be treated humanely and with dignity, and we have done this continuously

According to the Geneva Conventions, states party to an international armed conflict have the obligation to treat prisoners of war (POWs) humanely, including with respect for their persons and their honour, and they should be protected against acts of violence, intimidation, insults, public curiosity and physical or mental torture.

We work on the basis of the Third Geneva Convention, which states that the ICRC's access to POWs must be granted, but we cannot force states to comply with their obligations nor guarantee that they will.