Items15The creator’s order
  1. 1James P. GrantJames P. GrantBorn 12 May 1922As UNICEF's executive director, Grant helped turn childhood vaccination into a reason for opposing sides in El Salvador to stop fighting temporarily. Discussions with President José Napoleón Duarte helped lead to the 1985 'days of tranquillity'. Church intermediaries, health workers and local…0
  2. 2Fridtjof NansenFridtjof NansenBorn 10 Oct 1861After the First World War, Nansen worked through the League of Nations to organise the repatriation of stranded prisoners. Agreements, transit permission, ships and railway access all had to line up before people could actually get home. His contribution is useful to read alongside more dramatic…0i
  3. 3Folke BernadotteFolke BernadotteBorn 2 Jan 1895Bernadotte negotiated with Heinrich Himmler in 1945 to obtain releases that enabled the Swedish Red Cross's White Buses rescue operation. It began with Scandinavian prisoners and expanded to others, including women from Ravensbrück. The diplomatic opening mattered, but so did the drivers, medical…0i
  4. 4Carl LutzCarl LutzBorn 30 Mar 1895In occupied Budapest, the Swiss diplomat negotiated permission for protective documents and extended diplomatic protection to buildings sheltering Jews. He pushed the permitted arrangements beyond a narrow reading, with Jewish organisations and other helpers doing vital work around him. Lutz shows…0i
  5. 5Raoul WallenbergRaoul WallenbergBorn 4 Aug 1912Wallenberg used Swedish protective papers, sheltered buildings and direct intervention to help Jews facing deportation from Budapest in 1944. He repeatedly argued for the release of people holding protection documents, including from marching columns. The effective tool was a combination of…0i
  6. 6Marcel JunodMarcel JunodBorn 14 May 1904After receiving reports of Hiroshima's devastation in 1945, the ICRC doctor and delegate approached the Allied command for emergency medical supplies. He accompanied the resulting delivery to the city and helped treat survivors. Junod's example gives humanitarian diplomacy a concrete destination:…0i
  7. 7Dag HammarskjöldDag HammarskjöldBorn 29 Jul 1905Hammarskjöld travelled to Beijing in early 1955 to seek the release of American airmen detained after serving under UN command in Korea. Releases followed in two groups later that year, after continuing exchanges. His role illustrates patient personal diplomacy across a severe political divide. The…0i
  8. 8Sadruddin Aga KhanSadruddin Aga KhanBorn 17 Jan 1933The April 1991 memorandum he signed with Iraq provided a negotiated framework for UN humanitarian assistance and relief centres after the Gulf War. It followed discussions involving his inter-agency mission and a separate mission led by Eric Suy. That division of labour matters: Sadruddin helped…0i
  9. 9Giandomenico PiccoGiandomenico PiccoBorn 8 Oct 1948As a UN envoy, Picco used contacts with Iran and other regional actors to help obtain the release of hostages held in Lebanon, including Terry Anderson in 1991. The work depended on discreet relationships and repeated negotiation, not a large protective force. His case is about a specific route out…0
  10. 10Sérgio Vieira de MelloSérgio Vieira de MelloBorn 15 Mar 1948Leading UNHCR's repatriation work in Cambodia in the early 1990s, Vieira de Mello dealt with rival factions, including the Khmer Rouge, as refugees returned from camps in Thailand. The wider operation brought hundreds of thousands home before the 1993 election. His example exposes an uncomfortable…0i