The title of my talk may appear more than a little ambitious or the subject too extensive. What I intend to do, in fact, is to give here, in no particular order, some of the thoughts and experiences of one engaged in humanitarian law who had the great good fortune to be associated with this fascinating work from the beginning of his career.

The condition of cultural property through the armed conflicts which have succeeded one another from Antiquity to the eve of the Second World War is no easy subject to study.

The sources available have of course made it possible to establish that from the latter part of the nineteenth century onwards, domestic and international laws have been enacted to reduce somewhat rather than prevent damage to cultural property during hostilities.

This period was characterized by the inception and development—which was later intensified, especially after World War II—of the international codification of the law of war, which was thus no longer exclusively customary.

International humanitarian law, whose purpose is to attenuate the evils of war, has been intimately bound from its earliest days to doctors and all others whose mission in life is to heal—the noblest of all professions. The fact is that this law originated from the need to make up for the deficiencies of military medical services and protect those wounded in war. Since then, the law has gone far beyond that framerwork and has extended its protection and solicitude to many other victims of conflicts and also, in peacetime, to victims of day-to-day life—sick people. An essentially medical element was the basis of the law, and continues to be a major element, referred to by some as “medical law”.

Henry Dunant, speaking briefly in his memoirs of a visit to a Dr. Chéron in rue Taitbout, Paris, on 4 September 1870, added the following interesting detail: “We had just published a book, under his name, which we wrote together.”

Since the number of women who actually participated in war was insignificant until the outbreak of World War I, the need for special protection for them was not felt prior to that time. This does not imply however that women had previously lacked any protection. From the birth of international humanitarian law, they had had the same general legal protection as men. If they were wounded, women were protected by the provisions of the 1864 Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field; if they became prisoners of war, they benefited from the Regulations annexed to the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 on the Laws and Customs of War on Land.

In 1981, the Twenty-fourth International Red Cross Conference, in Resolution VI, deplored the fact that in several armed conflicts fundamental provisions of the Geneva Conventions were being violated and that those violations impeded the International Committee of the Red Cross in the discharge of its activities. In spite of the Conference's solemn appeal to remedy the situation, there are still signs of reluctance to fully respect those fundamental rules, and even of ill-will towards them. Under the pretext that it requires reciprocity, the application of Convention provisions is at times made conditional on the outcome of bargaining and the prisoners themselves are treated as hostages, even as instruments of blackmail. Such attitudes are inadmissible. The following text discusses the matter in detail. (Editor.)

The traditional annual press conference given by the President of the ICRC took place on 10 January 1985 at the headquarters of the Committee. It provided not only an opportunity to make the usual assessment of events in the year 1984 but, in particular, was the moment chosen by the ICRC to launch an “Appeal for a Humanitarian Mobilization”.

The National Lifeboat Societies and State-maintained rescue services, members of the International Lifeboat Conference (ILC), unanimously adopted the report by their special working group on the protection of rescue craft in periods of armed conflicts. The report was drawn up after the meeting in Geneva from 16 to 18 April 1984 of that working group, comprising representatives of the ILC, of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It contains recommendations for improving the protection of rescue craft and their crews and of fixed coastal installations and staff of lifeboat institutions in periods of armed conflict.

Right from the very beginning, the founders of the Red Cross were interested in improving military medical equipment; this remained a concern of the movement for many years (1863–1925). Later, attention was devoted to standardizing this equipment (1925–1934). Then, at a third stage, the Red Cross concentrated on studying and developing military medical equipment (1934–1938).

Following the technical notes it has previously published, International Review of the Red Cross is now starting a series of synopses on various current topics in the field of international humanitarian law. The following is the first of such summaries, entitled “Protecting Power”.

Families have the right to know the fate of their relatives (P. I, Art. 32).

Each Party to a conflict must search for persons reported missing by an adverse Party and must supply all relevant information on such persons to facilitate the search (P. I, Art. 33).

The following circular letter was sent by the ICRC and League chief medical officers to all the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies with a view to rationalizing consignments of medicaments and medical material for emercency medical actions. The circular letter contains practical advice and precise rules to be observed when selecting and packaging emergency relief medicaments.

The success of emergency action in cases of natural disaster or armed conflict depends of the degree of preparedness of personnel and material: it is not necessarily proportional to the number of volunteers or the volume of relief supplies hastily dispatched.

The traditional annual press conference given by the President of the ICRC took place on 10 January 1985 at the headquarters of the Committee. It provided not only an opportunity to make the usual assessment of events in the year which had just gone by but, in particular, was the moment chosen by the ICRC to launch an “Appeal for a Humanitarian Mobilization”.

One of the basic principles of the Geneva Conventions and of Protocol I is that the persons protected shall be treated without any adverse distinction, in particular one founded on sex (C. I and II, art. 12; C. III, art. 16; C IV, art. 27; P. I, art. 75) and that women shall in all cases benefit by treatment as favourable as that granted to men (C. III, art. 14).

The Assembly of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in its meeting of 14 March 1985, appointed Mr. Pierre Keller as a member of the Executive Board. Mr. Keller took up his duties at the meeting of the Executive Board on 21 March 1985.

Mr. Keller has been a member of the ICRC Assembly since February 1984.

Concerned by the increasing hazards facing journalists on professional missions, the ICRC will try to intensify its efforts on their behalf as persons protected by international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflicts, in conformity with the humanitarian mandate vested on it by the international community. A ‘hot line’ has now been put into service at the ICRC, so that the editors and professional organizations concerned can rapidly contact it and request its aid in case of need.

Customary law concerning the protection of civilian populations against the effects of hostilities is essentially based on the rules of the law of The Hague. The general principle underlying it is set out in the Declaration of St. Petersburg (1868) which states “that the only legitimate object which States should endeavour to accomplish during war is to weaken the military forces of the enemy”.

The first seminar organized jointly by the Union of African Journalists (UAJ) and the ICRC on the subject “The Journalist and International Humanitarian Law” was held in Nairobi (Kenya) from 16 to 20 September 1985. This event, which was the result of the close co-operation established between the ICRC and the UAJ following a mission to Cairo on 20 October 1984 by Mr Alain Modoux, head of the ICRC Information Department, had several objectives:

— to introduce African journalists to international humanitarian law and to inform them of the activities of the ICRC;

— to examine, in the light of the humanitarian problems in Africa, the role of the media in sensitizing public opinion and promoting humanitarian rules;

— to take stock of the situation with regard to the protection of journalists in their work.

Since 1 January 1985 the International Committee of the Red Cross has a new member: Mr. Odilo Guntern, born in 1937, a citizen of Brig in the canton of Valais.

After having studied law at the universities of Fribourg, Bern and Milan, Mr. Guntern obtained his bachelor degree in 1961 and his doctorate in 1968. He has been head of his own law and notary office in Brig since 1964.