Wherever the United Nations Charter refers to promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms, it refers to human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. Within a State one distinguishes normally between nationals and aliens. But among the aliens there is a particular group—the refugees—whose position in traditional customary international law is especially precarious. This is due to the fact that in classic international law nationality is considered as the link between the individual and international law. In later editions of Oppenheim's leading textbook on International Law it is called the principal link.

A hundred years after the founding of the Red Cross, several more or less recent biographies, in German, which are based on records, some of them newly discovered, tell us about the men who faithfully assisted Henry Dunant in his more difficult hours. Among the earlier writings about Dunant we find the name of Rudolf Müller, a Stuttgart secondary school teacher, in connection with the few documents available at that time, although they contain no indication of the extent to which Müller's effective activity influenced Dunant's later life.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have the honour to inform you that the International Committee of the Red Cross, on 14 September 1972, officially recognized the Bahrain Red Crescent Society.

The new Society formally applied for recognition by the International Committee on 16 October 1971. Its request was supported by various documents including its Statutes, the Bahrain Government Decree recognizing the Bahrain Red Crescent as a National Society auxiliary to the public authorities, a report on the Society's activities, and a copy of a letter containing a Bahrain Government statement of adherence to the Geneva Conventions.

In October 1970, International Review published an address on “The ICRC and the Taking of Hostages”, delivered by the President of the ICRC on the occasion of an information meeting at ICRC headquarters.

Visits to prisoner-of war and civilian internee camps, in India and Pakistan, were continued during the month of August. In some camps, a team of delegates may require several days to complete a visit, and often has to go a long way before reaching the camps in the Valley of the Ganges.

During his visit to Switzerland, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Gustav Heinemann, went on 29 September 1972 to the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

On 26 September the International Committee, by courtesy of the League of Red Cross Societies, and as customary on the occasion of the League Executive Committee, invited to its headquarters the representatives of National Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Lion and Sun Societies who were present in Geneva. The purpose was to inform them on the ICRC's current practical and general activities. The meeting was presided over by Mr. Marcel A. Naville, President of the ICRC, and several addresses were delivered.

Maintaining contact between captives and their families; seeking persons who are missing; reuniting families dispersed by events (international conflicts, civil wars, internal disturbances)—such are the main duties of the ICRC Central Tracing Agency in Geneva, where it maintains its principal working instrument, a card-index system of more than 45 million entries. The Agency also sets up, when circumstances require, offices which act as its correspondents in other countries.

To make the Red Cross principles more widely known throughout the world, the ICRC has produced a textbook entitled The Red Cross and My Country, which has already been issued in many languages. It is meant for schoolchildren and is now supplemented by the Teacher's Manual. We might add that the ICRC has provided the illustrations and, in a number of cases, itself attended to publication.