(W.E.Talk) How does international humanitarian work draw inspiration from Eastern cultures?

By Xiao Xin from CNS

Kaushalya Karunasagara is the Networking Advisor at the ICRC delegation in Sri Lanka. She has been focusing on multicultural academic research for many years, and promoting International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights law from an Asian cultural perspective. Her latest research, Rules and Traditions During Conflict Situations: contextualizing IHL with Chinese Humanitarian Traditions, was presented at the symposium on “Chinese Humanitarian Traditions and International Humanitarian Concepts” jointly organized by the ICRC, the Red Cross Society of China and the National Emergency Medical Research Center.

The year 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Geneva Conventions and the 120th anniversary of the establishment of the Red Cross Society of China. At present, many armed conflicts rage across the globe, putting global humanitarian actions under the spotlight, as humanitarian actors such as the international Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement continue to provide assistance on the front lines of conflicts, reaffirming the principles of humanity, and urging that "even wars must have limits".

Humanity is the greatest consensus that can unite different civilizations. In the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in Geneva, there is an official script warning sign that reads "Do not do unto others as you would not like to be done unto yourself". Meanwhile, In the study of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), the comparative study of the traditional Chinese concept of "humanity" is becoming popular. Why does international humanitarian work start to draw inspiration from Eastern cultures? How can the far-reaching Chinese thoughts of "benevolence" and "forgiveness" be applied in international humanitarian actions? Kaushalya Karunasagara, Networking Advisor at the ICRC delegation in Sri Lanka shared her insights in an exclusive interview with CNS's "W.E. Talk".

Here are the excerpts of the interview:

CNS: The exploration and comparative study of the concept of humanity in Eastern cultures has gradually emerged in the field of IHL. Why has that trend emerged?

Kaushalya Karunasagara: The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) initiated its engagement with cultural and religious traditions decades ago with the objective of conveying key humanitarian messages in cultural vernacular corresponding to International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

Whilst the ICRC's headquarters and origins are in Europe, we acknowledge the importance of other cultural perspectives on humanitarian action, and what the ICRC can learn from Asia ― particularly when it comes to the protection of civilians, detainees and the sick and wounded during times of armed conflict and other situations of violence.

Three decades ago, the ICRC began exploring convergences between Islamic culture and IHL, for the ICRC better to relate to the cultures in which it was working, many of which were Muslim contexts. Since 2017, the ICRC has engaged on Buddhist culture and IHL for much the same purpose, and we have also engaged on Hindu traditions and Christian ethics and IHL, too. This latest project on Chinese traditions is a continuation of this work.

Whilst the convergences between these different traditions and IHL might at first be surprising, we must remember that the roots of IHL lie in various humanitarian traditions from around the world, some of which are thousands of years old.

Having said that, the ICRC does not ignore the divergences between these traditions and IHL, and it is also important to discuss those. All of this is what makes this dialogue so rich, interesting, and meaningful. Thus, we are affirmative that oriental cultural traditions could contribute to enrich this discussion effectively along with other humanitarian traditions around the world to enhance the operational innovation, gain and maintain access by building relationships and bridges to IHL. We hope to learn a lot more from Chinese scholars, humanitarians, and others as this project progresses.