The International Committee of the Red Cross was asked some time ago to give its views on the problem relative to the arming of Civil Defence personnel. In view of the general interest which this question has aroused we consider it to be opportune to publish the ICRC's comments below, especially as they touch upon several points of international law and the Geneva Conventions.

While continuing its numerous efforts on behalf of Algerians detained by the French authorities in Algeria and France, the International Committee of the Red Cross has continued to intervene with the Algerian nationalists on behalf of Frenchmen who have fallen into their hands. These efforts are usually made through a representative of the " Algerian Red Crescent", in Geneva, a body which is not officially recognized but with which the ICRC maintains working relations for the benefit of the victims of the conflict. On different occasions the ICRC has also intervened directly in Tunis with members of the GPRA and senior officers of the " Algerian Red Crescent ".

Whilst the Swedish Government and the United Nations were making their representations, the International Committee of the Red Cross actively contributed to the release of the fifteen members of the UNO forces (eleven Swedes, two Norwegians and two Irish) prisoners of the Katangans, who were exchanged for thirty-three Katanga troops. From the beginning of their detention, the ICRC, in accordance with its specific attributions, attempted to ensure that these prisoners benefited from its protection.

In its last issue, the International Review paid tribute to Georges Olivet as well as to Mrs. Vroonen and Mr. Smeding, of the Katanga Red Cross, all three of whom died in the service of the Red Cross on December 13, 1961. The news of their brutal end was received with dismay in Geneva and messages of sympathy are still pouring in to the headquarters of the ICRC, some of which we have already published. Still more messages have been sent to the International Committee from countries all over the world. The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the League, Mr. MacAulay, sent Mr. Boissier, the President of the ICRC, a message expressing his deep sorrow and emphasizing the necessity of establishing the circumstances of this disaster, which represents a threat to the authority and effectiveness of the international actions of the Red Cross.

As it made it known in a press release published on January 4, the International Committee of the Red Cross attempted, in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, to go to the aid of the victims of the conflict which had just broken out between India and Portugal.

Following on statements suggesting that “observers” of the International Committee of the Red Cross be placed on the frontier between Northern Rhodesia and Katanga, press correspondents have asked the International Committee of the Red Cross if it would be in a position to undertake tasks of this nature. The International Committee of the Red Cross wishes at once to stress that it has received no official requests on this subject.

On January 31, 1962, H.S.H. The Princess Grace of Monaco, President of the Red Cross of Monaco, paid a visit to the International Committee in Geneva1, She was accompanied by several personalities, notably by Mr. Henry Soum, Minister of Monaco in Berne.