Of all the seven Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, neutrality and impartiality are perhaps the least well understood. They are often confused with each other and give rise to controversy. How can a National Society that is an auxiliary of the public authorities possibly be called neutral? Isn't neutrality sometimes synonymous with passivity or indifference? Can the ICRC regard itself as neutral when it points publicly to violations of international humanitarian law? Does impartiality mean sharing relief equally between the victims on both sides of a conflict? Is it possible to give humanitarian assistance to only one of the parties without violating the principles of neutrality and impartiality? These are questions that have occurred to every man and woman working in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Mr. Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the ICRC, was in Washington from 14 to 17 May 1989, accompanied by Mr. André Pasquier, Director of Operations, and Mr. Jürg Bischoff from the Press Division.

Mr. Sommaruga and Mr. Pasquier were received by the President of the United States, Mr. George Bush, in the presence of Mr. Richard F. Schubert, President of the American Red Cross. The ICRC representatives conveyed their warm thanks for the financial support provided by the American authorities to the ICRC; they also expressed the hope that the contribution would be increased, given the expansion in ICRC operational acitivities in many parts of the world. There was also an exchange of views as to ratification by the United States Government of the Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions, as well as talks on humanitarian mobilization and current ICRC activities. Mr. Bush assured Mr. Sommaruga that he could count on continued diplomatic and financial support from the United States.

The emblem of the red cross was one of the most remarkable innovations of the Convention of 1864. Ever since then there have been discussions, questions and controversy as to its nature and purpose, the persons it is meant to protect, and the rules that should govern its use.

In 1983, at the suggestion of its founder, the late Jean-Jacques Gautier, the Swiss Committee against Torture convened a symposium on means of eradicating torture. The meeting, which was held in Geneva, brought together almost 70 experts from some 30 countries representing many different human rights organizations. It concluded that a way had to be found to create a more effective role for the hundreds of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the world which had been set up to eliminate torture. In particular, it suggested establishing a service to speed up the circulation of information gathered by these NGOs, to facilitate rapid representations to the United Nations and other regional organizations responsible for defending human rights and, when desirable, to organize concerted action. This, it was thought, might finally do something to help the victims of torture.

In 1985 the Swedish Red Cross opened a Centre for the Rehabilitation of Tortured Refugees in Stockholm. It did so on the bases of a thorough study of what had been done elsewhere in the world, especially in Denmark where the first centre of this kind was established.

Sweden accepts about 15,000 refugees each year. The largest groups come from Chile, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Turkey. Many of them have been exposed to different forms of torture. Hospitals, the social welfare system, lawyers, immigration officers — none of these has any experience in dealing with the consequences. Now all sectors of Swedish society have to meet the needs of these new citizens. Lack of knowledge and understanding can, unintentionally, lead to callous treatment. It was therefore natural for the Swedish Red Cross to start collecting and developing existing knowledge on how to deal with the effects of torture.

On 13 March, the ICRC delegation was able to resume the assistance which had been suspended in the region of Soroti since mid-January. Under the agricultural programme, some 125,000 people who could no longer produce enough food for their needs were given hoes, bean seed (200 tonnes) and sorghum seed (100 tonnes). Relief distributions to displaced civilians in the Gulu district, interrupted on 10 March, were resumed in mid-April. Food, blankets, soap and kitchen utensils were given to some 10,000 people.

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.”

Mr. Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the ICRC, Mr. Michel Convers, head of the ICRC's Operational Support Department and Mr. Andreas Lendorff, head of its General Relief Division, were in Brussels from 8 to 11 February to take part in celebrations to mark the 125th anniversary of the Belgian Red Cross and to meet representatives of the Belgian Government and the European Community.

The National Society's 125th anniversary ceremony took place on 9 February in the presence of Their Majesties the King and Queen of the Belgians, members of the Government and the diplomatic corps, representatives of other National Societies and 2,000 Belgian Red Cross volunteers. Speeches were made by H.R.H. Prince Albert of Belgium, who is President of the National Society, Mr. Cornelio Sommaruga, Mr. Mario Villarroel Lander, President of the League, and the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister.

It is an honour and a privilege for me to speak to you today, as we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Geneva Convention.

This commemoration is of special significance in that the Geneva Convention—which deals with the situation of war wounded—was the first text providing for international humanitarian action and regulating individual behaviour in certain defined circumstances.

The special significance of the red cross and red crescent emblems as internationally agreed symbols of protection and neutrality in armed conflict will be diluted if these emblems, or signs closely resembling them, are used randomly or for diffuse purposes in time of peace. In countries like the United Kingdom which for the most part have been spared armed conflict for the past 40 years, the red cross emblem has frequently become closely identified with first aid and with general health or medical care, its primary and unique meaning during armed conflict often being forgotten or unknown. For this reason it is perhaps particularly important for National Societies in such countries to help the authorities monitor unauthorised uses or misuses of the emblems, and the role of National Societies in this respect has been recognised under the 1986 International Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Article 3 [2] thereof). In addition, dissemination activities can help to enhance understanding of the purpose of the emblems. This short article will discuss practical aspects of the monitoring role of the British Red Cross Society.

We have the honour to inform you of the official recognition of the Dominica Red Cross Society by the International Committee of the Red Cross. This recognition, which took effect on 15 March 1989, brings to 148 the number of National Societies members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The new Society applied for recognition by the International Committee of the Red Cross on 13 December 1988. In support of its application it forwarded various documents, including a report on its activities, the text of its Statutes and a copy of governmental decree No. 5/83 adopted by the House of Assembly on 7 March 1983, signed by the President of the Commonwealth of Dominica on 25 March 1983 and published in the Official Gazette on 7 April 1983. This attests that the Dominica Red Cross Society is recognized by the Government as a voluntary aid society auxiliary to the public authorities in accordance with the provisions of the First Geneva Convention of 1949.

Only the members of the armed forces of a Party to a conflict (other than medical personnel, chaplains and military personnel engaged in civil defence) are combatants (Hague Regulations, Art. 1 and 3; P. I, Art. 43 and 67).

Combatants are entitled to take direct part in the hostilities (P. I, Art. 43), i.e. to commit acts of war which are intended by their nature or their purpose to hit specifically the combatants and other military objectives of the enemy armed forces.

Any combatant who falls into the power of an adverse Party is a prisoner of war (P. I, Art. 4).

As part of its activities to mark the 125th anniversary of its foundation on 4 February 1864, the Belgian Red Cross has been taking stock of its work to date and future possibilities for Red Cross action in various domains.

From 15 to 22 April 1989, the French-language Community of the Belgian Red Cross held a series of one-day symposiums in which Society volunteers and officials as well as many outside individuals and associations took part.

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.

On 22 August, the Swiss Confederation, the depositary State for the Geneva Conventions, celebrated the 125th anniversary of the Geneva Convention of 22 August 1864 for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. The focus of the celebrations, which were organized by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in co-operation with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss Red Cross, was a solemn and dignified ceremony in Bern attended by representatives of the States party to the Geneva Conventions, Swiss federal and cantonal authorities and the ICRC, the League and National Societies.

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.

At its latest meeting of 4 and 5 October, the Assembly of the International Committee of the Red Cross appointed two new members to the Committee and nominated an acting Director of Operations.

The two new members of the Committee are Mr. Max Daetwyler and Mr. Marco Mumenthaler. Their appointment brings membership of the ICRC Assembly, which is composed exclusively of Swiss citizens, to 25.

Mr. Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, President of the Swiss Confederation, visited the International Committee of the Red Cross on 21 August 1989.

He was received by Mr. Cornelio Sommaruga, ICRC President, together with members of the Committee, senior staff of the institution, and Mr. Pär Stenbäck, Secretary General of the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Swiss President was accompanied by Mrs. Delamuraz, for whom a tour of the Central Tracing Agency had been arranged.