Resolutions of the XXIVth International Conference of the Red Cross

1981 ◽  
Vol 21 (225) ◽  
pp. 318-345
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Geneva Convention ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
International Committee ◽  
The Body ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Destructive Action ◽  
Identification Documents ◽  
Take All

The XXIVth International Conference of the Red Cross,considering that, in several situations of armed conflict, the identification of members of the armed forces killed on the battle-field is made extremely difficult for lack of identification documents,recalling that Articles 16 and 17 of the First Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 provide for identity discs to be worn by members of the armed forces to facilitate their identification in case they are killed and the communication of their deaths to the Power on which they depend,1. urges the Parties to an armed conflict to take all necessary steps to provide the members of their armed forces with identity discs and to ensure that the discs are worn during service,2. recommends that the Parties to an armed conflict should see that these discs give all the indications required for a precise identification of members of the armed forces such as full name, date and place of birth, religion, serial number and blood group; that every disc be double and composed of two separable parts, each bearing the same indications; and that the inscriptions be engraved on a substance as resistant as possible to the destructive action of chemical and physical agents, especially to fire and heat,3. reminds the Parties to an armed conflict that one half of each disc must, in case of death, be detached and sent back to the Power on which the member of the armed forces depended, the other half remaining on the body,4. notes that the International Committee of the Red Cross is prepared to provide models to States asking for them.

ICRC surgical activities

1991 ◽  
Vol 31 (284) ◽  
pp. 483-490
Author(s):  
Rémi Russbach ◽  
Robin Charles Gray ◽  
Robin Michael Coupland
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Army Medical ◽  
Geneva Conventions

The surgical activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross stem from the institution's general mandate to protect and assist the victims of armed conflict.The war wounded are thus only one category of the victims included in the ICRC's terms of reference.The ICRC's main role in relation to the war wounded is not to treat them, for this is primarily the responsibility of the governments involved in the conflict and hence their army medical services. The task of the ICRC is first and foremost to ensure that the belligerents are familiar with the provisions of the Geneva Conventions and apply them, that is, care for members of the enemy armed forces as well as their own and afford medical establishments and personnel the protection to which they are entitled.

Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

1987 ◽  
Vol 27 (256) ◽  
pp. 25-44
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Voluntary Service ◽  
International Conference

The International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent,Proclaims that the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies together constitute a worldwide humanitarian movement, whose mission is to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found, to protect life and health and ensure respect for the human being, in particular in times of armed conflict and other emergencies, to work for the prevention of disease and for the promotion of health and social welfare, to encourage voluntary service and a constant readiness to give help by the members of the Movement, and a universal sense of solidarity towards all those in need of its protection and assistance.

International humanitarian law and the challenges of contemporary armed conflicts: Recommitting to protection in armed conflict on the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions

2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (911) ◽  
pp. 869-949
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
70Th Anniversary ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Areas Of Interest

This is the fifth report on international humanitarian law (IHL) and the challenges of contemporary armed conflicts prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (International Conference). Similar reports were submitted to the International Conferences held in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. The aim of all these reports is to provide an overview of some of the challenges posed by contemporary armed conflicts for IHL; generate broader reflection on those challenges; and outline current or prospective ICRC action, positions, and areas of interest.

scholarly journals The updated Commentary on the First Geneva Convention – a new tool for generating respect for international humanitarian law

2015 ◽  
Vol 97 (900) ◽  
pp. 1209-1226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Cameron ◽  
Bruno Demeyere ◽  
Jean-Marie Henckaerts ◽  
Eve La Haye ◽  
Heike Niebergall-Lackner
Keyword(s):  
Geneva Convention ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Major Reference

AbstractSince their publication in 1950s and 1980s, respectively, the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 have become a major reference for the application and interpretation of these treaties. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), together with a team of renowned experts, is currently updating these Commentaries in order to document developments and provide up-to-date interpretations. The work on the first updated Commentary, the Commentary on the First Geneva Convention relating to the protection of the wounded and sick in the armed forces, has already been finalized. This article provides an overview of the methodology and process of the update and summarizes the main evolutions in the interpretation of the treaty norms reflected in the updated Commentary.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the medical services of the Armed Forces

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (173) ◽  
pp. 398-402
Author(s):  
Frédéric de Mulinen
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Conference

“Ways and means of remedying the inadequacy of the medical services of armies in the field” was the study undertaken by an international conference convened at Geneva, in October 1863, by a committee of five citizens of Geneva. That committee was later to become the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Implementation of international humanitarian law - National measures: Information received by the International Committee of the Red Cross on implementation measures taken by the States at the national level

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (302) ◽  
pp. 464-469
Author(s):  
María Teresa Dutli
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
National Level ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Effective Compliance ◽  
War Victims

The importance of adopting national measures to implement international humanitarian law has been stressed on many occasions. It was repeated in the Final Declaration of the International Conference for the Protection of War Victims (Geneva, 30 August–1 September 1993), which reaffirmed the obligation laid down in Article 1 common to the four Geneva Conventions to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law in order to protect the victims of war. The Declaration urged all States to make every effort to “adopt and implement, at the national level, all appropriate regulations, laws and measures to ensure respect for international humanitarian law applicable in the event of armed conflict and to punish violations thereof”. The Conference thus reasserted the need to bring about more effective compliance with that law.

Statement by Mr Mario Villarroel Lander, President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (310) ◽  
pp. 14-19
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Geneva Convention ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Prisoners Of War ◽  
International Federation ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Civil Strife ◽  
International Conference ◽  
The Creation

I shall speak today of a bright prospect for our world which can become a reality if we all believe in it and work together for it.I express this hope in the same spirit that prevailed at the first International Conference — convened 132 years ago — which overcame the misgivings of the sceptics and led to the creation of the initial Geneva Convention. That treaty conferred protection on wounded and sick soldiers in time of war and on those who cared for them. Since then, the same protection has been given in international law to wounded and sick members of the armed forces at sea, prisoners of war, civilians in wartime and -- to some extent owing to the change in the nature of conflict over recent decades -- vulnerable victims of civil strife.

Council of Delegates of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Seoul, 16–18 November 2005: Resolutions

2005 ◽  
Vol 87 (860) ◽  
pp. 755-827
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Treaty Law ◽  
War Victims ◽  
Great Appreciation

The Council of Delegates,reaffirming the undertaking of all States and parties engaged in armed conflict to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law,recognizing the importance of working toward the universal ratification of treaties on international humanitarian law,considering the continued importance of customary international humanitarian law in the light of the fact that not all humanitarian treaties have been universally ratified,noting that treaty law governing non-international armed conflicts is not well developed although these conflicts predominate today,recalling Resolution 1 of the 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and the mandate entrusted to the ICRC to prepare a study on customary rules of international humanitarian law applicable in international and non-international armed conflicts,noting with great appreciation the extensive efforts undertaken by the ICRC to prepare this study in accordance with the above-mentioned mandate,1. welcomes the study on customary international humanitarian law published by the ICRC as an important contribution to the protection of war victims;2. recommends the study to all components of the Movement as a basis for discussion, where relevant, with national authorities, armed forces, academic circles and parties to an armed conflict;3. invites National Societies, to the extent of their capacities, to disseminate the findings of the study as widely as possible.

Political "Disappearances" - a Challenge for Humanitarian Law

1982 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-202
Author(s):  
Jan Egeland
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Amnesty International ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Draft Resolution

AbstractIn November 1981 the International Conference of the Red Cross, meeting in Manila, adopted a strong resolution against the practise of political "disappearances" (see Annex 1). This is the first humanitarian standard specifically adressing this relatively new pattern of human rights violations within the wider framework of the humanitarian law in armed conflict and internal strife. Contrary to our pessimism when we started to prepare for this initiative in the Norwegian Red Cross and at the Institut Henry Dunant in Geneva, the draft resolution was strengthened at the Conference and carried with an overwhelming majority (111 States parties in favour - only Argentina and Syria abstained). The humanitarian law has mistakenly been considered as a set of rules with little or no importance for circumstances below the threshold of international armed conflicts. In this article we will therefore argue that a human rights problem like political "disappearances" is not an exclusive concern of UN human rights treaties and non-governmental organisations like Amnesty International. On the contrary it represents a great challenge for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the humanitarian law in general.

Protection of the red cross and red crescent emblems and the repression of misuse

1989 ◽  
Vol 29 (272) ◽  
pp. 420-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habib Slim
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Geneva Convention ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Medical Team ◽  
Neighbouring Country ◽  
Improper Use ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Private Car

A certain State-recognized civilian hospital employed two kinds of doctors who appeared on its staff lists: full-time doctors, and part-time doctors used to reinforce its medical team during an armed conflict with a neighbouring country. Some weeks later the country was occupied by the enemy. Two part-time doctors on their way home in a private car marked with a red cross for protective purposes were stopped by a police patrol, which seized the car and confiscated the doctors' identifying armlets. This was done on the grounds that improper use was being made of the Red Cross emblem as a protective device, contrary to Articles 24, 25, 26 and 44 of the First Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded and sick in armed forces in the field, and Articles 20 and 21 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war.

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