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.

Action taken by the International Committee of the Red Cross in situations of internal violence

1993 ◽  
Vol 33 (294) ◽  
pp. 195-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Harroff-Tavel
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Human Suffering

For some decades now, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has periodically undertaken the difficult task of reassessing its policy in respect of situations of internal violence. Since 1872, when it made its first offer of services to the parties to a non-international armed conflict, and 1918, when it carried out its first visit to security detainees, the ICRC has accumulated a wealth of experience. During that time it has gradually extended its mandate to cover situations in which human suffering called for action on its part which it would not have contemplated a few years previously.

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.

Resolutions of the XXIIIrd International Conference of the Red Cross

1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (201) ◽  
pp. 507-537
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Voluntary Service ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Lasting Peace ◽  
Political Opinions

The XXIIIrd International Conference of the Red Cross,recognizing the great significance for the Red Cross of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Protocols additional to these Conventions,stressing the attachment of the Red Cross to the fundamental principles adopted by the XXth International Conference of the Red Cross (Vienna 1965),1. confirms the dedication of the Red Cross movement to its fundamental mission of preventing and alleviating human suffering wherever it may be found; protecting life and health and ensuring respect for the human being; and affording impartially, without discrimination as to race, nationality, religious beliefs or political opinions, protection and assistance to those who need it, in the event of armed conflicts and other disasters,2. emphasizes the extreme importance of the work carried out by National Societies within their medico-social programmes for the prevention of disease and the promotion of health, and in the encouragement of social responsibility and voluntary service among their members,3. considers that the Red Cross, in respecting its principles and in developing its manifold activities, should play an essential part in disseminating to the population, and especially to youth, the spirit of mutual understanding and friendship among all peoples, and thus promoting lasting peace.

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.

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.

Hacking humanitarians: Defining the cyber perimeter and developing a cyber security strategy for international humanitarian organizations in digital transformation

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (913) ◽  
pp. 367-387
Author(s):  
Massimo Marelli
Keyword(s):  
Cyber Security ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Digital Environment ◽  
Security Strategy ◽  
Humanitarian Action ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations

AbstractDigitalization and new technologies have an increasingly important role in today's humanitarian activities. As humanitarian organizations become more active in and reliant on new and digital technologies, they evolve from being simple bystanders to being fully fledged stakeholders in cyberspace, vulnerable to adverse cyber operations that could impact on their capacity to protect and assist people affected by armed conflict or other situations of violence.This shift makes it essential for humanitarian organizations to understand and properly map their resulting cyber perimeter. Humanitarian organizations can protect themselves and their activities by devising appropriate cyber strategies for the digital environment. Clearly defining the digital boundaries within which they carry out operations lays the groundwork for humanitarian organizations to develop a strategy to support and protect humanitarian action in the digital environment, channel available resources to where they are most needed, and understand the areas in which their operational dialogue and working modalities need to be adapted for cyberspace.The purpose of this article is to identify the unique problems facing international humanitarian organizations operating in cyberspace and to suggest ways to address them. More specifically, the article identifies the key elements that an international humanitarian organization should consider in developing a cyber security strategy. Throughout, the International Committee of the Red Cross and its specificities are used as an example to illustrate the problems identified and the possible ways to address them.

Protection of Civilian Populations Against the Dangers of Indiscriminate Warfare

1967 ◽  
Vol 7 (75) ◽  
pp. 300-311
Author(s):  
Samuel A. Gonard
Keyword(s):  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
The Hague

We have the honour of enclosing the text of a memorandum dated May 19, 1967, addressed by the International Committee of the Red Cross to the Governments of States parties to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and to the IVth Convention of The Hague of 1907, concerning the laws and customs of war on land. This memorandum bears on the protection of civilian populations against the dangers of indiscriminate warfare and, in particular, on the implementation of Resolution XXVIII of the XXth International Conference of the Red Cross.

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.

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