ICRC report on thevisit to“Robbeneiland”(Robben Island)Prison on the 1st May,1964, by MrG. Hoffmann,Delegate General ofthe InternationalCommittee of the RedCross in Africa

On 1 May 1964, Georg Hoffmann, the International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC) Delegate General in Africa, inspected Robben Island Prison, where sometwenty days earlier Nelson Mandela was visited for the first time. Having accessto political prisoners in apartheid South Africa, the ICRC sought to ensure thatdetainees lived in decent conditions and were treated humanely.The following isthe report of the detention visit conducted by Georg Hoffmann. The documentprovides a detailed overview of the living conditions, work and medical treatmentof detainees, as well as recommendations given to prison authorities after thevisit. The report was confidential at the time of writing. It was made public in2004 and is reproduced for the first time here in the Review.

REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS

International Review of the Red Cross (2016), 98 (3), 1067–1077.Detention: addressing the human costdoi:10.1017/S1816383117000741

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The ICRC is wellknown for its work on behalfof people deprived of libertyin connection with armedconflicts and other situationsof violence. Also in othercircumstances, the ICRCtakes action wherever it can,with the aim of securinghumane treatment andconditions of detention forall detainees, preventingtorture and other forms ofill-treatment, preventing andaddressing disappearances,improving detentionconditions, restoring andmaintaining family contacts,and ensuring respect forlegal safeguards. To that end,the ICRC bases its workupon a comprehensiveassessment of the situationboth inside and outsideplaces of detention,facilitated by constructive,confidential dialogue withthe authorities and visitsplaces of detention.1

ICRC Historical Archives

The following document comes from the ICRCArchives. The ICRC historical archives collectand preserve ICRC documents dating from theorganization’s inception to the present day, andmake them available for research. The ICRC’shistorical archives, run by professionalarchivists and historians, comprise 6,700 linearmetres of textual records and a collection ofphotographs, films and other audio archives.The ICRC’s public archives represent an

essential historical source for surveying,studying and debating contemporary anddiplomatic history, more particularly in thefield of humanitarian operations and theirimpact on States, societies, cultures and armedconflicts or other situations of violence.The public archives cover the history of the

ICRC since its foundation in 1863 to 1975, andare available for consultation, by appointment.If you wish to consult the ICRC HistoricalArchives in Geneva, you may schedule anappointment via email at publicarchives@icrc.org.

1 For more information on the ICRC’s approach and action when carrying out prison visits, see ICRC,“What We Do for Detainees”, available at: www.icrc.org/en/document/what-we-do-detainees.

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Archival source: ICRC Archives, B AG 225.005-007. Photos © Sarah Roxas/ICRC.

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