A Memory of Solferino
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Henry Dunant H. Dunant A MEMORY OF SOLFERINO Who better than Henry Dunant to shake the reader with a ICRC gripping account of the suffering of the thousands of wounded A MEMORY OF SOLFERINO soldiers left untended after the battle of Solferino? In this work, Dunant succeeds in taking the vital step between that vision of devastation and an impassioned appeal on behalf of the victims of combat. The horrors witnessed by Dunant after the battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859 and his ensuing humanitarian appeal are at the origin of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, which today comprises 186 National Societies with millions of members, as well as the two international bodies – the ICRC and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. This is a truly poignant book. 0361/002 11.2010 2,000 Mission The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the Geneva Conventions and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It directs and coordinates the international activities conducted by the Movement in armed conflicts and other situations of violence. HENRY DUNANT A MEMORY OF SOLFERINO International Committee of the Red Cross 19, avenue de la Paix 1202 Geneva, Switzerland T +41 22 734 60 01 F +41 22 733 20 57 E-mail: [email protected] www.icrc.org © ICRC Front cover: ICRC 0361-a memory of solferino-page1.indd 1 27.10.10 18:15 J.-Henry Dunant (1828–1910) 0361-a memory of solferino-page5.indd 1 27.10.10 18:47 Mission The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the Geneva Conventions and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It directs and coordinates the international activities conducted by the Movement in armed conflicts and other situations of violence. Henry Dunant H. Dunant A MEMORY OF SOLFERINO Who better than Henry Dunant to shake the reader with a ICRC gripping account of the suffering of the thousands of wounded A MEMORY OF SOLFERINO soldiers left untended after the battle of Solferino? In this work, Dunant succeeds in taking the vital step between that vision of devastation and an impassioned appeal on behalf of the victims of combat. The horrors witnessed by Dunant after the battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859 and his ensuing humanitarian appeal are at the origin of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, which today comprises 186 National Societies with millions of members, as well as the two international bodies – the ICRC and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. This is a truly poignant book. 0361/002 11.2010 2,000.