The Swiss Red Cross For more humanity Origin of the Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement | 5 Battle of Solferino | 5 Birth of the Red Cross | 6 Henry Dunant – the founder of the Red Cross Movement | 7 Emblem | 9 Swiss Red Cross | 13 Founding and development of the SRC | 13 Organization | 19 Red Cross cantonal associations | 20 Red Cross rescue organizations and centre of excellence | 22 Red Cross Institutions | 29 SRC Headquarters | 31 Voluntary work / Youth | 32 Strategy and higher aims | 36 SRC as a partner of the Swiss authorities | 42 Tasks and activities of the SRC | 45 Health | 45 Social integration | 48 Search and rescue | 50 International commitment | 52 International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement | 59 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) | 60 International Humanitarian Law | 61 International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) | 62 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies | 65 Seven Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross | 69 Humanity | 70 Impartiality | 71 Swiss Red Cross Neutrality | 72 Rainmattstrasse 10 Independence | 72 3001 Bern Phone 031 387 71 11 Voluntary service | 73 Fax 031 387 71 22 Unity | 74 [email protected] www.redcross.ch Universality | 74 Origin of the Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement Battle of Solferino In 1859 the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia joined forces with France to force Austria out of northern Italy. In the battles of Magenta and Solferi- no the allied forces of Piedmont-Sardinia and France claimed victory. The battle of Solferino, a few kilometres to the south of Lake Garda, on 24 June 1859 was one of the bloodiest battles that had ever taken place at that time. More than 40,000 soldiers and officers A battle… were killed or wounded. • 1859: Battle of Solferino (Italy) • Dunant organizes volunteers to help the The young Geneva businessman Henry wounded – regardless of nationality Dunant was in Solferino by chance, as he • 1862: Dunant publishes had come to the battlefield to seek a busi- “A Memory of Solferino” ness meeting with Napoleon III. When he realized that thousands of injured soldiers … and its consequences were left lying where they fell without any • 1863: Founding of the ICRC assistance, he brought volunteers from the • 1864: First Geneva Convention surrounding villages and the town of Cas- tiglione to help the wounded. Dunant and the volunteers who responded to his call for help made no distinction between the soldiers, regardless of their nationality. This atti- tude was described in terms of the motto of the women of Castiglione: “Tutti fratelli” (Italian for “all brothers”). In 1862 Dunant described these events in “A Memory of Solferino”. In his book he demanded an international convention to protect war victims. He also called for the creation of relief organizations in all countries. These would train volunteers during peacetime to provide support for the med- ical services of the armed forces during wartime. This provided the impe- tus for the founding of the worldwide Red Cross Movement. 4 | | 5 Birth of the Red Cross Henry Dunant – the founder of the Red Cross Movement On 17 February 1863 five people, including Henry Dunant and General Henry Dunant was born in Geneva on 8 May 1828. Even as a young man, Guillaume Henri Dufour, met in Geneva to set up the International Com- out of religious convictions he was committed to social work. mittee for Relief to the Wounded – later to become known as the Interna- tional Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). While on a business trip he came by chance upon the horrors of war after the battle of That autumn, representatives from 16 countries gathered for an interna- Solferino. He called upon volunteers from tional congress in Geneva. This congress took the decision on 29 October among the local people to help and care for 1863 that a relief society should be set up in every country and that the the wounded – regardless of which side they volunteers and the wounded should be given neutral status on the bat- were fighting on. Three years later he pub- tlefield. The red cross was chosen as a common protection symbol – the lished his book “A Memory of Solferino”. This inverted colours of the Swiss flag. One year later, at an international con- book provided the impetus for a unique ference on 22 August 1864 convened on the initiative of the Swiss Feder- worldwide movement and humanitarian al Council, the first Geneva Convention was signed by 12 European coun- revolution that started with the founding of tries: the “Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the ICRC in 1863. the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field”. Over the next few years Dunant travelled By 1866, 17 European countries had their own national societies for the throughout Europe working fervently and protection of wounded soldiers. successfully on the founding of National • * in Geneva on 8 May 1828 Red Cross Societies. However, as a business- • 1862: “A Memory of Solferino” Red Cross man he proved less successful. When the • 1863: Founding of the ICRC founding companies he ran went bankrupt in the late • 1867: Dunant leaves Geneva (bankrupt) committee, Geneva 1863 1860s, Dunant was ostracized by Geneva so- • 1895: The founder of the Red Cross, ciety and he was forced to leave Geneva and believed dead, is “rediscovered” the ICRC. He became isolated and faded in- • 1901: First Nobel Peace Prize to obscurity, until he was even believed • † in Heiden (AR) on 30 October 1910 dead. • 1948: Henry Dunant›s birthday becomes the World Red Cross & Red Crescent Day In 1895 the journalist Georg Baumberger (8 May) tracked him down in the local hospital in Heiden in Appenzell Ausserrhoden canton. He drew the public’s attention to the founder of the Red Cross. Dunant sub- sequently received many awards and distinctions. In 1901 he was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize for his work. Henry Dunant passed away on 30 October 1910 at the age of 82. He is buried in Sihlfeld cemetery in Zurich. 6 | | 7 Emblem Ever since the first Geneva Convention in 1864, the red cross on a white background has been the protective symbol for hospitals, ambulances and the medical personnel of the armed forces. The red cross emblem was devised by inverting the colours of the Swiss flag. In 1878 the red cres- cent was added. It has been an official protective symbol since 1929. The red lion was solely used by the Persian National Red Cross Society. After the fall of the Shah in 1979 the Islamic Republic of Iran gave up using it and has been using the red crescent as an emblem ever since. The protective symbol (or emblem) has two meanings: 1. In times of war it protects the victims, Red Cross staff, and medical personnel of the armed forces and the civil defence corps, together with their quarters, equip- Swiss, Red Cross and Red Crescent flags on the Mont Blanc Bridge in Geneva for ment and vehicles (protective symbol). World Red Cross & Red Crescent Day. 2. In times of peace it serves as informa- tion: it shows that a person, a building or a Why is World Red Cross & Red Crescent Day celebrated on 8 May? specific object has a direct connection to The origins of World Red Cross Day date back to the 1920s. When Czech- the Red Cross. However, in such cases a oslovakia was torn by internal political tensions in 1922, the National Red smaller emblem is used. Cross Society appealed to the various parties to hold a three-day ceasefire for Easter. Out of the 189 National Societies, 153 use the red cross, 35 use the red crescent, while This initiative was known as the “Red Cross Peace”. It made a significant im- the Israeli Society uses the red Star of David pression on the public. The idea developed that a day of peace should be within the country. held every year. However, the National Red Cross Societies were sceptical. It was not until the 16th International Conference in London in 1938 that a Since 2006 the red crystal has been the Possible uses of the red crystal resolution was passed to institute a “day of peace”. However, on account of third official emblem. This made it possible, the Second World War it was only celebrated throughout the world for the for example, to accept the Israeli relief or- first time in 1948 as an acknowledgement of peace in the world. ganization Magen David Adom in the International Red Cross & Red Cres- cent Movement. The 8 May was chosen as it was the birthday of the founder of the Red Cross, Henry Dunant. Since 1984 it has been known as World Red Cross & Even though the red crystal has been officially introduced as the third em- Red Crescent Day. blem, the red cross remains the official emblem of the SRC and the ICRC. 8 | | 9 Misuse of the emblem The rules governing the use of the red cross as a protective symbol and emblem are laid down in the Geneva Conventions. Many countries, in- cluding Switzerland, have also included these rules in their national legis- lations so that any misuse can be prosecuted and punished. The symbols of the red cross, the red crescent and the red crystal serve to protect the victims of armed conflicts. They can be used to mark installa- tions, equipment, vehicles, personnel and medical services, but in par- ticular the wounded and the sick in hospitals. They may only be used by organizations of the Red Cross or the Red Crescent and the medical servic- es of the armed forces and the civil defence corps.