Intercross: The Podcast

In this episode of Intercross the Podcast, we sit down with the ICRC head of delegation in Mali Jean Nicolas Marti. Marti has worked with ICRC for more than 20 years, in contexts ranging from Gaza and Afghanistan to Lebanon and Central African Republic. In our conversation we discuss the challenges of working in Mali, how the conflict has evolved since the ICRC began working there in 1991, and the strategic importance of a Malian presence, and what drives him after two decades of working in conflict. Hosted by Niki Clark and Sara Owens.

In this episode of Intercross the Podcast, we sit down with Sabrina Henry, Legal and Policy Officer at the ICRC delegation in Ottawa and the Canadian Red Cross and Christoph Harnisch, ICRC head of delegation in Colombia. Twenty years ago, on December 3, 1997, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, typically referred to as the "Ottawa Convention" or "Mine Ban Treaty," was signed. It was entered into force on March 1, 1999. The Convention seeks to end the use of anti-personnel landmines (APLs) worldwide. Our two guests talk about the treaty, the role Canada played in the adoption of the treaty and what it has meant on the ground in Colombia, one of the world's most heavily mined countries. Hosted by Niki Clark.

In this episode of Intercross the Podcast, we sit down with Kimberly Gire, founder of the Global Women Leaders and Jyl Strong, ICRC in Washington's Policy Advisor. They talk about how through the Global Women Leaders, women bankers, among other professions, have brought their unique skill sets to support humanitarian efforts around the globe. They also discuss the power and drive that comes from women joining together, how ICRC is looking into ways to utilize innovative financing tools, including the world's first humanitarian impact bond recently launched by the ICRC, and stories from Kimberly's recent trip to Lebanon. Hosted by Niki Clark.

In this episode of Intercross the Podcast, we sit down with Esperanza Martinez, the ICRC's Head of Health. Esperanza, who is based at the ICRC HQ in Geneva, Switzerland, has spent most of her life working in the health sector in the humanitarian sphere. She has brought her expertise all over the world, but most recently to Washington, DC to speak with other influential actors on a variety of challenges facing the health sector today, many of which take a heavy toll on communities affected by armed conflict and violence – the devastating and ongoing cholera outbreak in Yemen, the deterioration of public health services due to prolonged conflict, and the psychosocial effects of violence, displacement and gender-based violence, especially on women and children. In this episode, Esperanza helps us break down some of the complexities related to health and health systems and brings us back to the importance of one of the most basic aspects of our humanity. Hosted by Sara Owens and Anna Nelson.

In this episode of Intercross the Podcast, ICRC in Washington's Deputy Legal Advisor, Andrea Harrison, sits down with three naval warfare experts on why we should be talking about the rules that govern conflict at sea. Professor Julian Ku, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the Faculty Director of International Programs at Hofstra University School of Law, Lt Commander Peter Barker of the British Royal Navy and Associate Director for the Law of Coalition Warfare at the Stockton Center for the study of International Law, and Lt Colonel Jeffrey Biller of the U.S. Air Force and military professor at the U.S. Naval War College discuss the looming "hotspots" for naval conflict, the vulnerability of shipwrecked sailors, and how the cyber domain is driving an entirely new set of issues for conduct of naval warfare. Much has changed since the Geneva Conventions were written in 1949 - Where are the most realistic possibilities for a conflict that will be governed by the Second Geneva Convention? What happens when the responsibility to take "all possible measures" to find shipwrecked sailors creates a risk of detection out at sea? Can a vessel be shipwrecked purely through cyber means? Hosted by Andrea Harrison.