International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was established in 1863 by Swiss native Henri Dunant, who was stunned by the carnage he saw left behind after the Battle of Solferino and directed his efforts to codify a set of humanitarian norms to protect the victims of war.[1] According to its mission statement, the ICRC is 'an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance.'[2] The ICRC has no religious, political or cultural connotations and is entirely autonomous with no affiliation with the United Nations or any other intergovernmental organization.[3] It is this neutrality and independence which allows the ICRC to gain the trust of warring parties and be given access to those affected by armed conflict, often while conflicts are ongoing. The ICRC holds a rather unique legal status. To ensure its continued independence and neutrality, the ICRC has signed binding agreements with the governments of the countries in which it operates to accord it similar privileges and immunities such as those extended to diplomats or representatives of the United Nations.[4] Perhaps even more uniquely, the ICRC is the "guarantor" of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, international legal instruments which codify international humanitarian law.[5] The ICRC is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and its decision-making structures include the Assembly, the Council, and the Directorate. Recent Development Adoption of an additional protective emblem The fact that the ICRC's emblem is extremely distinctive and instantly recognizable takes on heightened importance during wartime, when it is used in a protective capacity to denote humanitarian personnel.[6] IHL demands that those identified by the red cross (or red crescent) be allowed to operate freely on the battlefield, without fear of being targeted. The ICRC notes that in times of armed conflict, its emblem is "the visible sign of the protection conferred by the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols on relief workers and on medical personnel, facilities and means of transport."[7] Despite its official name and immediately recognizable flag, for much of the 20th century the International Committee of the Red Cross actually sanctioned three emblems. In 1863, a red cross on a white background was declared the organization's official symbol; however, several years later, the Muslim countries of the Ottoman Empire began using a red crescent on a white background for ICRC activities within their borders.[8] Simultaneously, other national societies were using emblems that they felt more comfortable with. This issue was addressed at a diplomatic conference in 1929 where it was agreed that along with the red cross, both the red crescent and the red lion and sun (then-Persia's preferred symbol) would be officially recognized by the ICRC and IFRC. However, the ICRC emphasized that in the future, no new emblems would be sanctioned, as the proliferation of emblems ran a real danger of diluting the ICRC's effectiveness. Since 1980, only the red cross and red crescent have been in use. Over time, and despite the ICRC's best efforts, certain religious, cultural and political connotations have been ascribed to both the red cross and red crescent, and some countries, notably Israel and certain Asian nations, did not feel comfortable using either the cross or the crescent.[9] Alternatively, some countries expressed interest in using the double emblem of a "cross and crescent" side-by-side, which could potentially be problematic.[10] Thus, the idea of adopting a new emblem that would be devoid of any inferences and could gain universal acceptance was revisited by the ICRC in the 1990s. During the next 15 years, several proposals were considered and abandoned, before ultimately the "red crystal" emerged as the preferred option for a third officially sanctioned ICRC emblem. The reasons were manifold as the term 'red crystal' is identical in all three of the Movement's working languages and in many other languages; it has no negative connotations in any of the numerous languages tested; in French and in English the initials are the same as for the red cross and red crescent; and lastly, crystals are a symbol of purity and transparency, and they bring to mind water, the source of life.[11]Once the question of design was out of the way, practical legal realities became evident. In order to give the red crystal legal status equal to the red cross and red crescent it was necessary to adopt a Third Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1949.[12] Over the next several years, a series of working groups, committees and conferences was undertaken to work through the particularities of amending the Third Additional Protocol. Any changes to the Additional Protocol had to be agreed to by the States Parties to the Geneva Conventions and the National Societies of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.[13] Formal negotiations were interrupted in 2000, when the hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians re-ignited, and several delegations expressed their unwillingness to hold a diplomatic conference in such an atmosphere. Nevertheless, informal negotiations continued, and in December 2005, in Geneva, a conference was convened to consider the "Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem (Protocol III)." It was adopted by a vote of States Parties of 98 Yes, 27 No, and 10 abstentions.[14] The Additional Protocol entered into force on January 14, 2007, six months after the first two States Parties to the Geneva Conventions ratified it.[15] The ICRC produced in July 2008 a Model Law on the Emblems setting out guidance on national legislation for the use and protection of all three emblems.[16] As of July 2009, 45 countries have ratified the Third Additional Protocol.[17] Hilary Stauffer Liberian Law Practicum Fellow, Transnational Law Institute Washington & Lee University August 2009 Footnotes: 1 INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS, DISCOVER THE ICRC, 2nd Edition, 6(2007) available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/p0790 2 ICRC Mission Statement, available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/icrc-mission-190608 3 DISCOVER THE ICRC, 3, 6. 4 DISCOVER THE ICRC, 6. 5 See "The ICRC's mandate and mission," available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/section_mandate?OpenDocument. 6 For more information, see INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT SOCIETIES, EMBLEMS OF HUMANITY (2007) available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/p0876. 7 EMBLEMS OF HUMANITY, 4. 8 See "About the Adoption of an Additional Emblem: Questions and Answers," available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/emblem-questions-answers-281005 9 FRANÇOIS BUGNION, RED CROSS, RED CRESCENT, RED CRYSTAL, 30 -32 (2007) available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/p0778. 10 Id. at 20. 11 Id. at 42-43. 12 Id. at 40. The Formal title is Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem (Protocol III), 8 December 2005. There are two other additional protocols to the Geneva conventions: Additional Protocol I extended restrictions on methods of war in international conflicts; Additional Protocol II deals with humanitarian law during non-international conflicts, including civil wars. For more information, see "Protocols I and II additional to the Geneva Conventions," available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/additional-protocols-1977. 13 BUGNION, supra note 9, at 40-43. 14 Id. at 52-54. 15 See "Red Crystal: the "emblem comes into force" (12 January 2007) available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/emblem-keyfacts-140107 16 ICRC ADVISORY SERVICE ON INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW, "Model Law on the Emblems", available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/emblem-model-law-150708?opendocument. 17 Information on ratification available at http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebSign?ReadForm&id=615&ps=P. |
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