The ICRC's Dark Alliance with Qatar

In 2023, the ICRC deepened its ties with Qatar, officially naming it as the regional headquarters for operations across the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. This agreement signals not just a partnership with a state that actively fuels terrorism but also with one that actively seeks to buy influence across the globe.

Qatar has been a key supporter of groups like Hamas and the Taliban, entities that are notorious for their violent extremism. This relationship with known terrorist organizations fundamentally undermines the ICRC’s claim to neutrality and impartiality. The ICRC's initial decision to partner with Qatar was troubling, but it only set the stage for a deeper, more compromising relationship.

Qatar’s Influence and the ICRC’s Complicity

Qatar's involvement with terrorism is well-documented. The country has long been a key backer of Hamas, providing financial support and sanctuary for the group to operate with impunity. Far from a neutral partner, Qatar has become a state with blood on its hands. Qatar has deep ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational extremist organization recognized as a terrorist group by many nations, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. This alliance with an organization that promotes radical Islam reinforces Qatar's role in destabilizing the region, making its partnership with the ICRC a serious conflict of interest.

Qatar’s actions are not limited to terrorism. The country has garnered global condemnation for its widespread human rights abuses, including the exploitation of migrant workers in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where thousands lost their lives due to forced labor and deplorable working conditions. Qatar’s disregard for human dignity directly contradicts the ICRC’s core mission to protect human rights. Yet, by strengthening ties with Qatar, the ICRC has implicitly endorsed these violations, further eroding its credibility as a neutral humanitarian entity.

The ICRC’s Silence on Hostages and Complicity in Terrorism

Perhaps the most egregious failure of the ICRC’s relationship with Qatar lies in its silence and inaction about the Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Qatar’s direct involvement in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, which resulted in the taking of over 250 hostages, further exposes the depth of the ICRC’s complicity.

Qatar told Hamas to keep the hostages and use them to stay in power and leverage for the release of terrorists—many of whom have blood on their hands. This was not an isolated case. In November 2023, the ICRC acted as a logistical tool for Hamas, a glorified uber service, transporting hostages during releases while refusing to demand access to the remaining hostages.

For a decade, two Israeli hostages—Avera Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli man, and Hisham al-Sayed, an Arab-Israeli man—have been held in captivity by Hamas. Despite repeated pleas from their families and the Israeli government, the ICRC has failed to advocate for their release or demand access to them, essentially turning a blind eye to their suffering.

Worse, in current rounds of hostage releases, the ICRC has allowed itself to be used as a prop in Hamas’s propaganda machine. By signing documents alongside Hamas terrorists and allowing terrorists to stage celebrations over their buses, failing to protect the hostages released, the ICRC has legitimized Hamas’s propaganda, further compromising its role as a neutral humanitarian actor.

Qatar's Strategy: Buying Influence and Power

Qatar’s relationship with the ICRC is just one disturbing example of how the country uses its vast wealth to buy influence and power across international platforms, including the United Nations and human rights NGO’s like Human Rights Watch. Qatar’s financial resources have been poured into gaining control over global institutions and shaping international opinion to serve its own strategic interests. This toxic alliance represents a dangerous precedent, one where international institutions are willing to overlook egregious human rights violations and terrorism for the sake of expediency and financial gain.

By aligning itself with Qatar, the ICRC has effectively become complicit in the very violence and extremism of terrorists organizations. Its continued collaboration with a state that actively sponsors terrorism, facilitates violence, and disregards human rights stands as one of the most disturbing examples of how international institutions are willing to collaborate with the very actors they are meant to oppose.