The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was founded in 1863 to help the wounded and other victims of War. In the Geneva Conventions the ICRC is given exclusive rights to investigate prison conditions in War situations.

In return for the ability to visit prisons and submitting reports to governments, ICRC officials promise confidentiality to the imprisoning forces.

Delegates trained at headquarters in Geneva are drilled in confidentiality from day one — it is almost a mantra: “Talk about what you do, not what you see.”

Despite criticism of its confidentiality policies regarding abuse and torture, the ICRC insists that this is the most effective way to help prisoners.

ICRC delegates visit thousands of prisoners around the world every year, often in countries where any outside scrutiny is rare and unwelcome.

But it is because the ICRC promises confidentiality that it is allowed access to places that no other organization can reach. In Guantanamo Bay’s Camp X-ray, Abu Ghraib and the many Israeli detention centers this commitment to secrecy applies.