Over the years the Americas have made significant contributions to the development of international humanitarian law. These include three nineteenth-century texts which constitute the earliest modern foundations of the law of armed conflict. The first is a treaty, signed on 26 November 1820 by the liberator Simón Bolívar and the peacemaker Pablo Morillo, which applied the rules of international conflict to a civil war. The second is a Spanish-American work entitled Principios de Derecho de Genres (Principles of the Law of Nations), which was published in 1832 by Andrés Bello. This work dealt systematically with the various aspects and consequences of war. The third is a legal instrument, signed on 24 April 1863 by United States President Abraham Lincoln, which codified the first body of law on internal conflict under the heading “Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field” (General Orders No. 100). This instrument, known as the Lieber Code, was adopted as the new code of conduct for the armies of the Union during the American Civil War.

As the Swiss people ponder over their European destiny and the future of Switzerland's status of permanent neutrality, some commentators have raised the question whether the ICRC will be able to maintain complete independence — whichever way Switzerland turns — in conducting its humanitarian operations based on the fundamental principles of the Red Cross.

Dissemination is the spreading of knowledge of international humanitarian law (IHL) and of the Fundamental Principles and ideals of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement so that they may be understood, accepted and respected; it is also intended to facilitate humanitarian work.

The meeting of 29 November began with elections. Mr. Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Mr. Mario Villarroel Lander, President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, were elected Vice-Chairmen of the Council of Delegates. Mr. Jean-Louis Cayla (ICRC) and Mr. William Cassis (Federation) were elected Secretaries of the Council.

The Council of Delegates,

taking into account dramatic changes which have created a new world environment,

aware of the problems relating to the application of humanitarian law as encountered in recent armed conflicts,

realizing the increasing pressures on the respective components of the Movement to provide protection and assistance to victims of armed conflicts, strife and disasters,

noting the growing number of participants in the field of international humanitarian assistance and the problems associated with the coordination of disaster relief operations,

recognizing that the Movement must adapt itself to these changing world realities while maintaining and operating in accordance with the Fundamental Principles,

1. decides in accordance with Article 14, paragraph 7, of the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to establish a Study Group on the future of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement;

2. defines the terms of reference of such a Study Group as follows:

I. Role

The Study Group's role is to advise on and recommend to the Council of Delegates a strategy for the Movement in response to emerging trends and evolving humanitarian issues.

Following the postponement of the 26th International Conference, the Council of Delegates, meeting in Budapest in November 1991, adopted the amended version of the Regulations for the Florence Nightingale Medal.

The amended text redefines the criteria for the award of the medal and does away with the adverse distinction drawn between men and women exercising the same profession. Indeed, until the Regulations were amended, the medal could be awarded exclusively to women.

Stormy petrels are small, dark-hued seagoing birds. In violent weather they fly between the waves for protection. According to the lore of the sea, they are heralds of danger.

For centuries, neutral mariners navigating the same waters have tried to avoid the violence that engulfed seafaring warriors. In our mobile world, their experience is a cautionary tale and represents a legal precedent for all international travellers. In recent times airline passengers, expatriate workers and many others have been endangered by conflicts not their own. When that happens, their lives depend on the same principles that have been forged to protect neutrals at sea. Neutral mariners have been the stormy petrels of international law.

The ICRC Assembly members were in Germany from 30 September to 2 October 1992 to visit the International Tracing Service (ITS) in Arolsen and two sections of the German Red Cross, in Thüringen and Berlin respectively. This was the first time that the Assembly had travelled abroad, apart from a visit to Solferino.

The spirit of discovery, which from 1492 led to the conquest of the territories beyond the ocean, lasted practically throughout the sixteenth century. However, those territories were not simply hitherto unknown lands waiting to be discovered and occupied. From the outset it was obvious that they were inhabited. The scenery was accompanied by the presence of man even on the islands of the first landfall.

International humanitarian law is the body of rules (the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and their two Additional Protocols of 1977) governing the rights and obligations of the belligerents in war.

In signing and later ratifying the Conventions and their Protocols, the States party thereto undertake not only to respect and ensure respect for humanitarian law in all circumstances, but also to disseminate the relevant texts as widely as possible in time of peace as in time of war, among both the armed forces and police and the civilian population. This is stipulated in Articles 47, 48, 127 and 144 of the four Geneva Conventions respectively, which also require States to include the study of humanitarian law in programmes of military instruction. Moreover, States are duty-bound to incorporate the provisions of humanitarian law in their internal legislation.

In the second half of May 1992, ICRC President Cornelio Sommaruga went to The Hague to attend the IVth Regional Conference of European National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (18-22 May), which took as its theme “The New Europe needs The New Red Cross” (see pp. 391-393). While in The Hague, Mr. Sommaruga had talks with the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Cooperation Development on various current ICRC operations and on financial matters. The President thanked the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for its substantial support for the ICRC in the past and for its commitment to providing financial help in the future. During a working meeting at the Foreign Ministry with officials dealing with various geographical regions and with multilateral cooperation, the prospects for reconvening the 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent were reviewed. The President also had the opportunity, at a lunch given by the Swiss Ambassador to the Netherlands, to talk to the President of the Second Chamber of the Netherlands Parliament and to the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about humanitarian needs around the world and the degree of respect shown for international humanitarian law. Mr. Sommaruga was accompanied by Mr. Maurice Aubert, a member of the ICRC, Mr. Yves Sandoz, Director, and Mr. Michel Convers, Deputy Director.

Recently, a number of armed conflicts have broken out in Europe or not far away: armed conflicts between States — the Gulf War, for example, authorized by UN Security Council resolution 678 — or wars of national liberation, such as the armed conflict in Yugoslavia or the revolt in Kurdistan. Whether or not the use of force was legitimate in each of these situations, and even though the classic notion of a “just war” no longer exists, all parties to any armed conflict have a moral, legal and humanitarian obligation to abide by the laws and customs of war in the conduct of hostilities and indeed throughout the entire conflict.

20 July 1500 Royal decree addressed to the King's retainer Pedro de Torres, ordering the release and repatriation of Indians brought to Spain from Hispaniola. The historian Altamira considered this document as the “first acknowledgement of the respect due to the dignity and freedom of all men, however ignorant and primitive they may be”.

On 19 May 1992, early in the morning, a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mr. Frèdèric Maurice, 39, died at the civilian hospital in Sarajevo of injuries received the previous day.

The VIIIth session of the General Assembly of the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies opened on Monday 25 November 1991 in Budapest, attended by delegations from 110 National Societies.

From September to November 1992 ICRC President Cornelio Sommaruga went on several missions, visiting successively the Republic of Korea, the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, the United Kingdom, Tunisia and the United States.

In September 1990 Frèdèric Maurice became my assistant at the Directorate of Operations. His keen intelligence, his vast experience of operational matters and his communicative nature, coupled with a sense of constructive criticism, were always of invaluable help. Yet he found that his role as adviser, centred as it was on theory and analysis, was too inactive, too far removed from the decisions which shape the actual course of operations; because of this, every so often he felt the need to take the lead on an assignment in the field. In April 1991, for instance, he went to Iraqi Kurdistan and the Basrah region to assess needs in the aftermath of the Gulf war and launch major relief programmes there; in July 1991 he was in charge of prisoner exchange operations in Slovenia.

The discovery of America, first seen as an encounter, soon degenerated into a clash between two worlds. It is said that the invasion of the Americas by Europeans started in 1492. The conquering Spaniards overran the recently discovered lands by force of arquebus and disease, their most effective allies being the bacteria and viruses they carried with them.

One of the main objectives of International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, which bring together Red Cross and Red Crescent institutions and the States party to the Geneva Conventions, is to promote respect for international humanitarian law during armed conflicts.