When wars end, peace rarely begins overnight. It’s built, slowly and painstakingly, through acts that restore a sense of humanity where it was once suspended. Among these, how a society treats people it detains may seem peripheral, yet it can determine whether trust survives long enough for peace to take root. Humane detention, often overshadowed by more visible aspects of conflict recovery, is in fact one of the earliest and most concrete tests of readiness for peace. Each act of respect for law and dignity – registering a detainee, allowing a family visit, providing medical care, or releasing a prisoner when the reason for detention has ceased – helps reduce the harm that fuels revenge and instead preserves the fragile threads of trust that can bind divided societies.  

In this post, Terry Hackett, ICRC’s Head of the Persons Deprived of Liberty Unit, and Audrey Purcell-O’Dwyer, ICRC’s Legal Adviser with the Global Initiative on international humanitarian law (IHL), show how compliance with IHL in detention – while not a direct path to peace – can serve as a legal and moral bridge towards it, one rooted in dignity, accountability, and the quiet rebuilding of trust. By limiting suffering and safeguarding dignity, it helps prevent conflicts from eroding the institutions and confidence that societies need to recover.  

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📅 Don’t Miss Our Upcoming Event!

📢 Join us on 9 December for “Strengthening Humanitarian Responses in Contested Territories”

Between July 2024 and January 2025, the ICRC conducted field research in Cameroon, Iraq, and the Philippines to better understand how civilians navigate life in areas with multiple and competing armed actors. The resulting policy report, “Navigating Violence: Learning from Civilian Experiences and Strengthening Humanitarian Responses in Contested Territories,” outlines the challenges that shape people’s lives in contested areas and proposes ways to strengthen humanitarian responses.

The event will present key findings from this research and bring together ICRC experts, civil society actors, and State representatives to foster dialogue on improving protection and assistance — exploring the question of how civilians cope and adapt amid armed actors, and how the humanitarian community can bridge the gap between current responses and people’s critical needs.

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