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Stamps Issue Series

150th Anniversary of International Red Cross

8 May 2013

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Since its creation in 1863, the ICR's sole objective has been to ensure protection and assistance for victim of armed conflict and strife. It does so through its direct action around the world, as well as by encouraging the development of international humanitation law (IHL) and promoting respect for it governments and all weapon bearers.

The founding

What was to become the International Committee of the red Cross met for the first time in February 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland. Among its five members was a local man named Henry Dunant who, the year before, had published a crusading book (A Souvenir of Solferino) calling for improved care for wounded soldiers in wartime. In August 1864 it persuaded government  to adopt the first Geneva Convention. This treaty obliged armies to care for wounded soldiers, whatever side they were on, and introduced a unified emblem for the medical services: a red cross on a white background. The ICRC's primary role was a coordinating one. But it gradually became more involved in field operations, as the need for a neutral intermediary between belligerents became apparent. Over the following 50 years, the ICRC expanded its work while national societies were established (the first in the German State of Wurttemberg in November 1863) and the Geneva Convention was adapted to include warfare at sea.

World War Period

At the outbreak of the First World War, based on exprerience in other conflicts, the ICRC opened a Central Prisoners of War Agency in Geneva, to restore links between captured soldiers and their families. Its visits to prisoners of war grew during this period and it intervened over the use of arms that caused extreme suffering.

In 1919, the League of Red Cross Societies was founded and intended as the future coordinating and support body for the Movement. The ICRC  persuaded governments to adopt a New Geneva Covention in 1929 to provide greater protection for prisoners of war. But despite the obvious broader threats posed by modern warfare, it was unable to have them agree on new laws to protect cicilians in time to prevent the atrocities of World War II.

The Second World War saw a huge expansion of activities as the organisation tried to work to assist and protect victims on all sides. The ICRC and the League worked together to ship relief supplies across the globe, reaching both prisoners of war and cicilians. ICRC delegates visited POWs around the World and helped exchange millions of Red Cross Messages between family members.

Since 1945

Since 1945 the ICRC has continued to urge governments to strengthen international humanitarian law - and to respect it. It has sought to deal with the humanitaarian consequences of the conflicts that have marked the second half of the 20th century - starting with Israel and Palestine in 1948. In 1949, oa the ICRS's initiative, states agreed on the revision of the existing three Geneva Convention (covering wounded and sick on the battlefield, victim of war at sea, prisoners of war) and the adition of a fourth: to protect civilians living under enemy control. And in 1977, two Protocols to the Conventions were adopted, the first applicable to international armed conflicts, the second to internal ones - a major breakthrough. The Protocols also laid down rules concerning the conduct of hostilities.