L'Institut international de droit humanitaire a tenu les 13 et 14 septembre 1989, à San Remo, la XIVe Table Ronde sur le droit international humanitaire. Cette Table Ronde portait sur le théme des «régles du droit international humanitaire relatives à la conduite des hostilités dans les conflits armés non internationaux».

Grey zones, lasting crises and forgotten conflicts are typical of our times. Even though certain conflicts come to an end, many do not because no solution is found for the underlying causes. The great majority of these conflicts are internal and involve non-State entities; they are civil wars. Such complex and interminable crises are a challenge not only for statesmen and diplomats but also for “humanitarians”, in particular the international organizations in charge of humanitarian action. The authors examine the causes and characteristics of such conflicts. They particularly highlight the fact that unending wars not only create short-term humanitarian problems but in the long run destroy civil society. What are the solutions to such conflicts? The authors call for a change of attitudes and a new approach to lasting crises and suggest various forms of action to be taken by the international community. While adequate measures for dealing with humanitarian issues have been found for traditional wars, lasting crises and forgotten conflicts are still awaiting a response by the humanitarian community.

Durante su estancia en Ginebra para participar en la asamblea de la Oficina Internacional del Trabajo, S.A.R. el príncipe Hassan de Jordania efectuó, el 10 de junio, una visita de cortesía a la sede del CICR.

Aucune création humaine n'est parfaite, le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge comme les autres. La critique que l'on adresse le plus fréquemment à cette vénérable institution, c'est le silence dont elle entoure certaines de ses activités. Comment prétendre à une situation éminente, pourquoi demander des comptes aux plus puissants gouvernements sans rechercher, grâce à une information complète du public, l'appui des hommes de bonne volonté?

On 29 September 1976, during a ceremony held at the headquarters of ICRC, a commemorative tablet was unveiled in honour of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of a truly noble person, Eglantyne Jebb. A number of speeches were made during the ceremony, which was attended by officials and staff members of the International Union for Child Welfare and the ICRC, by representatives of the Swiss authorities, the city of Geneva and various international organizations. Several members of the family of Eglantyne Jebb were also present.

La question posée est double:

Visibilité par les avions de bombardement des croix rouges des formations sanitaires se trouvant au sol;

Visibilité par l'artillerie anti-aérienne et les avions de chasse des croix rouges des avions sanitaires.

Chacune de ces questions va faire l'objet d'un paragraphe distinct.

La Conférence diplomatique sur la réaffirmation et le développement du droit international humanitaire applicable dans les conflits armés s'est tenue à Genève de 1974 à 1977. Au cours de sa quatrième session, en 1977, la Conférence a finalement adopté deux Protocoles additionnels aux Conventions de Genève du 12 août 1949 relatifs à la protection des victimes des conflits armés: le protocole I relatif aux conflits internationaux et le Protocole II relatif aux conflits non internationaux.

Peu de temps après la conclusion des Conventions de Genève, en 1949, le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) avait déjà entrepris de développer ces instruments. De même, le Conseil des Gouverneurs de la Ligue des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge, dans sa XXIIe session de mai 1954, à Oslo, avait adopté à l'unanimité une résolution soulignant la nécessité d'une protection juridique effective des populations civiles et demandant que l'élaboration en soit entreprise.

In December 1995 the 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent endorsed the recommendations drawn up by the Intergovernmental Group of Experts for the Protection for War Victims which had met, at the invitation of the Swiss government, on 23–27 January 1995 in Geneva. Recommendation II of this Group proposed that:

“the ICRC be invited to prepare, with the assistance of experts in IHL [international humanitarian law] representing various geographical regions and different legal systems, and in consultation with experts from governments and international organisations, a report on customary rules of IHL applicable in international and non-international armed conflicts, and to circulate the report to States and competent international bodies.”

The regional delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for Southern Africa was in Angola from 9 to 26 October 1974. He was received by Vice-Admiral Antonio Rosa Coutinho, president of the Angolan Military Junta, and General Altino de Magalhães, chief military commander. He also met the president and members of the Red Cross in Angola.