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International
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The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement began almost 150 years ago when on a hot June day in 1859 Henry Dunant, a Swiss banker travelling on business in northern Italy, witnessed the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino a horrifying and bloody conflict between 300,000 soldiers from Imperial Austria and the Franco-Sardinian Alliance. |
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| In 1862 Dunant published his recollection of this experience as A Memory of Solferino and remained convinced that the power of humanity could be engaged to alleviate suffering on a global scale. Vulnerable people exist in all societies, he argued, and should be afforded the same care and consideration.
Some of the men wounded in battle lay where they fell for days bleeding and tormented by thirst, hunger, flies and burning heat. The dead were thrown into huge pits, along with others seriously injured but alive nonetheless. Amid the stench and sounds of pain and anguish, thieves moved from person to person, robbing both the wounded and the dead. Moved by the sight of the appalling injuries suffered by these young men, Dunant rallied villagers from the town of Castiglione della Pieve to assist and tend the wounded. These townsfolk were to become the first volunteers of the Red Cross. |
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Would there not be some means, during a period of peace and calm, of forming relief Societies whose object would be to have the wounded cared for in time of war by enthusiastic devoted volunteers fully qualified for the task. Such Societies could even render great service during epidemics or at times of disaster of flood and fire; the philanthropic motives underlying their vocation would bring them into action immediately wherever and whenever they could usefully intervene. |
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His matter-of-fact account, with its underlying message of hope and inspiration drew widespread support across Europe, bringing with it the salient reminder that suffering does not end once the battle has ceased.
In Geneva in October 1863 under the leadership of Henry Dunant, Gustave Moynier, General Guillaume-Henri Dufour, Dr Louis Appia and Dr Theodore Maunoir set up the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded.
The Committee, later to become the International Committee of the Red Cross, chose as their emblem a perfectly formed red cross on a white background the simple inverse of the Swiss flag.
Today it remains a universal symbol of hope and assistance.
With the urging of the Committee, the Swiss Government invited other Governments to attend an international diplomatic conference in 1864. It was at this landmark meeting of representatives from 15 European countries and the United States of America that 12 governments became signatories to the first Geneva Convention.
This was the beginning of international humanitarian law (the laws of war) and addressed in detail the issue of armed conflict. It sought to afford care for the wounded and defined medical services as "neutral" on the battlefield, at the same time bringing humanity one step closer to understanding that combatants are not the only victims of war.
When the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Federation) was first founded in Paris in 1919 its purpose was to further develop the relationships between National Societies that had emerged during World War I.
The war had shown a need for close cooperation between Red Cross Societies, which, through their humanitarian activities on behalf of prisoners of war and combatants, had attracted millions of volunteers and built a large body of expertise.
A devastated Europe could not afford to lose such a resource.
It was Henry Davison, President of the American Red Cross War Committee, who first proposed forming a federation. An international medical conference initiated by Davison resulted in the birth of the League of Red Cross Societies, renamed in October 1983 as the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and finally in November 1991 to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Their first objective was to improve the health of people in countries that had suffered greatly during the four years of war. Its goals were 'to strengthen and unite, for health activities, already-existing Red Cross Societies and to promote the creation of new Societies' with its first mission to assist typhus and famine victims in Poland. |
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The Federation was formed by five National Societies from Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the United States. Today there are 177 one in almost every country in the world who conduct more than 80 relief operations a year.
The seven Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement were formally adopted at the 20th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Vienna in 1965. |
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Humanity. Impartiality. Neutrality. Independence. Voluntary Service. Unity. Universality.
These seven core values are an important foundation for the organisation, helping the Movement to shape and direct services and programs all around the world. |
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Geneva Conventions
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The 1864 agreement signed by the 12 European nations provided that, during future wars in which they were engaged, they would care for all sick and wounded military personnel, regardless of nationality. It was titled the Geneva Convention.
From a modest beginning there has been a series of international conferences to extend and develop international humanitarian law. The most important was the Geneva conference of 1949 which resulted in the revision of the first three Geneva Conventions (wounded and sick in armed forces in the field; wounded, sick and shipwrecked armed forces at sea; prisoners of war) and the adoption of a fourth convention to protect civilians.
These have been ratified, or agreed to, by 190 nations and are legally binding upon their defence force personnel.
In 1977, at another Geneva conference, two additional Protocols were finalised and have since been adopted by over half the countries in the world. They extended the provisions of the four Conventions and introduced new principles of protection in the case of international and non-international (i.e. internal) armed conflicts.
The Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols may be seen as almost 750 separate articles, often reflecting the need to reach a compromise between the differing views of the nations which drafted them. But the underlying principles can be simply stated:
- dignity of all individuals must be respected at all times
- everything possible must be done, without any form of discrimination, to reduce the suffering of those who take no direct part in the conflict or are no longer engaged in the conflict because of sickness, injury or captivity
- the Conventions and Protocols are the rules applicable to specific circumstances in situations of armed conflict - they are essentially a list of 'dos' and 'don'ts'.
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Today
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After almost 140 years the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement continues to unite millions of men, women and children all around the world. To date 189 countries have ratified the Geneva Conventions (the only one not to sign is the island country of Nauru which constitutionally denies war as a means of resolving conflict).
Under the terms of the Geneva Conventions, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) undertakes the role of neutral intermediary in times of armed conflict, providing protection and assistance to victims, visiting detainees, providing medical care to the sick and wounded, and tracing and reuniting separated families.
In 2004, the ICRC maintained a permanent presence in 79 countries. ICRC delegates visited more than 570,000 detainees held in 2,435 places of detention in nearly 80 countries.
In times of peace, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies supports the development of humanitarian activities by National Societies. This ranges from emergency relief after natural disaster; the development of new social welfare initiatives; caring for refugees or simply the provision of comfort for the vulnerable of any society.
In 2004-5, the Federation launched appeals to assist 44 million people through 95 humanitarian assistance programs, providing support to victims of floods, drought, earthquakes and displacement. With around 97 million volunteers, the Movement is the worlds largest humanitarian body.
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The International Committee of the Red Cross was officially formed in 1863.
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In 1864, 12 governments became signatories to the first Geneva Convention.
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The seven Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement were formally adopted in 1965.
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