The oldest of the international conventions concerning the prohibition of the employment of certain weapons, that is to say deriving from that part of the law of war, sometimes known as the “law of The Hague”, to distinguish it from the “law of Geneva”, will be a hundred years old this month: the Declaration of St. Petersburg of November 29—December 11, 1868.

In our last month's issue we gave an account of ICRC relief work up to the end of October 1968 in Nigeria and the secessionist province Biafra. This clearly brought out the scale and very considerable cost of the mission which will continue for months to come. As the financial situation had reached the crisis stage, the International Committee invited representatives of governments, National Societies and international institutions, able to help it, to a meeting in Geneva, in order to explain the facts which justify not only the massive scale of, but also support for, the Red Cross action. There were in fact three meetings, one of National Societies, the second of representatives of governments and inter-governmental institutions and the third of voluntary agencies.

In 1963, the ICRC undertook a large-scale assistance action in the Yemen where fighting was taking place between Royalists and forces of the Arab Republic of the Yemen. As the conflict was prolonged, involving a considerable number of civilian and military casualties, it set up a field hospital at Uqhd in the northern part of the country; it also increased the number of its medical teams working in the interior. In addition, delegates visited prisoners of both sides, brought them relief and arranged for them to communicate with their families.

Reuniting of families.—In the programme for the reuniting of families, organized and controlled by the ICRC delegations in Egypt and Israel, a further operation took place on November 14 at El Qantara.

The Commission of neutral experts appointed by the International Committee of the Red Cross to examine cases of victims of pseudo-medical experiments practised in concentration camps under the Nazi regime, to whom the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany is prepared to pay indemnities, again met at ICRC headquarters in Geneva on November 8 and 9. The Chairman was Mr. William Lenoir, Judge at the Geneva Court of Justice. He was assisted by Professor Pierre Magnenat, assistant doctor at the University Clinic of the Nestlé Hospital in Lausanne and by Dr. Sylvain Mutrux, Deputy Medical Director of the University Psychiatric Clinic of Bel-Air in Geneva. The Hungarian Red Cross was represented by Mrs. Sandor Böde, Dr. Pal Bacs and Mr. Imre Pasztor, whilst Dr. E. Gotz had been sent by the Red Cross of the German Federal Republic.

The International Committee has just produced a new film (16 mm.) entitled “Rescue” on the relief action which it has been pursuing for many months in Nigeria and in the seceding province of Biafra, in co-operation with a large number of National Societies and international relief organizations mentioned on several occasions in the International Review. Of 20 minutes duration, the film is in colour and can now be obtained from the ICRC Information Department in French, English or German versions.

An introductory course in the law of war and the Geneva Conventions was held in Geneva from November 19 to 22, 1968, for officers of the Swiss army.

The October 1968 issue of International Review mentioned that 121 States were parties to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949.

In November 1968, the International Review published the sad news of the death of Léopold Boissier and recalled the fine and effective work of the former President of the ICRC for the Red Cross.