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The ICRC is an independent, private, and non-political institution.
Its committee is composed of Swiss citizens and its President is
Jacob Kellenberger.
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ICRC's
work is based on the Geneva Conventions which are designed
to safeguard respect for human beings in wartime.
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The ICRC acts as a neutral intermediary between the parties concerned
in war, civil war or internal disturbance, endeavoring to ensure
that civilian and military victims of the conflict are afforded
protection and assistance and that certain humanitarian rules are
observed (as set out in the Geneva Conventions and their Additional
Protocols). ICRC action can take the form of visits to prisoners
of war and detainees, supervision of the release, exchange and repatriation
of prisoners, internment in a neutral country of captured persons,
programs to provide relief for the victims of armed conflict by
providing food and medical aid, the tracing of missing persons and
reuniting separated families. The ICRC also plays a leading role
in providing a wide range of humanitarian aid, distributing medical
aid, foodstuffs and other relief supplies, especially to places
where other humanitarian organizations cannot operate. It is often
the only international organization allowed to move freely within
occupied territories, to cross combatant lines, to access prisoners
or detention centers, and to act as an intermediary in prisoner
of war exchanges. The ICRC also sets up protected zones, under its
supervision, after negotiations with warring factions, to afford
special protection to the wounded and sick.
Geneva Conventions
The work of the ICRC is based on the four Geneva Conventions of
1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977, which are designed
to safeguard respect for human beings in times of armed conflict.
The 429 articles of the 1949 Conventions guarantee the protection
of the wounded and sick in armed forces in the field (first Convention);
of wounded, sick and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea
(second Convention); of prisoners of war (third Convention); and
of civilian persons in time of war (fourth Convention). The Additional
Protocols were drafted because the original conventions no longer
covered all the possibilities of modern warfare. Protocol I gives
greater protection to civilians in international conflicts, and
Protocol II extends protection to civilians during civil wars and
other non-international armed conflicts. In mid-2000, some 188 states
had signed the Geneva conventions, 157 were parties to protocol
I of 1977 and 150 were parties to Protocol II of 1977.
Central Tracing Agency (CTA)
The ICRC's Central Tracing Agency is the only service of its kind
in the world for locating missing persons, reuniting families, and
transmitting correspondence between members of families separated
by war and conflict. It transmits over a million messages annually.
The CTA often represents the sole hope of receiving messages from
nearest relations and finding those cut off from their roots through
international or civil conflict. The CTA, at work for more than
100 years, has a central register containing over 60 million personal
descriptions. CTA's activities extend to every continent, by means
of teams of specialists permanently in the field and by a network
that includes the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
In 1995 and 1996, the CTA was striving to reunite thousands of people
who had been separated from their families during the course of
conflict. The main areas of CTA's activity were the Great Lakes
region in Africa (Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Tanzania) and the former
Yugoslavia. The ICRC is heavily involved in follow-up to the Dayton
Accords, particularly regarding missing persons, prisoner exchanges,
and detainee visits. Concerned by the increasing hazards facing
journalists on professional missions, in 1985 the ICRC makes available
tracing services for use by editors, professional associations,
and journalists' families to request humanitarian intervention by
the ICRC should a journalist disappear, or be captured, arrested,
or held in detention while exercising his profession. ICRC help
would include inquiries into the whereabouts of missing journalists;
transmission of information concerning the capture, arrest or death
of journalists when such information is provided by those detaining
them (government or opposition); ICRC visits, including with doctors,
to detained journalists; the exchange of family messages; and the
eventual repatriation of released journalists.
The Debate over the Red Cross/Red Crescent Emblem
The issue of which emblem or emblems may be used to offer protection
to civilians and wounded in time of war is over a century old. When
the symbol of the red cross was adopted in the second half of the
19th century, it was based on the reversal of the colors of the
Swiss flag, and was not meant as a religious symbol, however the
problem of other connotations rapidly became apparent. During the
1876-1878 war with Russia, the Ottoman Empire adopted the red crescent
to mark its own ambulances while respecting the red cross sign protecting
enemy ambulances. After several decades of debate, a 1929 diplomatic
conference agreed to recognize the red crescent emblem.
However other countries continued to have difficulties working
with one or the other official emblems. Israel's Magen David Adom
which has existed since 1930 wanted to use its own symbol, and Kazakhstan
and several other countries expressed an interest in using an emblem
which places the red cross and red crescent. In November 1999 a
Joint Working Group composed of 16 government and 8 red cross movement
experts was established to find a comprehensive solution. The group
agreed that the solution should be embodied in a new treaty, to
be called the Third Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions
which would create an additional emblem free of any national, religious
or political connotation. As this book went to press, a major conference
aimed at finally resolving the matter was planned for October 2000.
The ICRC and The International Federation
One of the functions of the ICRC is to grant official recognition
to new national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, after satisfying
itself that their bylaws and structures conform to the seven fundamental
Red Cross principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence,
voluntary service, unity, and universality. Once recognized, national
societies may join the International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies.
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum
The museum next to ICRC headquarters was built by an independent
foundation to tell the story of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement,
encourage donations to support the Red Cross' humanitarian work,
and motivate young people to place themselves at the service of
humankind. The museum's message is "Man's Humanity to Man.
Contributions from the American private sector - approaching $1
million - helped build the museum, which was financed entirely by
non -Red Cross funds. Buried in the museum's foundations is a time
capsule containing a peace message - placed there in November 1985
by the First Ladies of the United States, the former Soviet Union,
and Switzerland.
The United States and the ICRC
The United States has the highest regard for the difficult and
often dangerous work for the International Committee of the Red
Cross's Staff of over 9000 in providing assistance and protections
to victims of conflict. U.S. contributions reflect that support.
The United States is the largest contributor to the ICRC.
Budget: The ICRC field and operations budget for 2000 was
837,722,576 Swiss Francs. The United States contributed 119,480,173
in fiscal year 1999.
Internet
www.icrc.org
Description of ICRC and its programs, texts of international humanitarian
treaties, including the Geneva Conventions and Protocols, press
releases, extensive information related to landmines, links to other
Red Cross/Red Crescent servers.
Address
International Committee of the Red Cross
19, avenue de la Paix
CH-1202 Geneva
Tel. 734.6001
Fax. 734.2057
E-mail. press.gva@gwn.icrc.org
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