UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) seeks to use the latest technology to be more efficient at fulfilling its humanitarian mandate and is currently working on facial recognition projects, ICRC Spokesperson in Ukraine Achille Despres told Sputnik.
"We are always trying to use new technology and new developments in technology to better our humanitarian services to make it in a way that we can assist people in a more efficient manner," Despres said.
The ICRC is working on facial recognition technology projects, he added, which would allow the team to look into its database to find matches for missing persons.
Looking for missing people is one of the biggest mandates of the ICRC. In March, the organization established a special bureau of its tracking agency to focus on the Ukrainian conflict.
ICRC in Regular Contact at Military Level With Russia, Ukraine
The International Committee of the Red Cross is in constant dialogue with Russian and Ukrainian authorities at the military and political levels, Despres said.
"This is a very, very important part of our work, because as in any international armed conflict, it is our job to talk to the parties to the conflict - so in this case, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. So, we are in our organization in contact on a very regular basis with authorities from these countries with authorities at the political level but also at the military level," Despres told Sputnik.
The organization, is in constant dialogue with the parties to the conflict, he added. The line of contact is essential to be able to carry out activities of the organization, but also to remind Russia and Ukraine about their obligations under the rules of war, international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.
The work of the International Committee of the Red Cross has also become more complicated due to the increase in basic needs linked to the onset of winter and damaged infrastructure.
ICRC Creating Digital Emblem to Shield Health Facilities From Cyber Attacks
The International Committee of the Red Cross is at an early stage of creating a digital emblem to protect humanitarian facilities from cyber attacks, the ICRC spokesperson in Ukraine added.
"It’s [the emblem] at a very early stage. It's something that we have proposed in a way to open a debate about this because, of course, for us, it's quite clear that international humanitarian law applies in cyberspace just as much as it applies in physical space," Despres said.
The idea is that cyber belligerents should recognize that protection should be awarded to some special categories of institutions such as humanitarian organizations or health facilities, he added.
The process will take some time but the ICRC is welcoming states to take their positions and encouraging them to propose ideas, he said.
The ICRC has proposed a digital emblem in the beginning of November last year and it is hoping to gain the states' support. ICRC wants to avoid any major cyber attack which could threaten all of the data and confidential information of individuals ICRC is storing, he added.
ICRC Cautious When Using Social Media Amid Threat of Manipulation
According to Despres, the International Committee of the Red Cross is cautious when using social media platforms for its humanitarian mandate due to the possibility of misinformation.
"The issue with social media is that it can be subject to manipulation, and to malicious use. So we are very cautious in a way in our use of these new platforms," Despres said.
Social media platforms can be an incredible tool when looking for missing persons but they have to be careful about misinformation, he added.
ICRC has a big role in looking for missing people and loved ones during a conflict. The organization has also established a special bureau of its tracking agency to focus on the Ukrainian conflict. The ICRC role is the same as in the First World War and in the Second World War - it's the same system of filling in cards and sending it to the Red Cross except that it is digitalized.