Algunas violaciones del derecho internacional humanitario ocurren frente a nuestros ojos

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]In the extreme power imbalance between a person in a cell and those holding the keys, moral boundaries can easily collapse.

[00:00:08]In too many conflicts, people behind bars are stripped of any shred of their humanity.

[00:00:15]They're recast as less than human and therefore unworthy of fair treatment or trial.

[00:00:21]They are robbed of their identities and are at risk of vanishing as records of their whereabouts are destroyed.

[00:00:29]Dehumanization is not limited to captured combatants.

[00:00:33]Civilians deprived of liberty are often subject to similar abuses.

[00:00:38]Deliberate cruelty does not happen by chance.

[00:00:42]There's no such thing as accidental torture or abuse.

[00:00:47]It is the product of a system designed to rationalize acts born from a disregard of the law and military strategies designed to irreversibly destroy.

[00:00:58]The Geneva Conventions are clear that in international armed conflicts, including occupation, prisoners of war, civilian internees, and detainees have a right to be visited by the ICRC.

[00:01:11]We monitor their treatment and conditions, keep them connected with their families, and help prevent them from going missing.

[00:01:21]Despite states' obligation to allow ICRC visits, our access is denied or severely restricted in far too many instances today.

[00:01:31]A dangerous erosion of the norms that risks harming not only people behind bars today, but also tomorrow.

[00:01:39]We continue to carry out detention visits wherever we are given access.