The Roots of Behavior: Norms, Humanitarian Values and the Law

Annual General Meeting - Canadian Red Cross
Toronto, Ontario

David Pratt

November 14, 2004

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is a great pleasure and honour for me to be with you today as part of the annual general meeting of this great organization. I can’t tell you how delighted and proud I am to be part of the Canadian Red Cross and the wider family of the ICRC and Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. 

As someone new to the Red Cross, I think it might be useful for me to say a few words about myself by way of introduction. I joined the organization on November 1 as an Advisor to the Secretary General and as a Special Ambassador for the Red Cross. And I have been made to feel very much at home by Dr. Duplessis and all the National Office staff. The more I get to know individual staff members, the more I am impressed with their commitment, their dedication, their work ethic and their determination to uphold the principles and fulfill the mandate of the Red Cross.

Working at the National Office, my role will focus on issues related to conflict prevention, the control of small arms and light weapons, international humanitarian law, war affected children and Red Cross programs in Sierra Leone. As a former Special Envoy to Sierra Leone, all of these issues are very close to my heart and I am truly excited about the work that lies ahead.

Last year’s CRCS General Assembly identified “Humanitarian Values” as a core area of focus for the next five years. The strategic goal of the Red Cross is: “To protect the lives and ensure respect for the human being, we will increase awareness of, respect for and promote action on humanitarian values and International Humanitarian Law.” My strategic goal quite simply is to help the Red Cross achieve its strategic goal.

I was asked to speak about “The Roots of Behavior: Norms, Humanitarian Values and the Law.”  When I write a speech, the first thing I do is focus on definitions.  The first term I looked up was norm.  Much to my surprise, the definition offered on my computer’s dictionary was this: Norm, Australian slang: “an Australian man who enjoys watching sports on television while consuming large quantities of beer.” Now I think I can presume with some safety that these are not the sort of norms that the Red Cross wanted me to speak about.

The “norms” I will be talking about are the standard patterns of behavior that are considered normal in a particular society. It has often been said that crisis and adversity bring out the true nature of a person’s character or their patterns of behavior. The “crisis” we have experienced in recent times which continues to dominate political conversation is, of course, 9-ll. In fact, I heard Rex Murphy speak at a dinner a couple of weeks ago about our political culture and the norms and values that are embedded in our society. During the course of his comments, he spoke about the response of Newfoundlanders to 9-11 when the planes were forced to land and thousands of tired and frightened passengers were given refuge. Rex’s speech struck a chord with me. He told some great stories – some very emotional – about the compassion, the generosity, the humanity that was shown by his fellow Newfoundlanders in the wake of this tragedy.

He argued that the patterns of behavior or “norms” that exist in Newfoundland are all about people helping people – the humanitarian impulse. Now, if I recall his argument correctly, Rex generously conceded that similar patterns of behavior do exist within the rest of Canada.  However, a phrase he used stuck in my mind. He called this humanitarian impulse the “common habits of good people.” These, he said, were built up over several centuries and fostered by the public institutions we have put in place.

But he argued, and I must say it rings true with me, that in Newfoundland the ethos of mutual assistance enjoys its apotheosis or highest level of development. Rex didn’t use the word apotheosis, but it strikes me as a very Rex-like word. Why is this so? Rex puts it down to the harsh environment, the fact that Newfoundlanders have for generations eked out a meager existence in isolated outports plying the waters of an unpredictable and unforgiving North Atlantic.

He cited an example: “If a man goes overboard, 18 other families will, quietly, with great tact, make sure that the widow is taken care of, things are left very quietly at night, people looking in on you, it’s a habit of necessity, it’s not all virtue, and it’s a habit that works.”  He went on to say: “This readiness to respond with a full heart and no calculation to a circumstance of need, it is so natural. That’s the glory of it.  But it was built.  It was built with the habits of generations. It’s not an accident.”

Which brings me back to the response of Newfoundlanders to 9-11? Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember any of Rex’s stories in detail so I had to do my own research. In doing so, I was drawn to a story written by an anonymous flight attendant from Delta Airlines flight 15.  It deals very much with working end of humanitarian values. It is somewhat longish, so I solicit your indulgence.

The Delta Flight Attendant wrote: “About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th (this is the day after) we were told to get ready to leave the aircraft. The crew and passengers were taken to the terminal for "processing" through immigration and customs and then had to register with The Red Cross. After that, we were isolated from our passengers and were taken a small hotel in the town of Gander. We had no idea where our passengers were going.

The Red Cross told us they expected to process about 10,500 passengers from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander. We were told to relax at the hotel and wait for a call to return to the airport, but not to expect that call for a while. Several days later, passengers and crew were re-united.

But, she wrote, that's not what I wanted to tell you.

What passengers told us, she said, about their experiences with Newfoundlanders was so uplifting and incredible. We found out that Gander and the surrounding communities had closed all the high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted these facilities to a mass lodging area. Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up.

All the high school students were required to volunteer taking care of “the guests." Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, outside of Gander. There, they were put in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a “women-only” facility, that was arranged. Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were given no choice and were taken to private homes. A young pregnant lady was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24 hour urgent care type facility. Phone calls and emails to the US and Europe were available for everyone.

During the days, the passengers were given a choice of "excursion" trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors, some to see the local forests. Bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests. Food was prepared by residents and brought to the school for those who elected to stay put. Others were driven to the eatery of their choice. They were given tokens to go to the local laundromat to wash their clothes, since their luggage was still on the aircraft.

In other words, every single need was met for those unfortunate travelers. Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. After all that, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single one missing or late. All because the local Red Cross had all the information about the goings on back at Gander and knew which group needed to leave for the airport at what time. Absolutely incredible!, she wrote.

When passengers came on board, it was like they’d been on a cruise. Everybody knew everybody else by their name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a party flight. The passengers had totally bonded and they were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers and email addresses.

And then a strange thing happened. One of our business class passengers approached me. He asked if he could speak over the PA to his fellow passengers. We never, never, allow that, but something told me to get out of his way. I said "of course."

The gentleman picked up the PA and reminded everyone of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers. He stated that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of the town of Lewisporte. He said he was going to set up a trust fund under the name of Delta 15 (our flight number) to provide a scholarship for high school student(s) of Lewisporte. He asked for donations from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, and addresses, it totaled $20K Canadian.

The flight attendant went on to say that she had received a note from a resident of Gander about how the Newfoundlanders viewed the experience. The note said: "It's been a hell of a week here in Gander. The stories are amazing. We had 38 aircraft with a total of over 6,500 people drop by for coffee. They stayed for 3 or 4 days. Our population is just under 10,000, so you can imagine the logistics involved in giving each of these people a place to sleep and a hot meal three times a day. Many of us spent our time bringing people home so they could get a shower or driving them to the mall or sightseeing to relieve their boredom.

The diversity of the people who have been in my car and in my shower over the past few days is pretty wild. You should have seen the look on my little girl's face when three Muslim women came home with me for a shower. With their robes, she could only see their faces, hands and feet. Their hands and feet were covered with henna paint and two of them didn't speak English. There was a king from the Middle East, a British MP and the mayor of Frankfurt, Germany. There were also immigrants from all over the world, some of whom didn't have two pennies to rub together. They all slept side by side in schools and church halls.

One woman here gave a driving tour to a fellow from the US. When she brought him back to his little cot in the gymnasium, they exchanged cards. She looked at his and said, "So you work with Best Western?" He replied, "No, I own Best Western." And so ends the flight attendant’s story.

The efforts of the local Red Cross clearly made an impression on the flight attendant who told this story. And there is no doubt that the Red Cross and its volunteers, working with the local townspeople, made a huge impression on the stranded travellers. I was told that one passenger wrote a letter to our national office which stated: “I was travelling from Frankfurt to New York for a vacation and I landed in paradise.”

But “paradise” in this case didn’t happen by accident to repeat a word that Rex used. From the Red Cross’ standpoint, paradise is the result of organization, advanced planning, readiness, professionalism and what I would describe as hard-core dedication. What the Red Cross did was to harness or unleash (either word is appropriate) the ingrained standards of behavior of Newfoundlanders, their compassion, their empathy, their generosity - the norms of their existence. And true to our mission statement, we “mobilized the power of humanity to improve the lives of vulnerable people.”

Let’s reflect for a few moments on the mobilization or organizational component of the response. When the hijacked passenger aircraft struck the first of the twin towers at 8:45, by 9:00 the American Red Cross was on the scene three minutes before the second plane hit. Twelve minutes later, we saw the activation of the Canadian Red Cross Disaster Response. An emergency alert went out to all four zones, and from the zones to all 22 regions. By 9:30 am, 22 Regional Disaster Response Teams were put on alert with a network of 7,500 trained volunteers. 

Half an hour later, we’re advised that a similar attack on Canada is possible. By 10:30 am, the call comes to assist stranded air and sea passengers. By 11:00 am, we’re told the American Red Cross may require assistance. At 12:30, provincial and local emergency measures organizations are preparing to support stranded passengers through the establishment of reception centres.  Ninety minutes later, the reception and call centres are up and running and The Canadian Red Cross is officially in operation. Time elapsed since the first plane hit the World Trade Centre – just over five hours.

Let’s briefly recall a summary of the statistics:

• 252 diverted planes in Canada
• 135 in the Atlantic zone
• 31 reception centres (23 in Atlantic Canada)
• 33,346 stranded passengers served, some for up to five days
• 146 Red Cross delegates sent to New York City
• 50,000 calls from the public responded to
• 2,000 calls from the media
• $29 million in donations processed

What struck me about the flight attendant’s story, and indeed the entire 9-11 response,  was that it was imbued with so many of the fundamental humanitarian values of the Red Cross. The principle of humanity, mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation, impartiality; the fact there was no discrimination based on nationality, race, religious beliefs or wealth. Voluntary service was very much in evidence as was the principle of universality with two Red Cross societies working together.  But that flight attendant’s experience was undoubtedly similar to others who found themselves in various parts of Atlantic Canada - all with Red Cross volunteers lending a hand, showing they cared, and treating their “guests” with dignity and respect.  I think it is accurate to say that during the post-9-11operation, the Red Cross was probably the most effective channel for people to demonstrate their caring for others.

But if there is one thing that should be emphasized, it is that the sorts of humanitarian values, the patterns of behavior, the compassion, the generosity and the voluntarism that we saw from the Red Cross during post 9-11 are far from unique. There are people right across this country whose lives have been changed by the humanitarian values of the Red Cross – such as people who lost their homes in the BC fires, children who have broken the cycle of abuse in their lives, homeless people in downtown Toronto, and families that have been re-united – all thanks to Red Cross programs and Red Cross volunteers and staff motivated by common values and ideals.

These common values and ideals are rooted in our soil and in our history.  Indeed, I would go so far as to suggest that the values of peace, order and good government which animate our constitution actually provide a firm foundation from which other humanitarian values such as equity, fairness, tolerance, inclusiveness and justice have not only grown, but flourished. One of the reasons why the Red Cross is part of the bedrock of Canadian society is because our national character is largely defined by humanitarian values.

So what is the relationship between these norms and humanitarian values and the law? In my view, just as domestic law is an expression of national values, so too is international law the expression of the values common to all humanity. We certainly see this in the development of what we refer to as International Humanitarian Law or IHL.

More commonly known as the laws of war, it is a body of law that includes the Geneva Conventions and their protocols which exist to protect people in armed conflict. It regulates the treatment of the wounded, prohibits attacks against civilians, the use of certain weapons, and ensures the protection of non-combatants, Red Cross and medical personnel, and prisoners of war. IHL protects all of us, regardless of our race, sex, religion, nationality, political opinion, culture or social status. It may sound rather academic and esoteric for average Canadians, but it is extremely important. IHL has saved human lives and it does protect human dignity.

We in Canada have been in the vanguard of some of the important recent advancements in the area of IHL and other initiatives which have had significant and positive humanitarian consequences. I think this speaks to how our norms and standards of behavior (again, I go back to Rex Murphy’s phrase: “the common habits of good people”) have formed our humanitarian values and how we have attempted to have these values expressed through international legal instruments.

Let’s look at the record.  Canadians were at the forefront of the Ottawa Treaty on anti-personnel landmines. Today, the number of landmine victims is down dramatically from a high of over 26,000 victims per year when the treaty was signed in 1997.  Canada was also a critical player in the Rome Statute in 1998 which gave us the International Criminal Court. The court is one of the most important legal mechanisms we have in ensuring that we end the culture of impunity- impunity that has allowed the people who perpetrate mass killings, crimes against humanity and widespread violations of human rights to escape justice. We Canadians have also played important roles in both the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.  The name Louise Arbour is certainly well known here in Canada and around the world.

As an aside, Canada has also been heavily involved in the Special Court in Sierra Leone which is breaking new ground as a hybrid court which sees the UN and the Government of  Sierra Leone working together.  It is moving forward on prosecuting those responsible for a brutal and bloody conflict in what is arguably the poorest country on the planet. While I’m on the subject of Sierra Leone, the efforts of a Canadian NGO called Partnership Africa-Canada (which was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize) on the issue of stopping the trade in conflict diamonds is another case in point.

While much has been accomplished, much remains to be done. Leadership is needed on such issues as small arms and light weapons, the explosive remnants of war, the politicization of humanitarian aid, human trafficking and people missing as a result of conflict just to cite a few areas. But surely, one of the greatest tasks that lies ahead, for the Red Cross movement and governments everywhere, is the need to engender respect for international humanitarian law.  Passing laws is not enough. If no one pays the slightest bit of attention to observing those laws, the exercise becomes meaningless – like giving out speeding tickets at the INDY 500.

While no armed conflict is free from violations of IHL, it certainly seems as though the war on terror that sprung from the events of 9-11 and various other conflicts in the world today have placed enormous strains on the regime of international humanitarian law.  It is very clearly under threat. Any time humanitarian organizations are targetted like the explosions at the ICRC in Baghdad, IHL is under threat. Any time aid workers like the MSF staff in Afghanistan are killed, IHL is under threat. Any time innocent civilians like the children of Beslan are murdered, IHL is threatened. Any time prisoners are abused as we saw at Abu Ghraib, IHL is threatened. And unfortunately, the recent list is too long to recite.

So therein, lays the challenge.  On the one hand, we must expand the body of IHL as an expression of humanitarian values world-wide. On the other, we – you and me – members of the Red Cross movement and the protectors of international humanitarian law must ensure that the body of IHL that currently exists is respected by governments, non-state actors and everyone involved in armed conflict. It is a daunting task, but it is also an absolutely essential one and one which we must embrace. In some respects, we must take a lesson from those outports in Newfoundland, where the common habits of good people, breathe life into humanitarian values. To paraphrase Rex, it’s not all virtue; a good measure of it is simple survival.

Thank you for your attention.  

Posted November 16, 2004