In its Circular No. 523 of 25 August 1982, the International Committee of the Red Cross had invited the Central Committees of National Societies to send in the names of nurses and voluntary aids who are active members or regular helpers of a National Society or of an affiliated medical or nursing institution, whom they judged qualified to receive the Florence Nightingale Medal.

In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, the British government clearly stated its intention of granting independence to India.

The conflict between the British and the Indian nationalists receded into the background, while the increasing antagonism between Hindus and Muslims came to the fore. The Hindus, centred round the Congress Party led by Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to maintain the unity of India by establishing a government made up of representatives of the two communities. The Muslims, under the banner of the Muslim League and its President, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, demanded the creation of a separate Muslim State, Pakistan. The problem was further complicated by the fact that the approximately 300 million Hindus, 6 million Sikhs and 100 million Muslims in British India were not living in geographically distinct regions, especially in Punjab and Bengal, where the population was mixed.

This past April the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, Francis M. Deng, presented to the UN Commission on Human Rights, at its 54th session, a report with an addendum entitled Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (hereinafter “Guiding Principles”). The Commission adopted by consensus a resolution co-sponsored by more than 50 States which, inter alia, took note of the decision of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee welcoming the Guiding Principles and encouraging its members to share them with their Executive Boards, and also of Mr. Deng's stated intention to make use of these principles in his dialogue with governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. These principles are an important milestone in the process of establishing a generally accepted normative framework for the protection of the estimated 20 to 25 million internally displaced persons worldwide.

This would seem to be a good moment, in this month of February 1963 when the International Committee is celebrating the hundredth anniversary of its foundation, to publish once more documents of the greatest interest, since they throw light of considerable historic importance on the birth of the Red Cross. The material consists of the first minutes of what was known as the “Comité des Cinq” (Committee of Five), the Committee which was in fact the founder body of the Red Cross. Originally written in French, these were rendered into English by the Translation Section of the ICRC.

The word “neuter” comes from the Latin ne-uter, which means, neither the one, nor the other. Neutrality is an essentially neutral notion. It qualifies above all the abstention of someone who remains outside a conflict who does not openly express an opinion of either side.

In international law, neutrality is the opposite of belligerency. It is the position adopted, in relation to two Powers at war, by a State not taking part in the struggle. The status of neutrality regulated by juridical rules and in particular by the Hague Conventions involves rights and duties. In short, it implies refraining from taking part officially, either directly or indirectly, in hostilities. In the first place, therefore, it is a concept of an essentially military character. However, as a result of a recent evolution in events and thought, some people tend to think that neutrality should also have effect in the economic sphere, in view of its importance today in the war potential of countries.

Cambodia's unequalled cultural heritage — and in particular Angkor — was not spared the sufferings that country endured from 1970 onwards. Cambodia went through 30 years of conflict, with the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979) marking the peak of cruelty and ideological barbarity. These years have left a permanent scar on the country and its memory. Monuments and archaeological sites in particular suffered the consequences of abandonment, vandalism, looting and lack of maintenance, together with the effects of military use. However, despite the traces of vandalism that bear witness to the sites' having been subjected to military occupation, the temples suffered less during the fighting than had been feared. The application of certain of the provisions contained in the Hague Convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict of 14 May 1954 played a crucial role in protecting Cambodian heritage. The Convention constitutes one of the most important tools for the protection of cultural property under international humanitarian law. It clearly helped to protect cultural property by providing the Cambodian authorities with a legal basis and, above all, by legitimizing the action they undertook in this area.

La S.S.B.M., ainsi qu'on l'appelait Men avant que ce genre d'abréviation entre en usage, est la Société de secours aux blessés militaires, fondatrice en 1864 de la Croix-Rouge en France.

Son rôle actif commence dès la guerre de 1870, quand les femmes — pas encore brevetées infirmières — se dévouent aux blessés et organisent des envois de toutes sortes sous la présidence du comte et de la comtesse de Flavigny.

En point d'orgue au dossier sur l' assistance humanitaire que la Revue a présenté dès son numéro de mai-juin 1992, nous publions ci-après le texte d'une conférence que le président du CICR, M. Cornelio Sommaruga, a prononcée ces derniers mois dans plusieurs villes d'Europe, notamment à Fribourg-en-Brisgau, Côme, Oslo, Paris sur le thème «Assistance aux victimes de conflits: le défi permanent du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge».

Le Dr G. A. Bohny, — fils du distingué médecin en chef de la Croix-Rouge suisse pendant la guerre, le colonel Bohny, président actuel de la Croix-Rouge suisse, et de Mme Bohny qui s'est consacrée avec l'abnégation que l'on sait au service du transport des grands blessés à travers la Suisse, — a eu la bonne idée de choisir comme sujet la Croix-Rouge pour sa thèse de docteur en droit. S'étant renseigné à la source même, soit aux archives du Comité international que nous lui avons volontiers ouvertes, il a fait un travail de recherches analogue à celui qu'avait fait il y a plusieurs années le professeur Bogajewsky. Mais heureusement pour les lecteurs, ses études consciencieuses ont abouti non plus à un gros ouvrage en russe, mais à une importante monographie en allemand, dont l'aimable auteur a bien voulu nous offrir un exemplaire, même avant son impression.

This article explores the interface between religion and international humanitarian law (IHL), and the degree to which they might complement and reinforce each other. It examines some of the challenges inherent in regulating armed conflict and the understandable limitations of IHL in this respect, and argues that re-engagement with IHL's religious roots can help to alleviate them. Engagement with religious circles mobilizes the vast resources of religions to increase knowledge of IHL and corresponding religious norms, thereby enhancing their legitimacy across religious and cultural divides. This is most effective when comparative study of IHL and religious teachings stimulates mutual learning and debate, in which both correspondences and differences are embraced. In the absence of a strong legal enforcement regime, religions can reinforce military ethics by tapping deeply into the identities, motivations and moral values of many belligerents, and possess powerful means to socialize the rules of war and improve voluntary compliance. Introspective religious practices encourage the moral self-reflection that is most effective at internalizing norms in this respect, as well as providing belligerents with the spiritual and psychological support needed to bolster their resilience and enable them to perform with precision and restraint.

As belligerent parties, non-State armed groups (NSAGs) contribute to environmental damage in non-international armed conflicts. Drawing from the actual practice and doctrine of NSAGs, this article unpacks the legal and policy framework for engaging them on the protection of the environment. It analyzes the international humanitarian law rules protecting the environment binding on NSAGs. To improve environmental protection, a model of environmental responsibilities under international human rights law and international environmental law based on the NSAG's level of territorial control is suggested, as a matter of policy. This article then explores how to engage NSAGs on the legal and policy framework identified and proposes a model unilateral declaration for the protection of the natural environment.

The author argues that torture affects not only its victims, and also that torture is not a disease of the victim but an endemic illness of civilization which has the effect of shattering the social network that makes us human. In order to rebuild healthy social relationships, it is vital to detect and accept the existence of this invisible pathology. We must listen to the intense groan of torture victims and understand them if we are to dare to look at the oppressive order which destroys them.

This article analyses problems with which the Republic of Croatia, as a country in transition, has to contend during war crimes proceedings. A major characteristic of the recent wars waged on the territory of the former Yugoslavia is that war crimes were committed, though on a different scale, by all parties involved, irrespective of the political and other motives that prompted them to engage in armed conflict. Political unwillingness is the principal reason why national courts, including those in the Republic of Croatia, did not prosecute war crimes in accordance with internationally acceptable standards. The international community responded by setting up the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the main objectives of which are to establish justice, render justice to victims and determine the historical truth. Implicitly, despite political and other opposition to its work, the ICTY is helping to define legal and ethical standards appropriate for a democratic society in the countries established on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. This is particularly important for the reason that all these countries aspire to membership of the European Union. The work of the ICTY, as well as proceedings before domestic courts, is therefore an important legal, political and moral catalyst on their way towards accession to the European Union. This is fully confirmed by the example of the Republic of Croatia.

Mandates of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions increasingly include stabilisation and peace enforcement components, which imply a proactive use of force often carried out by national, regional or multinational non-UN partners, operating either in support of or with the support of the UN, acting as ‘proxies’. This article analyses the legal, policy and perception/security implications of different types of ‘peace operations by proxy’ and the additional challenges that such operations create for humanitarian action. It suggests some mitigating measures, including opportunities offered by the UN Human Rights Due Diligence Policy, for a more coherent approach to the protection of civilians, but also acknowledges some of the limitations to an independent UN-led humanitarian action.

Studies in Australian history have lamentably neglected the military traditions of First Australians prior to European contact. This is due largely to a combination of academic and social bigotry, and loss of Indigenous knowledge after settlement. Thankfully, the situation is beginning to change, in no small part due to the growing literature surrounding the Frontier Wars of Australia. All aspects of Indigenous customs and norms are now beginning to receive a balanced analysis. Yet, very little has ever been written on the laws, customs and norms that regulated Indigenous Australian collective armed conflicts. This paper, co-written by a military legal practitioner and an ethno-historian, uses early accounts to reconstruct ten laws of war evidently recognized across much of pre-settlement Australia. The study is a preliminary one, aiming to stimulate further research and debate in this neglected field, which has only recently been explored in international relations.