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The Red Cross and IHL
The Red Cross has an important and historic relationship with IHL. Indeed, the birth of modern IHL and the Red Cross was the result of the same event.
When Swiss businessman Henry Dunant witnessed a particularly savage and brutal battle in Solferino, Italy, in 1859, he was determined to take action.
He called on military authorities in countries around the world to come together and codify a system of more humane rules to be upheld during war.
His action resulted in the 1864 Geneva Convention, the first of the Geneva Conventions, which protected those wounded on the battlefield, and the medical personnel seeking to assist them. |
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Those medical personnel would subsequently be identified and protected by a neutral emblem, what we now recognise as the Red Cross.
In addition, Dunant called for an international convention to establish 'societies for the relief of the wounded in the different European countries'. This led to the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (the ICRC) and the Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies.
As a result of its continued engagement in this area, the ICRC has often been called the 'guardian of IHL'. To this day it continues to promote respect for humanitarian rules. The ICRC also takes responsibility for ensuring IHL provisions remain relevant in contemporary conflicts by monitoring the changing nature of armed conflict, organising consultations on possible new rules, and preparing draft rules for submission to diplomatic conferences (where international treaties are drafted or reviewed).
However, it is not just the ICRC but the whole of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement which promotes an understanding of, and respect for the principles of IHL.
Useful links
 The International Committee of the Red Cross as guardian of IHL
The history of IHL and the ICRC
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