Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Saturday
ICRC Visits Saddam: Goals and Objectives
Aired February 21, 2004 - 14:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: According to the International Red Cross, its objectives in detention cases, like this one, are as follows:
They prevent or stop disappearances of killings, to improve detention conditions, restore contact between detainees and their families. And the agency says its goals are to get access to prisoners and to review treatment and discipline.
Antonella Notari of the ICRC is on the telephone with us from Geneva to give us a better sense as to how this generally takes place.
Good -- good that you can join us, Antonia -- Antonella.
ANTONELLA NOTARI, ICRC: Hi, how are you?
WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good.
All right. In cases like this, how far is the International Red Cross willing to go to deliver messages for detainees or to carry out favors that are asked?
NOTARI: Well, the delivery of messages is not a particular favor. It's really a duty we have, and it's a right the prisoner has. And we will do our best to deliver the message, and if the family wishes to reply to Saddam Hussein, we will get their message and deliver it to him the next time we carry out the visit.
WHITFIELD: In most cases, do detainees or war criminals feel like the International Red Cross is unbiased, has no political agenda and therefore are likely to be trusted?
NOTARI: In my experience, yes, and I've carried out a lot of visits, including in Iraq in the war in '91, and including to prisoners of the allied forces at that time.
I think we come into a world for the prisoners which is very restrictive, which is very closed. They haven't been able to speak to any other persons. They see somebody come in who has nothing to do with their present environment, really, and they usually feel quite confident to speak to us, yes.
WHITFIELD: And how quickly does this lobbying begin? I understand for almost two months now the ICRC has been lobbying to try to get this meeting to take place with Saddam Hussein.
NOTARI: Well, the delays for such visits really vary. It's dependent on the circumstances, it's dependent also on security conditions. I think there is a right for the detaining authorities to delay a visit if they have security concerns, but they may only do so temporarily.
In this case, of course, it wasn't an easy visit to arrange. And it took some time to make the tactical arrangements, to ensure security conditions. We're happy it took place today. We're satisfied with that. And the conditions under which we visited were fully satisfactory.
WHITFIELD: OK. Can you elaborate on that? Why was it satisfactory, in your opinion?
NOTARI: Yes, because we have certain requirements. And that is to be able to, first of all, meet with the detaining authorities, with the people in charge of the detention place, to discuss with them what we are going to do, how we're going to do it and also to hear about what provisions they have taken for the internment of, in this case, Saddam Hussein and the other prisoner we visit.
We then tour the premises. We look at the services and facilities that are put at the disposal of prisoners, health services and so forth.
And then you meet the prisoner in private. And we were able to meet Mr. Saddam Hussein in private. Our two delegates spoke to him without witnesses present.
We then, at the end of the visit, come back to the detaining authority again to report to them, and if we have any recommendations to make, we can at that point already, orally. We lay to them reports also in writing. All of these reports, of course, as you've already mentioned, are strictly confidential and are addressed only to the detaining authorities.
WHITFIELD: Antonella Notari of the International Red Cross, thanks very much for joining us on the telephone from Geneva.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 21, 2004 - 14:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: According to the International Red Cross, its objectives in detention cases, like this one, are as follows:
They prevent or stop disappearances of killings, to improve detention conditions, restore contact between detainees and their families. And the agency says its goals are to get access to prisoners and to review treatment and discipline.
Antonella Notari of the ICRC is on the telephone with us from Geneva to give us a better sense as to how this generally takes place.
Good -- good that you can join us, Antonia -- Antonella.
ANTONELLA NOTARI, ICRC: Hi, how are you?
WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good.
All right. In cases like this, how far is the International Red Cross willing to go to deliver messages for detainees or to carry out favors that are asked?
NOTARI: Well, the delivery of messages is not a particular favor. It's really a duty we have, and it's a right the prisoner has. And we will do our best to deliver the message, and if the family wishes to reply to Saddam Hussein, we will get their message and deliver it to him the next time we carry out the visit.
WHITFIELD: In most cases, do detainees or war criminals feel like the International Red Cross is unbiased, has no political agenda and therefore are likely to be trusted?
NOTARI: In my experience, yes, and I've carried out a lot of visits, including in Iraq in the war in '91, and including to prisoners of the allied forces at that time.
I think we come into a world for the prisoners which is very restrictive, which is very closed. They haven't been able to speak to any other persons. They see somebody come in who has nothing to do with their present environment, really, and they usually feel quite confident to speak to us, yes.
WHITFIELD: And how quickly does this lobbying begin? I understand for almost two months now the ICRC has been lobbying to try to get this meeting to take place with Saddam Hussein.
NOTARI: Well, the delays for such visits really vary. It's dependent on the circumstances, it's dependent also on security conditions. I think there is a right for the detaining authorities to delay a visit if they have security concerns, but they may only do so temporarily.
In this case, of course, it wasn't an easy visit to arrange. And it took some time to make the tactical arrangements, to ensure security conditions. We're happy it took place today. We're satisfied with that. And the conditions under which we visited were fully satisfactory.
WHITFIELD: OK. Can you elaborate on that? Why was it satisfactory, in your opinion?
NOTARI: Yes, because we have certain requirements. And that is to be able to, first of all, meet with the detaining authorities, with the people in charge of the detention place, to discuss with them what we are going to do, how we're going to do it and also to hear about what provisions they have taken for the internment of, in this case, Saddam Hussein and the other prisoner we visit.
We then tour the premises. We look at the services and facilities that are put at the disposal of prisoners, health services and so forth.
And then you meet the prisoner in private. And we were able to meet Mr. Saddam Hussein in private. Our two delegates spoke to him without witnesses present.
We then, at the end of the visit, come back to the detaining authority again to report to them, and if we have any recommendations to make, we can at that point already, orally. We lay to them reports also in writing. All of these reports, of course, as you've already mentioned, are strictly confidential and are addressed only to the detaining authorities.
WHITFIELD: Antonella Notari of the International Red Cross, thanks very much for joining us on the telephone from Geneva.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
