history pbsm edited

7/29/2019 History PBSM Edited

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The Red Cross and

the Red Crescentemblems, thesymbols fromwhich theMovement derivesits name.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent

Movement is an internationalhumanitarian

movement whose stated mission is to protecthuman life and health, to ensure respect for the

human being, and to prevent and alleviate human

suffering, without any discrimination based on

nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political

opinions.

The often-heard termInternational Red Cross is

actually a misnomer, as no official organization as

such exists bearing that name. In reality, the

movement consists of several distinct organizations

that are legally independent from each other, but

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are united within the Movement through common

basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes, and

governing organs.

The Movement has several parts:

The International Committee of the Red

Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian

institution founded in 1863 in Geneva,

Switzerland.

Its 25-member committee has a unique

authority under international

humanitarian law to protect the life and

dignity of the victims of international and

internal armed conflicts.

The International Federation of Red Cross

and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was

founded in 1919 and today it coordinates

activities between the 185 National RedCross and Red Crescent Societies within

the Movement.

On an international level, the Federation

leads and organizes, in close cooperation

with the National Societies, relief assistance

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missions responding to large-scale

emergencies.

The International Federation Secretariat is

based in Geneva, Switzerland.

National Red Cross and Red Crescent

Societies exist in nearly every country in

the world. Currently 185 National Societies

are recognized by the ICRC and admittedas full members of the Federation.

Each entity works in its home country

according to the principles of international

humanitarian law and the statutes of the

international Movement.

Depending on their specific circumstances

and capacities, National Societies can take

on additional humanitarian tasks that are

not directly defined by internationalhumanitarian law or the mandates of the

international Movement.

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Henry Dunant,author of "A Memoryof Solferino".

Up until the middle of

the 19th

century, therewere no organized andwell-established armynursing systems for

casualties and no safe and protectedinstitutions to accommodate and treatthose who were wounded on thebattlefield.

In June 1859, the Swiss businessmanHenry Dunant traveled to Italy to meet

French emperor Napolon III with theintention of discussing difficulties inconducting business in Algeria, at thattime occupied by France. When hearrived in the small town ofSolferinoon the evening ofJune 24, he

witnessed the Battle of Solferino, an

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engagement in the Austro-SardinianWar.

In a single day, about 40,000 soldierson both sides died or were leftwounded on the field. Henry Dunantwas shocked by the terrible aftermathof the battle, the suffering of the

wounded soldiers, and the near-totallack of medical attendance and basiccare.

He completelyabandoned the

original intent of histrip and for severaldays he devotedhimself to helpingwith the treatment

and care for thewounded.

He succeeded in organizing anoverwhelming level of relief assistance

by motivating the local population to

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aid withoutdiscrimination. Backin his home inGeneva, he decidedto write a bookentitledA Memory ofSolferino which hepublished with his

own money in 1862.

He sent copies of the book to leadingpolitical and military figures throughoutEurope.

In addition to penning a vividdescription of his experiences inSolferino in 1859, he explicitlyadvocated the formation of nationalvoluntary relief organizations to help

nurse wounded soldiers in the case ofwar.

In addition, he called for thedevelopment of international treatiesto guarantee the neutrality and

protection of those wounded on the

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battlefield as well as medics and fieldhospitals.

Originaldocument ofthe first

GenevaConvention,1864.

On February 9, 1863 in Geneva, Henry

Dunant founded the "Committee of theFive" (together with four other leadingfigures from well-known Genevafamilies) as an investigatorycommission of the Geneva Society for

Public Welfare.

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Their aim was to examine thefeasibility of Dunant's ideas and to

organize an internationalconference about theirpossible implementation.

The members of thiscommittee,

aside fromDunant himself, wereGustave Moynier, lawyerand chairman of theGeneva Society forPublic Welfare;physician Louis Appia, who hadsignificant experience working as afield surgeon; Appia's friend andcolleagueThodore Maunoir, from theGeneva Hygiene and Health

Commission; and Guillaume-HenriDufour, a Swiss Army general of greatrenown.

Eight days later, the five men decidedto rename the committee to the

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"International Committee for Relief tothe Wounded".

In October (26-29) 1863, theinternational conference organized bythe committee was held in Geneva todevelop possible measures to improvemedical services on the battle field.

The conference was attended by 36individuals: eighteen official delegatesfrom national governments, sixdelegates from other non-governmental organizations, seven

non-official foreign delegates, and thefive members of the InternationalCommittee.

The states and kingdoms representedby official delegates were Baden,

Bavaria, France, Britain, Hanover,Hesse, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria,Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, andSpain. Among the proposals written inthe final resolutions of the conference,

adopted on October 29, 1863, were:

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The foundation of national relief

societies for wounded soldiers; Neutrality and protection for

wounded soldiers; The utilization of volunteer

forces for relief assistance on

the battlefield; The organization of additional

conferences to enact theseconcepts in legally bindinginternational treaties; and

The introduction of a commondistinctive protection symbol formedical personnel in the field,namely a white armlet bearing ared cross.

Memorialcommemoratingthe first use of theRed Cross symbol

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conflict during the Battle ofDybbl (Denmark) in 1864;

jointly erected in 1989 by thenational Red Cross societies ofDenmarkand Germany.

Only one year later, the Swiss government

invited the governments of all European

countries, as well as the United States, Brazil,and Mexico, to attend an official diplomatic

conference.

Sixteen countries sent a total of twenty-six

delegates to Geneva. On August 22, 1864, theconference adopted the first Geneva

Convention "for the Amelioration of the

Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the

Field".

Representatives of 12 states and kingdomssigned the convention: Baden, Belgium,

Denmark, France, Hesse, Italy, the

Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia,

Switzerland, Spain, and Wrttemberg.

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The convention contained ten articles,

establishing for the first time legally

binding rules guaranteeing neutrality andprotection for wounded soldiers, field

medical personnel, and specific

humanitarian institutions in an armed

conflict.

Furthermore, the convention defined twospecific requirements for recognition of a

national relief society by the International

Committee:

The national society must berecognized by its ownnational government as arelief society according to theconvention, and

The national government ofthe respective country mustbe a state party to theGeneva Convention.

Directly following the establishment of the

Geneva Convention, the first national

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societies were founded in Belgium,

Denmark, France, Oldenburg, Prussia,

Spain, and Wrttemberg. Also in 1864,Louis Appia and Charles van de Velde, a

captain of the Dutch Army, became the

first independent and neutral delegates to

work under the symbol of the Red Cross in

an armed conflict.Three years later in 1867, the first

International Conference of National Aid

Societies for the Nursing of the War

Wounded was convened.

Also in 1867, Henry Dunant was forced to

declare bankruptcy due to business

failures in Algeria, partly because he had

neglected his business interests during his

tireless activities for the InternationalCommittee.

Controversy surrounding Dunant's

business dealings and the resulting

negative public opinion combined with an

ongoing conflict with Gustave Moynier led

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to Dunant'sexpulsion from his position as

a member and secretary.

He was charged withfraudulent

bankruptcy and a

warrant for his arrest

was issued. Thus, he

was forced to leaveGeneva and never

returned to his home

city. In the following

years, national

societies were founded in nearly everycountry in Europe.

In 1876, the committee adopted the name

"International Committee of the Red

Cross" (ICRC), which is still its officialdesignation today. Five years later, the

American Red Cross was founded through

the efforts ofClara Barton.

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More and more countries signed the

Geneva Convention and began to respect it

in practice during armed conflicts.In a rather short period of time, the Red

Cross gained huge momentum as an

internationally respected movement, and

the national societies became increasingly

popular as a venue for volunteer work.

When the first Nobel

Peace Prize was

awarded in 1901, the

Norwegian NobelCommittee opted to

give it jointly to Henry

Dunant and Frdric

Passy, a leading

international pacifist.More significant than

the honor of the prize itself, the official

congratulation from the International

Committee of the Red Cross marked the

overdue rehabilitation of Henry Dunant

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and represented a tribute to his key role in

the formation of the Red Cross.

Dunant diednine years

later in the

small Swiss

health resort

ofHeiden.

Only two

months

earlier his

long-standingadversary Gustave Moynier had also died,

leaving a mark in the history of the

Committee as its longest-running president

ever.

In 1906, the 1864 Geneva Convention wasrevised for the first time.

One year later, the Hague Convention X,

adopted at the Second International Peace

Conference in The Hague, extended the

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scope of the Geneva Convention to naval

warfare.

Shortly beforethe beginning

of the First

World War in

1914, 50 years

after thefoundation of

the ICRC and

the adoption

of the first

GenevaConvention,

there were

already 45 national relief societies

throughout the world.

The movement had extended itself beyondEurope and North America to Central and South

America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico,

Peru, El Salvador, Uruguay, Venezuela), Asia (the

Republic of China, Japan, Korea, Siam), and

Africa (Republic of South Africa).

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1.1.2 TheICRC during

World WarOne

Frenchpostcard

celebrating therole of RedCross nurses

during the First World War, 1915.

With the outbreak ofWorld War I,the ICRC found itself confronted

with enormous challenges which itcould only handle by working closelywith the national Red Crosssocieties.

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Red Cross nurses from around theworld, including the United States

and Japan, came to support themedical services of the armedforces of the European countriesinvolved in the war. On October 15,1914, immediately after the start of

the war, the ICRC set up itsInternational Prisoners-of-War(POW) Agency, which had about1,200 mostly volunteer staffmembers by the end of 1914.

By the end of the war, the Agencyhad transferred about 20 millionletters and messages, 1.9 millionparcels, and about 18 million Swissfrancs in monetary donations toPOWs of all affected countries.

Furthermore, due to theintervention of the Agency, about200,000 prisoners were exchanged

between the warring parties,

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released from captivity andreturned to their home country.

The organizational card index of theAgency accumulated about 7 millionrecords from 1914 to 1923, eachcard representing an individualprisoner or missing person. The card

index led to the identification ofabout 2 million POWs and the abilityto contact their families.

The complete index is on loan

today from the ICRC to theInternational Red Cross and RedCrescent Museum in Geneva. Theright to access the index is stillstrictly restricted to the ICRC.

During the entire war, the ICRCmonitored warring partiescompliance with the GenevaConventions of the 1907 revisionand forwarded complaints aboutviolations to the respective country.

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When chemical weapons were usedin this war

for the firsttime inhistory, theICRCvigorously

protestedagainst this new type of warfare.Even without having a mandatefrom the Geneva Conventions, theICRC tried to ameliorate the

suffering of civil populations. Interritories that were officiallydesignated as "occupied territories,"the ICRC could assist the civilianpopulation on the basis of the

Hague Convention's "Laws andCustoms of War on Land" of 1907.

This convention was also the legalbasis for the ICRC's work for

prisoners of war. In addition to thework of the International Prisoner-

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of-War Agency as described abovethis included inspection visits to

POW camps. A total of 524 campsthroughout Europe were visited by41 delegates from the ICRC until theend of the war.

Between 1916 and 1918, the ICRC

published a number ofpostcardswith scenes from the POW camps.

The pictures showed the prisonersin day-to-day activities such as thedistribution of letters from home.

The intention of the ICRC was toprovide the families of the prisonerswith some hope and solace and toalleviate their uncertainties about

the fate of their loved ones. Afterthe end of the war, the ICRCorganized the return of about420,000 prisoners to their homecountries.

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In 1920, thetask of

repatriationwas handedover to thenewlyfounded

League ofNations, which appointed theNorwegian diplomat and scientistFridtjof Nansen as its "HighCommissioner for Repatriation of

the War Prisoners."His legal mandate was laterextended to support and care for

war refugees anddisplaced personswhen his officebecame that of theLeague of Nations"High Commissioner

for Refugees."Nansen, who invented

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the Nansen passportfor statelessrefugees and was awarded the

Nobel Peace Prize in 1922,appointed two delegates from theICRC as his deputies.

A year before the end of the war,the ICRC received the 1917 Nobel

Peace Prize for its outstandingwartime work. It was the only NobelPeace Prize awarded in the periodfrom 1914 to 1918. In 1923, theCommittee adopted a change in itspolicy regarding the selection ofnew members.

Until then, only citizens from thecity of Geneva could serve in the

Committee. This limitation wasexpanded to include Swiss citizens.As a direct consequence of WorldWar I, an additional protocol to theGeneva Convention was adopted in

1925 which outlawed the use of

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suffocating or poisonous gases andbiological agents as weapons.

Four years later, the 1906Convention was revised and thesecond Geneva Convention "relativeto the Treatment of Prisoners ofWar" was established. The events of

World War I and the respectiveactivities of the ICRC significantlyincreased the reputation andauthority of the Committee amongthe international community and ledto an extension of its competencies.

As early as in 1934, a draft proposalfor an additional convention for theprotection of the civil population

during an armed conflict wasadopted by the International RedCross Conference. Unfortunately,most governments had not enoughinterests in implementing this

convention, preventing it from

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entering into force before thebeginning ofWorld War II.

1.1.3 The ICRC and World WarTwo

Red Crossmessagefrom d,Poland,

1940.The legal basisof the work ofthe ICRC

during World War II were the

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Geneva Conventions in their 1929revision.

The activities of the Committeewere similar to those during WorldWar I: visiting and monitoring POWcamps, organizing relief assistancefor civilian populations, and

administering the exchange ofmessages regarding prisoners andmissing persons.

By the end of the war, 179

delegates had conducted 12,750visits to POW camps in 41 countries.

The Central Information Agency onPrisoners-of-War(Zentralauskunftsstelle fr

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Kriegsgefangene) had a staff of3,000, the card index tracking

prisoners contained 45 millioncards, and 120 million messageswere exchanged by the Agency.

One major obstacle was that theNazi-controlled German Red Cross

refused to cooperate with theGeneva statutes including blatantviolations such as the deportation of

Jews from Germany and the massmurders conducted in theconcentration camps run by theGerman government.

Moreover, two other mainaggressors, the Soviet Union and

Japan, were not party to the 1929GenevaConventionsand were notlegally

required to

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follow the rules of the conventions.Thus, other countries were not

bound to follow the Conventionsregarding their prisoners in return.

During the war, the ICRC failed toobtain an agreement with NaziGermany about the treatment of

detainees in concentration camps,and it eventually abandonedapplying pressure in order to avoiddisrupting its work with POWs. TheICRC also failed to develop aresponse to reliable informationabout the extermination camps andthe mass killing of European Jews.

This is still considered the greatest

failure of the ICRC in its history.After November 1943, the ICRCachieved permission to send parcelsto concentration camp detaineeswith known names and locations.

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Because the notices of receipt forthese parcels were often signed by

other inmates, the ICRC managed toregister the identities of about105,000 detainees in theconcentration camps and deliveredabout 1.1 million parcels, primarily

to the camps Dachau, Buchenwald,Ravensbrck, and Sachsenhausen.

Marcel Junod,

delegate of theICRC, visitingPOWs inGermany.( Benoit

Junod, Switzerland)On March 12, 1945, ICRC president

Jacob Burckhardt received amessage from SS General ErnstKaltenbrunner accepting the ICRC's

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demand to allow delegates to visitthe concentration camps.

This agreement was bound by thecondition that these delegateswould have to stay in the campsuntil the end of the war. Tendelegates, among them Louis

Haefliger (Camp Mauthausen), PaulDunant (Camp Theresienstadt) andVictor Maurer (Camp Dachau),accepted the assignment andvisited the camps.

Louis Haefliger prevented theforceful eviction or blasting ofMauthausen-Gusen by alertingAmerican troops, thereby saving the

lives of about 60,000 inmates. Hisactions were condemned by theICRC because they were deemed asacting unduly on his own authorityand risking the ICRC's neutrality.

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Only in 1990, his reputation wasfinally rehabilitated by ICRC

president Cornelio Sommaruga.Another example of greathumanitarian spirit was FriedrichBorn (1903-1963), an ICRC delegatein Budapest who saved the lives of

about 11,000 to 15,000 Jewishpeople in Hungary. Marcel Junod(1904-1961), a physician fromGeneva, was another famousdelegate during the Second WorldWar.

An account of his experiences,which included being one of the firstforeigners to visit Hiroshima after

the atomic bomb was dropped, canbe found in the book Warriorwithout Weapons.

In 1944, the ICRC received itssecond Nobel Peace Prize. As inWorld War I, it received the only

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Peace Prize awarded during themain period of war, 1939 to 1945.

At the end of the war, the ICRCworked with national Red Crosssocieties to organize reliefassistance to those countries mostseverely affected.

In 1948, the Committee published areport reviewing its war-eraactivities from September 1, 1939toJune 30, 1947. Since January1996, the ICRC archive for thisperiod has been open to academicand public research.

1.1.4 The ICRC after theSecond

World War

The ICRCHeadquarters

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On August 12, 1949, further

revisions to the existing two GenevaConventions were adopted. Anadditional convention "for theAmelioration of the Condition ofWounded, Sick and Shipwrecked

Members of Armed Forces at Sea",named the second GenevaConvention, was added to succeedthe 1907 Hague Convention X.

The 1929 convention "relative to theTreatment of Prisoners of War",while being the second GenevaConvention from a historical point ofview, became the third convention

in the context of the 1949 revisions.Reacting to the experience of WorldWar II, the Fourth GenevaConvention, a new Convention"relative to the Protection of Civilian

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Persons in Time of War," wasestablished.

Also, the additional protocols ofJune8, 1977 were intended to make theconventions apply to internalconflicts such as civil wars. Today,the four conventions and their

added protocols contain more than600 articles, a remarkableexpansion when compared to themere 10 articles in the first 1864convention.

In celebration of its centennial in1963, the ICRC, together with theLeague of Red Cross societies,received its third Nobel Peace Prize.

Since 1993, non-Swiss individualshave been allowed to serve asCommittee delegates abroad, a taskwhich was previously restricted toSwiss citizens. Indeed, since then,

the share of staff without Swiss

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citizenship has increased to about35%.

On October16, 1990,the UNGeneralAssembly

decided togrant the

ICRC observer status for itsassembly sessions and sub-committee meetings, the firstobserver status given to a privateorganization.

The resolution was jointly proposedby 138 member states and

introduced by the Italianambassador, Vieri Traxler, inmemory of the organization's originsin the Battle of Solferino.

An agreement with the Swissgovernment signed on March 19,

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1993, affirmed the already long-standing policy of full independence

of the Committee from any possibleinterference by Switzerland.

The agreement protects the fullsanctity of all ICRC property inSwitzerland including its

headquarters and archive, grantsmembers and staff legal immunity,exempts the ICRC from all taxes andfees, guarantees the protected andduty-free transfer of goods,services, and money, provides theICRC with secure communicationprivileges at the same level asforeign embassies, and simplifiesCommittee travel in and out ofSwitzerland.

At the endof the ColdWar, the

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actually became moredangerous.

In the 1990s, more delegateslost their lives than at anypoint in its history, especially

when working in local andinternal armed conflicts. Theseincidents often demonstrateda lack of respect for the rulesof the Geneva Conventions and

their protection symbols.

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1.2 The InternationalFederation of Red Cross

and Red Crescent

Societies

Henry Davison,Founding father of theLeague of Red Crosssocieties.

In 1919, representatives from thenational Red Cross societies of Britain,France, Italy, Japan, and the US cametogether in Paris to found the "Leagueof Red Cross Societies". The originalidea was Henry Davison's, thenpresident of the American Red Cross.

This move, led by the American Red

Cross, expanded the internationalactivities of the Red Cross movementbeyond the strict mission of the ICRC toinclude relief assistance in response toemergency situations which were notcaused by war (such as man-made ornatural disasters).

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The ARC already had great disasterrelief mission experience extendingback to its foundation.

The formation of the League, as anadditional international Red Crossorganization alongside the ICRC, wasnot without controversy for a number

of reasons. The ICRC had, to someextent, valid concerns about a possiblerivalry between both organizations.

The foundation of the League wasseen as an attempt to undermine the

leadership position of the ICRC withinthe movement and to graduallytransfer most of its tasks andcompetencies to a multilateralinstitution.

In addition to that, all foundingmembers of the League were nationalsocieties from countries of the Ententeor from associated partners of theEntente. The original statutes of the

League from May 1919 contained

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further regulations which gave the fivefounding societies a privileged statusand, due to the efforts of Henry P.Davison, the right to permanentlyexclude the national Red Crosssocieties from the countries of theCentral Powers, namely Germany,Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria andTurkey,

and in addition to that the national RedCross society ofRussia. These ruleswere contrary to the Red Crossprinciples of universality and equalityamong all national societies, a situation

which furthered the concerns of theICRC.

The first relief assistance missionorganized by the League was an aidmission for the victims of a famine and

subsequent typhus epidemic in Poland.Only five years after its foundation, theLeague had already issued 47 donationappeals for missions in 34 countries, animpressive indication of the need for

this type of Red Cross work.

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The total sum raised by these appealsreached 685 million Swiss Francs,which were used to bring emergencysupplies to the victims of famines inRussia, Germany, and Albania;earthquakes in Chile, Persia,Japan,Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and

Turkey; and refugee flows in Greece

and Turkey.

The first large-scale disaster mission ofthe League came after the 1923earthquake in Japan which killed about200,000 people and left countless morewounded and without shelter. Due tothe League's coordination, the RedCross society of Japan received goodsfrom its sister societies reaching a totalworth of about $100 million.

Another important new field initiatedby the League was the creation ofyouth Red Cross organizations withinthe national societies.

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A stamp fromTurkey to

support theRed Crescent,1928.

A joint missionof the ICRC and the League in the

Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1922marked the first time the movementwas involved in an internal conflict,although still without an explicitmandate from the GenevaConventions.

The League, with support from morethan 25 national societies, organizedassistance missions and thedistribution of food and other aid goods

for civil populations affected by hungerand disease.

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The ICRC worked with the Russian RedCross society and later the society ofthe Soviet Union, constantlyemphasizing the ICRC's neutrality.

In 1928, the "International Council" wasfounded to coordinate cooperationbetween the ICRC and the League, a

task which was later taken over by the"Standing Commission". In the sameyear, a common statute for themovement was adopted for the firsttime, defining the respective roles ofthe ICRC and the League within themovement.

During theAbyssinian warbetween

Ethiopia andItaly from 1935to 1936, theLeaguecontributed aidsupplies worth

about 1.7

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million Swiss Francs. Because theItalian fascist regime under Mussolinirefused any cooperation with the RedCross, these goods were delivered

solely toEthiopia.

During the

war, anestimated 29people losttheir liveswhile being

under explicit protection of the RedCross symbol, most of them due toattacks by the Italian Army.

During the Civil War in Spain from 1936to 1939 the League once again joined

forces with the ICRC with the support of41 national societies.

In 1939 on the brink of the SecondWorld War, the League relocated itsheadquarters from Paris to Geneva to

take advantage of Swiss neutrality.

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Peace NobelPrizeceremony in1963; Fromleft to right:King Olav of

Norway, ICRCPresident Leopold Boissier, LeagueChairman John A. MacAulay.(Picture from: www.redcross.int)

In 1952, the 1928 common statute ofthe movement was revised for the firsttime. Also, the period ofdecolonizationfrom 1960 to 1970 was marked by ahuge jump in the number of recognizednational Red Cross and Red Crescentsocieties. By the end of the 1960's,

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there were more than 100 societiesaround the world.

On December 10, 1963, the Federationand the ICRC received the Nobel PeacePrize. In 1983, the League wasrenamed to the "League of Red Crossand Red Crescent Societies" to reflect

the growing number of nationalsocieties operating under the RedCrescent symbol.

Three years later, the seven basicprinciples of the movement as adopted

in 1965 were incorporated into itsstatutes. The name of the League waschanged again in 1991 to its currentofficial designation the "InternationalFederation of Red Cross and Red

Crescent Societies".

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In 1997, the ICRC and the Federationsigned the Seville Agreement whichfurther defined the responsibilities ofboth organizations within the

movement.In 2004, theFederationbegan its

largestmission todate after thetsunami

disaster in South Asia.

2.0Activities2.1Organization of the Movement

Entry to the

International RedCross and RedCrescent Museum inGeneva.

Altogether, there are

about 97 million people

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worldwide who serve with the ICRC, theFederation, and the national societies.And there are about 300,000 total fulltime staff members.

The 1965 International Conference inVienna adopted seven basic principleswhich should be shared by all parts of

the Movement, and they were added tothe official statutes of the Movement in1986.

Humanity Impartiality

Neutrality Independence Voluntary Service Unity Universality

The International Red Cross and RedCrescent Conference, which occursonce every four years, is the highestinstitutional body of the Movement. Itgathers delegations from all of thenational societies as well as from the

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ICRC, the Federation and the signatorystates to the Geneva Conventions.

In between the conferences, theStanding Commission acts as thesupreme body and supervisesimplementation of and compliance withthe resolutions of the conference. In

addition, the Standing Commissioncoordinates the cooperation betweenthe ICRC and the Federation.

It consists of two representatives fromthe ICRC (including its president), two

from the Federation (including itspresident), and five individuals who areelected by the InternationalConference. The Standing Commissionconvenes every six months on average.

Moreover, a convention of the Councilof Delegates of the Movement takesplace every two years in the course ofthe conferences of the GeneralAssemblies of the Federation. TheCouncil of Delegates plans and

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coordinates joint activities for theMovement.

2.2 Activities and Organization of theICRC

2.2.1 The mission of the ICRC and its

responsibilities within the Movement

Emblem of theICRC.

The official

mission of the

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ICRC as an impartial, neutral, andindependent organization is to standfor the protection of the life and dignityof victims of international and internalarmed conflicts. According to the 1997Seville Agreement, it is the "LeadAgency" of the Movement in conflicts.

The core tasks of the Committee, whichare derived from the GenevaConventions and its own statutes, arethe following:

to monitor compliance of

warring parties with the GenevaConventions to organize nursing and care for

those who are wounded on thebattlefield

to supervise the treatment ofprisoners of war to help with the search for

missing persons in an armedconflict (tracing service)

to organize protection and care

for civil populations

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to arbitrate between warringparties in an armed conflict

2.2.2 Legal status andorganization

The ICRC is headquartered in the Swiss

city of Geneva and has external officesin about 80 countries. It has about12,000 staff members worldwide,about 800 of them working in itsGeneva headquarters, 1,200

expatriates with about half of themserving as delegates managing itsinternational missions and the otherhalf being specialists like doctors,agronomists, engineers or interpreters,and about 10,000 members of

individual national societies working onsite.

Contrary to popular belief, the ICRC isnot a non-governmental organization inthe most common sense of the term,nor is it an international organization.

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As it limits its members (a processcalled cooptation) to Swiss nationalsonly, it does not have a policy of openand unrestricted membership forindividuals like other legally definedNGOs.

The word "international" in its name

does not refer to its membership but tothe worldwide scope of its activities asdefined by the Geneva Conventions.

The ICRC has special privileges andlegal immunities in many countries,based on national law in thesecountries or through agreementsbetween the Committee and respectivenational governments.

According to Swiss law, the ICRC is

defined as a private association.According to its statutes it consists of15 to 25 Swiss-citizen members, whichit coopts for a period of four years.

There is no limit to the number ofterms an individual member can have

although a three-quarters majority of

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all members is required for re-electionafter the third term.

The leading organs of the ICRC are theDirectorate and the Assembly. TheDirectorate is the executive body of theCommittee. It consists of a GeneralDirector and five directors in the areas

of "Operations", "Human Resources","Resources and Operational Support","Communication", and "InternationalLaw and Cooperation within theMovement".

The members of the Directorate areappointed by the Assembly to serve forfour years. The Assembly, consisting ofall of the members of the Committee,convenes on a regular basis and is

responsible for defining aims,guidelines, and strategies and forsupervising the financial matters of theCommittee. The president of theAssembly is also the president of theCommittee as a whole.

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Furthermore, the Assembly elects afive member Assembly Council whichhas the authority to decide on behalf ofthe full Assembly in some matters. TheCouncil is also responsible fororganizing the Assembly meetings andfor facilitating communication betweenthe Assembly and the Directorate.

Due to Geneva's location in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the ICRCusually acts under its French nameComit international de la Croix-Rouge(CICR). The official symbol of the ICRCis the Red Cross on white backgroundwith the words "COMITEINTERNATIONAL GENEVE" circling thecross.

[edit] Funding and financialmatters

The 2005 budget of the ICRC amountsto about 970 million Swiss Francs. Mostof that money comes from Switzerland

in its capacity as the depositary state

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of the Geneva Conventions, fromnational Red Cross societies, thesignatory states of the GenevaConventions, and from internationalorganizations like the European Union.

All payments to the ICRC are voluntaryand are received as donations based

on two types of appeals issued by theCommittee: an annual HeadquartersAppeal to cover its internal costs andEmergency Appeals for its individualmissions.

The total budget for 2005 consists ofabout 819.7 million Swiss Francs (85%of the total) for field work and 152.1million Swiss Francs (15%) for internalcosts. In 2005, the budget for field

work increased by 8.6% and theinternal budget by 1.5% compared to2004, primarily due to above averageincreases in the number and scope ofits missions in Africa.

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2.3 Activities and organization of theFederation

2.3.1 The Mission of the Federation and itsresponsibilities within the Movement

Emblem of theFederation.

The Federationcoordinates cooperation betweennational Red Cross and Red Crescentsocieties throughout the world andsupports the foundation of new

national societies in countries where noofficial society exists.

On the international stage, theFederation organizes and leads reliefassistance missions after emergencies

like natural disasters, manmadedisasters, epidemics, mass refugeeflights, and other emergencies.According to the 1997 SevilleAgreement, the Federation is the Lead

Agency of the Movement in any

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emergency situation which does nottake place as part of an armed conflict.

The Federation cooperates with thenational societies of those countriesaffected - each called the OperatingNational Society(ONS) - as well as thenational societies of other countries

willing to offer assistance - calledParticipating National Societies (PNS).

Among the 187 national societiesadmitted to the General Assembly ofthe Federation as full members or

observers, about 25-30 regularly workas PNS in other countries. The mostactive of those are the American RedCross, the British Red Cross, theGerman Red Cross, and the Red Cross

societies ofSweden and Norway.Another major mission of theFederation which has gained attentionin recent years is its commitment towork towards a codified, worldwide ban

on the use ofland mines and to bring

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medical, psychological, and socialsupport for people injured by landmines.

The tasks of the Federation cantherefore be summarized as follows:

to promote humanitarian principlesand values

to provide relief assistance inemergency situations of largemagnitude

to support the national societieswith disaster preparednessthrough the education of voluntary

members and the provision ofequipment and relief supplies

to support local health careprojects

to support the national societieswith youth-related activities

2.3.2 Legal status andorganization

Like the ICRC, the Federation has itsheadquarters in Geneva. It also runs 14

permanent regional offices and has

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about 350 delegates in more than 60delegations around the world.

The legal basis for the work of theFederation is its constitution. Theexecutive body of the Federation is asecretariat, led by a Secretary General.

The secretariat is supported by four

divisions labeled "Support Services","National Society and Field Support","Policy and Relations" and "MovementCooperation".

The Movement Cooperation division

organizes interaction and cooperationwith the ICRC. The highest body of theFederation is the General Assemblywhich convenes every two years withdelegates from all of the national

societies. Among other tasks, theGeneral Assembly elects the SecretaryGeneral.

Between the convening of GeneralAssemblies, the Governing Board is the

leading body of the Federation. It has

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the authority to make decisions for theFederation in a number of areas. TheGoverning Board consists of thepresident and the vice presidents ofthe Federation, the chairman of theFinance Commission, and twentyelected representatives from nationalsocieties. It is supported by four

additional commissions: "DisasterRelief", "Youth", "Health & CommunityServices", and "Development".

The symbol of the Federation is thecombination of the Red Cross (left) andRed Crescent (right) on a whitebackground (surrounded by a redrectangular frame) without anyadditional text.

2.3.3 Funding and financialmatters

The main parts of the budget of theFederation are funded by contributionsfrom the national societies which are

members of the Federation and

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through revenues from its investments.The exact amount of contributions fromeach member society is established bythe Finance Commission and approvedby the General Assembly.

Any additional funding, especially forunforeseen expenses for relief

assistance missions, is raised byappeals published by the Federationand comes from voluntary donations bynational societies, governments, otherorganizations, corporations, andindividuals.

2.4 National societies within the Movement2.4.1 Official Recognition of a national society

An ambulance ownedby the Mexican RedCross

National Red Cross andRed Crescent societies

exist in nearly every country in the

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world. Within their home country, theytake on the duties and responsibilitiesof a national relief society as definedby International Humanitarian Law.Within the Movement, the ICRC isresponsible for legally recognizing arelief society as an official national RedCross or Red Crescent society. The

exact rules for recognition are definedin the statutes of the Movement. Article4 of these statutes contains the"Conditions for recognition of NationalSocieties":

In order to be recognized in termsof Article 5, paragraph 2 b) as aNational Society, the Society shallmeet the following conditions:

1. Be constituted on the

territory of an independentState where the GenevaConvention for the Ameliorationof the Condition of theWounded and Sick in ArmedForces in the Field is in force.

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2. Be the only National RedCross or Red Crescent Society ofthe said State and be directed

by a central body which shallalone be competent torepresent it in its dealings withother components of theMovement.3. Be duly recognized by thelegal government of its countryon the basis of the GenevaConventions and of the nationallegislation as a voluntary aidsociety, auxiliary to the public

authorities in the humanitarianfield.4. Have an autonomous statuswhich allows it to operate inconformity with theFundamental Principles of the

Movement.5. Use the name and emblem ofthe Red Cross or Red Crescentin conformity with the GenevaConventions.6. Be so organized as to be able

to fulfill the tasks defined in its

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own statutes, including thepreparation in peace time for itsstatutory tasks in case of armed

conflict.7. Extend its activities to theentire territory of the State.8. Recruit its voluntarymembers and its staff withoutconsideration of race, sex,class, religion or politicalopinions.9. Adhere to the presentStatutes, share in the fellowshipwhich unites the components of

the Movement and co-operatewith them.10. Respect the FundamentalPrinciples of the Movement andbe guided in its work by theprinciples of international

humanitarian law.After recognition by the ICRC, anational society is admitted as amember to the International Federationof Red Cross and Red Crescent

societies.

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2.4.2] Activities of nationalsocieties on a national and

international stageDespite formal independence regardingits organizational structure and work,each national society is still bound bythe laws of its home country. In many

countries, national Red Cross and RedCrescent societies enjoy exceptionalprivileges due to agreements with theirgovernments or specific "Red CrossLaws" granting full independence asrequired by the InternationalMovement.

The duties and responsibilities of anational society as defined byInternational Humanitarian Law and

the statutes of the Movement includehumanitarian aid in armed conflictsand emergency crises such as naturaldisasters.

Depending on their respective human,

technical, financial, and organizational

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resources, many national societies takeon additional humanitarian tasks withintheir home countries such as Blooddonation services or acting as civilianEmergency Medical Service (EMS)providers. The ICRC and theInternational Federation cooperate withthe national societies in their

international missions, especially withhuman, material, and financialresources and organizing on-sitelogistics.

3.0 Symbols of the Movement

3.1 Protection symbols vs. organizationalemblems

The symbols described below have two distinctively different meanings. On one hand, the visual

symbols of the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, the Red Lion with Sun and the Red Crystal serve as

protection markings in armed conflicts, a denotation which is derived from and defined in the

Geneva Conventions. This is called theprotective use of the symbols. On the other hand, these

symbols are used as distinctive logos by those organizations which are part of the International Red

Cross and Red Crescent Movement. This is the indicative use of the emblems, a meaning which is

defined in the statutes of the International Movement and partly in the third Additional Protocol.

As a protection symbol, they are used in armed conflicts to mark persons and objects (buildings,

vehicles, etc.) which are working in compliance with the rules of theGeneva Conventions. In this

function, they can also be used by organizations and objects which are not part of the International

Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, for example the medical services of the armed forces,

civilian hospitals, and civil defense units. As protection symbols, these emblems should be used

without any additional specification (textual or otherwise) and in a prominent manner which makes

them as visible and observable as possible, for example by using large white flags bearing thesymbol. Four of these symbols, namely the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, the Red Lion with Sun

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and the Red Crystal, are defined in the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols as

symbols for protective use.

When used as an organizational logo, these symbols only indicate that persons, vehicles, buildings,

etc. which bear the symbols belong to a specific organization which is part of the International Red

Cross and Red Crescent Movement (like the ICRC, the International Federation or the national Red

Cross and Red Crescent societies). In this case, they should be used with an additional specification

(for example "American Red Cross") and not be displayed as prominently as when used as

protection symbols. Three of these symbols, namely the Red Cross, the Red Crescent and the Red

Crystal, can be used for indicative purposes by national societies for use in their home country or

abroad. In addition to that, the Red Shield of David can be used by the Israel society Magen David

Adom for indicative purposes within Israel, and, pending the approval of the respective host

country, in combination with the Red Crystal when working abroad.

[edit] Red Cross

The Red Cross symbol.The Red Cross on white background was the original protection symbol declared at the 1864

Geneva Convention. It is, in terms of its color, a reversal of the Swiss national flag, a meaning

which was adopted to honor Swiss founder Henry Dunant and his home country. The ideas to

introduce a uniform and neutral protection symbol as well as its specific design originally camefrom Dr. Louis Appia and General Henri Dufour, founding members of the International

Committee. The Red Cross is defined as a protection symbol in Article 7 of the 1864 Geneva

Convention, Chapter VII ("The distinctive emblem") and Article 38 of the 1949 Geneva

Convention ("For the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in

the Field"). There is an unofficial agreement within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

that the shape of the cross should be a cross composed of five squares. However, regardless of the

shape, any Red Cross on white background should be valid and must be recognized as a protection

symbol in conflict. Of the 185 national societies which are currently recognized by the ICRC, 151

are using the Red Cross as their official organization emblem. In addition, the Red Cross is

currently used by the national society ofTuvaluwhich has applied for official recognition.

[edit] Red Crescent

The Red Crescent symbol.During the Russo-Turkish Warfrom 1876 to 1878, the Ottoman Empireused a Red Crescentinstead of the Red Cross because its government believed that the cross would alienate its Muslim

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soldiers. When asked by the ICRC in 1877, Russia committed to fully respect the sanctity of all

persons and facilities bearing the Red Crescent symbol, followed by a similar commitment from the

Ottoman government to respect the Red Cross. After this de facto assessment of equal validity to

both symbols, the ICRC declared in 1878 that it should be possible in principle to adopt an

additional official protection symbol for non-Christian countries. The Red Crescent was formally

recognized in 1929 when the Geneva Conventions were amended (Article 19). Originally, the Red

Crescent was used by Turkey and Egypt. From its official recognition to today, the Red Crescent

became the organizational emblem of nearly every national society in countries with majority

Muslim populations. The national societies of some countries such as Pakistan (1974),Malaysia

(1975), orBangladesh (1989) have officially changed their name and emblem from the Red Cross

to the Red Crescent. The Red Crescent is used by 33 of the 185 recognized societies worldwide.

[edit] Red Crystal

The third protocol emblem, alsoknown as the Red Crystal.Because of the controversy over Israel's national society Magen David Adom and a number of

other disputes, the introduction of an additional neutral protection symbol had been under

discussion for a number of years, with the Red Crystal (previously referred to as the Red Lozenge

or Red Diamond) being the most popular proposal. Other attempts have included Sri Lanka(1957)and India (1977) who tried to establish a Red Swastika and also efforts by the national societies of

Kazakhstan and Eritrea to use a unique combination of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, similar

to the combination of both symbols used by the national society of the Soviet Union until its

demise. However, amending the Geneva Conventions to add a new protection symbol requires a

diplomatic conference of all 192 signatory states to the Conventions. The Swiss government

organized such a conference to take place on December 5-6, 2005, to adopt a third additional

protocol to the Geneva Conventions introducing the Red Crystal as an additional symbol with equal

status to the Red Cross or Red Crescent. Following an unplanned extension of the conference until

December 7, the protocol was adopted after a vote successfully achieved the required two-thirds

majority. From the countries which attended the conference, 98 voted in favour and 27 against the

protocol, while 10 countries abstained from voting.

In the third Protocol the new symbol is referred to as "the third Protocol emblem". [1] The rules for

the use of this symbol, based on the third additional protocol to the Geneva Conventions, are the

following:

Within its own national territory, anational society can use either of

the recognized symbols alone, orincorporate any of these symbols

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or a combination of them into theRed Crystal. Furthermore, anational society can choose to

display a previously and effectivelyused symbol, after officiallycommunicating this symbol to thestate parties of the GenevaConventions through Switzerlandas the depositary state prior to theadoption of the proposed thirdadditional protocol.

For indicative use on foreignterritory, a national society whichdoes not use one of the recognized

symbols as its emblem has toincorporate its unique symbol intothe Red Crystal, based on thepreviously mentioned conditionabout communicating its uniquesymbol to the state parties of the

Geneva Conventions. For protective use, only the

symbols recognized by the GenevaConventions can be used.Specifically, those nationalsocieties which do not use one of

the recognized symbols as their

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emblem have to use the RedCrystal without incorporation ofany additional symbol.

On 22 June2006the ICRC announced that the International Red Cross and Red Crescent

Movement adopted the Red Crystal as additional emblem for use by the national societies. The

ICRC also announced the recognition of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the Israeli

National Society, Magen David Adom (MDA).[2] On 14 January2007, the third additional protocol

entered into force.

[edit] Red Lion with Sun

The Red Lion with Sun symbol.From 1924 to 1980, Iranused a 'Red Lion with Sun' symbol for its national society, based on the

flag and emblem of the Qajar Dynasty. The Red Lion with Sun was formally recognized as a

protection symbol in 1929, together with the Red Crescent. Despite the country's shift to the Red

Crescent in 1980, Iran explicitly maintains the right to use the symbol. Therefore, it is still

recognized by the Geneva Convention as a protection symbol with equal status to the Red Cross,

Red Crescent and Red Crystal.

[edit] Red Shield of David

The emblem of Magen David Adom forindicative use within Israel.

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