APR 2 5 1975 MARCH 1975 FIFTEENTH YEAR - No. 168 international review• of the red cross PROPERTY OF U. S, ARMY THe Jei:>GE A:'VOCATE GENERAL'S SCHOO\, INTER+ ARM'" CARITASUBRARY GENEVA INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE REO CROSS FOUNDED IN 1863 INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS Mr. ERIC MARTIN, Doctor of Medicine, Honorary Professor of the University of Geneva President (member since 1973) Mr. JEAN PICTET, Doctor of Laws, Chairman of the Legal Commission, Associate Professor at the University of Geneva, Vice-President (1967) Mr. HARALD HUBER, Doctor of Laws, Federal Court Judge, Vice-President (1969) Mr. HANS BACHMANN, Doctor of Laws, Director of Finance of Winterthur· (1958) Mrs. DENISE BINDSCHEDLER-ROBERT, Doctor of Laws, Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva (1967) Mr. MARCEL A. NAVILLE, Master of Arts, ICRC President from 1969 to 1973 (1967) Mr. JACQUES F. DE ROUGEMONT, Doctor of Medicine (1967) Mr. ROGER GALLOPIN, Doctor of Laws, former ICRC Director-General (1967) Mr. WALDEMAR JUCKER, Doctor of Laws, Secretary, Union syndicale suisse (1967) Mr. VICTOR H. UMBRICHT, Doctor of Laws, Managing Director (1970) Mr. PIERRE MICHELI, Bachelor of Laws, former Ambassador (971) Mr. GILBERT ETIENNE, Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies and at the Institut d'etudes du developpement, Geneva (1973) Mr. ULRICH MIDDENDORP, Doctor of Medicine, head of surgical department of the Cantonal Hospital, Winterthur (1973) Miss MARION ROTHENBACH, Master of Social Work (University of Michigan), Reader at the Ecole des Sciences sociales et politiques of the University of Lausanne (1973) Mr. HANS PETER TSCHUDI, Doctor of Laws, former Swiss Federal Councillor (1973) Mr. HENRY HUGUENIN, Bank Manager (1974) Mr. GOTTFRIED DE SMIT, Managing Director (1974) Mr. JAKOB BURCKHARDT, Doctor of Laws, Minister Plenipotentiary, Chairman of the Council of Federal Polytechnic Schools (1975) Mr. THOMAS FLEINER, Master of Laws, Professor at the University of Fribourg (1975) Mr. ALEXANDRE HAY, Lawyer, Director-General of the Swiss National Bank (1975) Honorary members: Mr. JACQUES CHENEVIERE, Honorary Vice-President; Miss LUCIE ODIER, Honorary Vice-President; Messrs. GUILLAUME BORDIER, PAUL CARRY, Mrs. MARGUERITE GAUTIER-VAN BERCHEM, Messrs. SAMUEL A. GONARD, ADOLPHE GRAEDEL, EDOUARD DE HALLER, RODOLFO OLGIATI, MAX PETITPIERRE, PAUL RUEGGER, DIETRICH SCHINDLER, FREDERIC SIORDET, ALFREDO VANNOTTI. EXECUTIVE BOARD Mr. ROGER GALLOPIN, President Mr. VICTOR H. UMBRICHT, Vice-President Mrs. DENISE BINDSCHEDLER-ROBERT Mr. GILBERT ETIENNE Dr. ULRICH MIDDENDORP Mr. JEAN PICTET Mr. GOTTFRIED DE SMIT Mr. PIERRE MICHELI, Deputy member INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF THE RED CROSS CONTENTS MARCH 1975 • No. 168 J. Pictet : The Swing of the Pendulum. A hundred years in the development of humanitarian law - 1874-1973 . .. 111 Carl Vandekerckhove: A Great Lady of the Red Cross, Constance Teichmann , 123 INTERNATIONAL External activities: COMMITTEE OF Africa - Latin America - Asia - Europe ­ THE RED CROSS Middle East . .. 128 In Geneva: Mr. Gallopin meets American Secretary of State 135 ICRC Publications . .. 135 The new radio station of the International Com­ mittee of the Red Cross . .. 136 IN THE RED CROSS World Red Cross Conference on Peace 142 WORLD Seventh regional meeting of Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies . 143 Swedish Red Cross conference 145 Henry Dunant Institute . 145 MISCELLANEOUS The United States becomes a party to the Geneva Protocol . 146 Albert Schweitzer and humanitarian thought and action . 146 International Women's Year 149 Migrants' Children . 152 Nursing in a changing world 156 BOOKS AND REVIEWS 158 109 FRENCH EDITION The French edition of this Review is issued every month OF THE REVIEW under the title of Revue internationale de la Croix-Rouge. It is, in principle, identical with the English edition an,d may be obtained under the same conditions. EXTRACTS FROM THE REVIEW SPANISH Un convenio poco conocido sobre el derecho de a guerra - Afio Internacional de la Mujer GERMAN Carl Vandekerclchove: Eine edle Gestalt des Roten Kreuzes: Konstanze Teichmann - Der Sport und die korperlich und geistig Behinderten - Das internatio­ nale Jahr der Frau. INTERNATIONAL The International Review is published each month by the REVIEW OF International Committee of the Red Cross THE RED CROSS 17, avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland Postal Cheque No. 12-1767. Annual subscription: Sw. Fr. 30.- ($10.-) Single copy Sw. Fr. 3.- ($1.-) EDITOR: J.-G. LOSSIER The International Committee of the Red Cross assumes responsibility only for material over its own signature. 110 The Swing of the Pendulun1 A hundred years in the development of humanitarian law-1874-1973 1 by J. Pictet We publish below the text of an address delivered at the formal cente­ nary commemoration of the Brussels Declaration of 1874 concerning the laws and customs of war. This celebration took place in Brussels on 12 December 1974. The concept that man must be protected against the ills of war is not a recent one. It may be likened to a clear spring gushing out from time immemorial, increasing gradually in volume as it surges forth until its swollen waters are borne down upon us today. The sum of efforts that idea has aroused has grown, parallel to the rise of civilization with which it is indissolubly linked. The course of every civilization is marked by leaps and bounds; at times, there is a sudden quickening in the pace ofits advance, which may be followed by periods of stagnation and temporary regression, like milestones, some white, some black, on the long road of mankind. One could imagine life on our planet as if it were under the sway of a gigantic, relentless pendulum, oscillating from one extreme to another. A similar phenomenon may be observed in the evolution of war, and again in the long series of successes and set-backs in the age-long struggle undertaken for the protection of the human person against the dangers of hostilities. These are but episodical engagements in the battle waged since the dawn of time between those who wish to preserve, to unite, to liberate and their opponents who wish to dominate, to destroy, to enslave, and may be 1 The historical facts in this article were obtained mainly from the excellent work by the late Pierre Boissier: Histoire du Comite international de la Croix-Rouge, Paris, 1963. 111 seen as aspects of the eternal opposition between the instincts of "Eros"· and "Thanatos", of preservation and of destruction. The history of Europe provides several instances of this dichotomy. In the Middle Ages, our life on earth was viewed as only a stage on our journey to the great hereafter; the value attached to life was not so great that its span on earth was considered to be worth prolonging. More im­ portance was given to the saving of souls than of bodies and it was not the business of society to change the fate of human beings. While the religious orders set admirable examples of self-denying devotion, the masses remained cold to the afflictions suffered by their fellow-creatures. The alliance of Church and State, on which the Edict of Milan set its seal in 313, gave birth to the medieval theory of the just war. This formi­ dable myth, which introduced an emotional and esoteric element in the art of war, put a brake on the progress of humanitarianism for centuries. It led belligerents to pursue their combat to the point of utter exhaustion, as, in their zeal to have right on their side at all costs, they sought to vindicate their deeds by invoking faith, morality, justice or honour. It was on the basis of this article of faith that they justified all the many crimes com­ mitted during that period. The Crusades provided the most horrible instances of such acts. In those times, wars were decided upon the issue of a single battle, after which those who had been thrown into the fight like pawns were forsaken. Happy the prisoner whose life was spared on payment of a ransom! The civilians were not treated more kindly and were thrown upon the mercy of the victors. As for the wounded, they were abandoned to a cruel fate, unless they were dispatched by a blow with a mallet. Towards the end of the fourteenth century, there was a swing marking a turning-point in military history: the appearance of firearms made the dwarf a match for the giant. The new invention revolutionized the art of war and at the same time it caused a radical change in the social order. Cannons were dear and only monarchs could afford to have them made. Thus it came about that armies belonged to the king and consisted of mercenaries. The feudal system was succeeded by state power, and pri­ .vate wars and serfdom gradually disappeared. The release of prisoners on payment of a ransom became common practice; the wounded were taken care of and medical services worthy of the name were set up. The founders of natural law - Vitoria, Suarez and later Grotius - met with attention and their influence was deeply felt. 112 In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, however, armed conflict gradually degenerated into total war: blood flowed freely in a Europe ravaged by the wars of religion and the Thirty Years War. Living on pillage, in the territory of friend or foe, soldiers massacred the peasants, who were avenged when the tide of battle turned. To mention but one instance, the population of Bohemia in those sombre times fell from three million to seven hundred and fifty thousand. But the spirit of scientific invention was stirring in the west. Man was probing the laws of physics which governed his universe and his own person. Life was becoming an end in itself, and from then onward, society took its destiny into its own hands.