The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide[2] which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any discrimination based on nationality, race, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.[1] The movement consists of several distinct organizations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organisations. The movement's parts are: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitaria! n law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts . The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions (in 1917, 1944 and 1963).[3] The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and today it coordinates activities between the 188 National Red Cross 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 missions responding to large-scale emergencies. The International Federation Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1963, the Federation (then known as the League of Red Cross Societies) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC.[3] National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world. Currently 188 National Societies are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as full members of ! the Federation. Each entity works in its home country accordin! g 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 international humanitarian law or the mandates of the international Movement. In many countries, they are tightly linked to the respective national health care system by providing emergency medical services. Contents 1 History of Movement 1.1 The International Committee of the Red Cross 1.1.1 Solferino, Jean-Henri Dunant and the foundation of the ICRC 1.1.2 The ICRC during World War I 1.1.3 The ICRC and World War II 1.1.4 The ICRC after the Second World War 1.1.5 Afghanistan 1.2 The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) 1.2.1 History 1.2.2 Presidents of the IFRC 2 Activities 2.1 Organization of the Movement 2.2 Activities and Organization of the ICRC 2.2.1 The mission of the ICRC and its res! ponsibilities within the Movement 2.2.2 Legal status and organization 2.2.3 Funding and financial matters 2.3 Activities and organization of the International Federation 2.3.1 The Mission of the IFRC and its responsibilities within the Movement 2.3.2 Legal status and organization 2.3.3 Funding and financial matters 2.4 National societies within the Movement 2.4.1 Official Recognition of a national society 2.4.2 Activities of national societies on a national and international stage 3 History of the emblems 3.1 Emblems in use 3.1.1 The Red Cross 3.1.2 The Red Crescent 3.1.3 The Red Crystal 3.2 Recognized emblems in disuse 3.2.1 The Red Lion and Sun 3.3 Unrecognized emblems 3.3.1 The Red Star of David (Magen David Adom) 4 Criticism 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 7.1 Books 7.2 Journal articles 8 External links [edit] History of Movement This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. ! Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2012) [edit] ! The International Committee of the Red Cross [edit] Solferino, Jean-Henri Dunant and the foundation of the ICRC Jean-Henri Dunant, author of "A Memory of Solferino" Until the middle of the 19th century, there were no organized and/or well-established army nursing systems for casualties and no safe and protected institutions to accommodate and treat those who were wounded on the battlefield. In June 1859, the Swiss businessman Jean-Henri Dunant traveled to Italy to meet French emperor Napoléon III with the intention of discussing difficulties in conducting business in Algeria, at that time occupied by France. When he arrived in the small town of Solferino on the evening of June 24, he witnessed the Battle of Solferino, an engagement in the Austro-Sardinian War. In a single day, about 40,000 soldiers on both sides died or were left wounded on the field. Jean-Henri Dunant was shocked by the terrible aftermath of the battle, the suffering of the wounded soldiers, and the near-! total lack of medical attendance and basic care. He completely abandoned the original intent of his trip and for several days he devoted himself to helping with the treatment and care for the wounded. He succeeded in organizing an overwhelming level of relief assistance by motivating the local villagers to aid without discrimination. Original document of the First Geneva Convention, 1864 Back in his home in Geneva, he decided to write a book entitled A Memory of Solferino which he published with his own money in 1862. He sent copies of the book to leading political and military figures throughout Europe. In addition to penning a vivid description of his experiences in Solferino in 1859, he explicitly advocated the formation of national voluntary relief organizations to help nurse wounded soldiers in the case of war. In addition, he called for the development of international treaties to guarantee the protection of neutral medics and field hospitals for soldiers wounded on t! he battlefield. In 1863, Gustave Moynier, a Geneva lawyer and president! of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare, received a copy of Dunant's book and introduced it for discussion at a meeting of that society. As a result of this initial discussion the society established an investigatory commission to examine the feasibility of Dunant's suggestions and eventually to organize an international conference about their possible implementation. The members of this committee, which has subsequently been referred to as the "Committee of the Five," aside from Dunant and Moynier were physician Louis Appia, who had significant experience working as a field surgeon; Appia's friend and colleague Théodore Maunoir, from the Geneva Hygiene and Health Commission; and Guillaume-Henri Dufour, a Swiss Army general of great renown. Eight days later, the five men decided to rename the committee to the "International Committee for Relief to the Wounded". In October (26–29) 1863, the international conference organized by the committee was held in Geneva to develo! p possible measures to improve medical services on the battlefield. The conference was attended by 36 individuals: eighteen official delegates from national governments, six delegates from other non-governmental organizations, seven non-official foreign delegates, and the five members of the International Committee. The states and kingdoms represented by official delegates were: Austria Baden Bavaria France Hanover Electorate of Hesse Italy The Netherlands Prussia Russian Empire Saxony Spain Sweden-Norway United Kingdom Among the proposals written in the final resolutions of the conference, adopted on October 29, 1863, were: 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 these concepts in legally binding internation! al treaties; The introduction of a common distinctive protection symbol! for medical personnel in the field, namely a white armlet bearing a red cross. Memorial commemorating the first use of the Red Cross symbol in an armed conflict during the Battle of Dybbøl (Denmark) in 1864; jointly erected in 1989 by the national Red Cross societies of Denmark and Germany. A Red Cross nurse. (Theodor Grust, late 19th / early 20th century) 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, the conference adopted the first Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field". Representatives of 12 states and kingdoms signed the convention: Baden, Belgium, Denmark, France, Hesse, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia, Switzerland, Spain, and Württemberg. The convention contained ten articles! , establishing for the first time legally binding rules guaranteeing neutrality and protection for wounded soldiers, field medical personnel, and specific humanitarian institutions in an armed conflict. Furthermore, the convention defined two specific requirements for recognition of a national relief society by the International Committee: The national society must be recognized by its own national government as a relief society according to the convention, The national government of the respective country must be a state party to the Geneva Convention. Directly following the establishment of the Geneva Convention, the first national societies were founded in Belgium, Denmark, France, Oldenburg, Prussia, Spain, and Württemberg. Also in 1864, Louis Appia and Charles van de Veld
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