His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sophia visited the headquarters of the ICRC on 21 October 1987. The royal couple were in Geneva for the presentation of the Nansen Medal, awarded to the King by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Following the appalling massacres in Homoine and Manjacaze on 18 July and 10 August, the ICRC appealed to all the combatants in the conflict in Mozambique to put a stop to such atrocities. In a press release of 14 August, the ICRC reminded those involved in the conflict that one of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law is that civilians—especially women, children and old people—must be respected, together with hospitals and hospital staff; in short, all those not taking part in the fighting must be spared.

Ten years ago, two Protocols additional to the Four Geneva Conventions were adopted in Geneva: one relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts, the other to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. This marked a forward step in the development of international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflicts. The most outstanding problem confronting international humanitarian lawyers in the postwar years has been the protection of civilians in circumstances of armed conflicts, particularly in a period characterized by wars of national liberation. The two Protocols scored achievements on two points. First, provisions were elaborated aiming at protecting civilians from the effects of hostilities as opposed to simply protecting civilians in occupied territories as had been the case of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. Secondly, the scope of the application of humanitarian law was greatly widened so as to bring a greater number of victims of armed conflicts under the protection of humanitarian law. This should in turn facilitate the observance and implementation of humanitarian law in conflicts. It is attempted in this paper to make some comments on the achievements of the Protocols, especially Protocol I relating to international armed conflicts.

We have the honour to inform you of the official recognition of the Angola Red Cross Society by the International Committee of the Red Cross. This recognition, which took effect on 1 October 1986, brings to 142 the number of National Societies members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The ICRC learnt with deep sadness of the death of Mr. Michel Testuz, former editor of the Review, as a consequence of the heart attack which had forced him to be absent from the ICRC since autumn 1985.

The seed distribution programme (mainly maize, sorghum and soya beans) had started off well in September, the plan being to assist some 100,000 displaced civilians in the provinces of Huambo and Bié, but the work was interrupted by a tragic plane crash on 14 October. The aircraft was a Hercules transport plane chartered by the ICRC in Switzerland, and it crashed soon after take-off, about 40 km from Kuito. There were no survivors among the four crew members—two Irish, Dorian Shone, the Captain, and Kevin Tocknell; one British, Nicholas Duff; and one New Zealander, Gary Heap—or among the passengers—one Angolan, Nuno Ferreira, and the Swiss secretary of the ICRC delegation in Kuito, Miss Catherine Chappuis.

We have the honour to inform you of the official recognition of the Suriname Red Cross by the International Committee of the Red Cross. This recognition, which took effect on 1 October 1986, brings to 143 the number of National Societies members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

From the Council of Delegates meeting of November 1987 to the October 1989 meeting

In Resolution XVI (The role of the Central Tracing Agency and National Societies in tracing activities and the reuniting of families), the Twenty-fifth International Conference of the Red Cross (Geneva, October 1986)… “recalling the role which the Central Tracing Agency (CTA) of the ICRC plays as a co-ordinator and technical adviser to National Societies and governments, as defined in the report presented by the ICRC and the League and adopted by the Twenty-fourth International Conference of the Red Cross,”… and “recognizing that, in order to take effective action, the Movement must be able to rely on a sound network composed of all the National Societies' tracing services and the CTA, in liaison, when necessary, with the League Secretariat,”… encouraged the CTA “to continue its efforts to co-ordinate activities, to harmonize operating principles and working methods, and to train responsible tracing personnel,” and requested “all National Societies to carry out to the best of their capacity the role which they are called upon to play as components of the international network for tracing and reuniting families”.

International humanitarian law is, so to speak, a legal measure for moral enforcement which in turn bridges the gap between law and politics. It prescribes minimum duties of contending parties in case of an international or non-international armed conflict.

Taking part in community-service activities is a natural way for young people to satisfy their aspirations and enables them to shoulder their responsibilities as future citizens.

This is why the Egyptian Red Crescent has always endeavoured to make use of young people's abilities, help them to become part of society, show them how they can accomplish useful work for the community and, in so doing, support the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

We have the honour to inform you of the official recognition of the Grenada Red Cross Society by the International Committee of the Red Cross. This recognition, which took effect on 12 March 1987, brings to 145 the number of National Societies members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Twenty years after the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions in 1949, the concerned world humanitarian organisations and in particular the ICRC, felt the need to develop these humanitarian treaties. After several preliminary meetings with experts from various governments and National Societies, the ICRC came to the conclusion that it would not be appropriate to revise the 1949 Conventions, but that two additional Protocols should be drawn up. The first should deal with “international armed conflicts” and the second with “non-international armed conflicts”. Both Protocols were intended to complement and supplement the Geneva Conventions. They are the outcome of prolonged and diversified discussions among high-ranking Red Cross and Red Crescent officials and government representatives who all attempted to find new solutions for gaps in the Geneva Conventions, thereby taking into account developments on the world political scene.

We have the honour to inform you of the official recognition of the Red Crescent of Djibouti by the International Committee of the Red Cross. This recognition, which took effect on 15 October 1986, brings to 144 the number of National Societies members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.