We have looked at the protection offered to children in conflict situations by the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977. The principle that children are particularly vulnerable and in need of special protection has been developed in these provisions.

When the idea of a Convention on the Rights of the Child was first put forward there were debates about whether this was the best way to proceed. The International Union for Child Welfare expressed reservations about the Polish draft proposal stressing the legal difference between a Declaration and a Convention. Although a Convention is theoretically stronger than a Declaration because it is legally binding, experience has shown that a Declaration adopted unanimously has a greater moral impact than a Convention only ratified by a few countries.

Evi Underhill in a paper (undated) “Comments on the Draft Convention on the Rights of the Child” posed not only the question whether Conventions are necessary but also whether they are effective or implemented and if they correspond to the large variety of national customs, political, economic and legal structures.

Certainly, concern has been expressed about the lack of geographical representation of Member States attending the working group which is drafting the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the meantime some NGOs are urging that the drafting process should be speeded up.

Mr. Alexandre Hay, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, received an honorary doctorate from Geneva University, together with eight other eminent figures from scientific, cultural, teaching and religious fields.

During May, Mr. Alexandre Hay, President of the ICRC, carried out a series of missions taking him first to the United Kingdom (1–2 May) and then to Asia (3–15 May), where he visited Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, India and Bangladesh.

In London, Mr. Hay had a meeting with Sir Geoffrey Howe, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, which was concerned mainly with the ratification by the United Kingdom of the Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions.

It was with great sorrow that the ICRC heard of the death on 31 May 1986 of Mr. Rodolfo Olgiati, honorary member of the ICRC.

Born in Lugano in 1905, Mr. Olgiati was a graduate in mathematics and physics of the Federal Polytechnic School and a former student of Italian language and literature at the University of Perugia. He taught in several boarding-schools in Germany and Great Britain before going to Spain, where he was in charge of the Œuvre suisse de secours aux enfants (aid to children) from 1937 to 1939. He was also the founder of the Cartel suisse de secours aux enfants victimes de la guerre (for aid to child war victims), Director of the Don suisse, later to become known as Swissaid, and President of the Office central suisse d'aide aux réfugiés.

The Kingdom of Belgium, on 20 May 1986, ratified the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (Protocol I) and non-international armed conflicts (Protocol II), adopted in Geneva on 8 June 1977.

On depositing the instrument of ratification by Belgium of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), done at Geneva on 8 June 1977, the Belgian Government makes the following declarations of interpretation:

The Belgian Government, in view of the travaux préparatories for the international instrument herewith ratified, wishes to emphasize that the Protocol was established to broaden the protection conferred by humanitarian law solely when conventional weapons are used in armed conflicts, without prejudice to the provisions of international law relating to the use of other types of weapons.

The People's Republic of Benin acceded, on 28 May 1986, to the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (Protocol I) and non-international armed conflicts (Protocol II), adopted in Geneva on 8 June 1977.

The food situation in the Planalto has improved thanks to a good harvest obtained from the seed distributed by the ICRC last October. This made it possible to reduce the assistance programme: the number of persons assisted by the ICRC, which in January amounted to 243,000, went down to 170,000 in March and 107,000 in April, and most feeding centres in Bié province were closed down.