In ancient times some of the great commanders were accompanied on their campaigns by their personal doctors. The Romans had at least one doctor for each cohort (about 500 to 600 men), and a legion, which consisted of ten cohorts, had a medicus legionis, probably a sort of chief medical officer. At the time of the Crusades, the Sultan Saladin gave an example of humanity by authorizing the doctors of the adverse party to care for the Christian prisoners and then to return through the lines. Arab doctors treated Saint Louis. But it was not until the sixteenth century that an organized medical service was started in European armies. It was still, however, sadly inadequate.

The Geneva Conference of August 1864 was held behind closed doors. A drawing published in the satirical paper the Carillon de Saint-Gervais is indicative of the reaction of journalists to this decision. It depicts three characters, symbolizing three Geneva newspapers, the Journal de Genève, La Démocratic suisse and the Carillon de Saint-Gervais, locked out of the International Congress whose door bears a sign saying “no entry”. The caption translates as follows: Tribune open to the press, courtesy of the International Congress”. This was probably the first manifestation of a certain reserve which has been apparent on occasion in relations between the humanitarian agencies and the media. Happily, times have changed. Nowadays, information and dissemination have become essential components of the policy of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and it may safely be assumed that a cartoonist illustrating an International Conference would now show the doors wide open.

The part played by army medical officers in the beginnings of the humanitarian movement that led to the foundation of the Red Cross 125 years ago is all too often unrecognized. Until the foundation of societies for the relief of the wounded brought their names into the limelight, their writings were hardly known outside their small professional circle, although they had taken part in international exchanges that were in themselves remarkable. Their position was made all the more difficult by their feeling bound to protest at the shortcomings of a service of which they were active members, but in whose decisions they had no voice.

Two thousand years before Grotius, Rachel, or Ayala recalled Europe to humanitarianism, ancient Indians had a body of rules for governing the relations between the States of the sub-continent in the event of armed conflicts. According to Professor A. L. Basham:

“…in no other part of the ancient world were the relations of man and man, and of man and the state, so fair and humane… No other ancient law-giver proclaimed such noble ideals of fair play in battle as did Manu. In all her history of warfare Hindu India has few tales to tell of cities put to the sword or of the massacre of non-combatants. The ghastly sadism of the Kings of Assyria, who flayed their captives alive, is completely without parallel in ancient India. There was sporadic cruelty and oppression no doubt, but in comparison with conditions in other cultures, it was mild. To us the most striking feature of ancient Indian civilization is its humanity.”

At first glance, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen has no connection with the 1864 Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. The former laid the basis for human rights as we know them today and the latter marked the advent of international humanitarian law.

The President of the ICRC, Mr. Cornelio Sommaruga, visited Colombia and Peru from 30 May to 7 June 1989. A number of humanitarian issues were discussed with the Heads of State and the principal Ministers of both countries.

In Colombia, Mr. Sommaruga, accompagnied by the President of the Colombian Red Cross, was received by the President of the Republic and by the Minister for Foreign Affairs; he also met the Commander-in-Chief of the Colombian armed forces. During the meetings, Mr. Sommaruga thanked the Colombian Government for having authorized the ICRC to visit security detainees for the past 20 years in prisons under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. He also encouraged the Colombian authorities to ratify the Additional Protocols and stated that the ICRC and the Colombian Red Cross stood ready to expand programmes to improve knowledge of the basic rules of international humanitarian law, in particular among members of the armed forces and the police.

Following ethnic clashes in Mauritania and Senegal in April, the ICRC sent delegates to both countries.

Initially, with the situation still unclear, the delegates carried out complete surveys on both sides of the border to ascertain medical needs and endeavoured to repatriate the injured and sick from Senegal to Mauritania and vice versa. At the same time they worked together with the two National Societies to set up a tracing network to meet the needs of tens of thousands of people who had crossed from one country to the other, often at night and in great haste. In addition, delegates visited Mauritanian and Senegalese prisons to provide protection for foreigners detained there.