The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 16 million volunteers,members,and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health,to ensure respect for all human beings,and to prevent and alleviate human suffering. Within it there are three distinct organisations that are legally independent from each other,but are united within the movement through common basic principles,objectives,symbols,statutes,and governing organisations.
The First Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field,held on 22 August 1864,is the first of four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It defines "the basis on which rest the rules of international law for the protection of the victims of armed conflicts."
Humanitarian aid workers belonging to United Nations organisations,PVOs / NGOs or the Red Cross / Red Crescent are among the list of protected persons under international humanitarian law that grant them immunity from attack by belligerent parties. However,attacks on humanitarian workers have occasionally occurred,and become more frequent since the 1990s and 2000s. In 2017,the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD) documented 139 humanitarian workers killed in intentional attacks out of the estimated global population of 569,700 workers. In every year since 2013,more than 100 humanitarian workers were killed. This is attributed to a number of factors,including the increasing number of humanitarian workers deployed,the increasingly unstable environments in which they work,and the erosion of the perception of neutrality and independence. In 2012 road travel was seen to be the most dangerous context,with kidnappings of aid workers quadrupling in the last decade,reaching more aid workers victims than any other form of attack.
International humanitarian law (IHL),also referred to as the laws of armed conflict,is the law that regulates the conduct of war. It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting persons who are not participating in hostilities and by restricting and regulating the means and methods of warfare available to combatants.
Operation Grapes of Wrath,known in Lebanon as the April Aggression,was a seventeen-day campaign of the Israeli Defense Forces against Hezbollah in 1996 which attempted to end rocket attacks on Northern Israel by the organisation. Israel conducted more than 1,100 air raids and extensive shelling. A UNIFIL compound at Qana was hit when Israeli artillery fired on Hezbollah forces operating nearby. 639 Hezbollah cross-border rocket attacks targeted northern Israel,particularly the town of Kiryat Shemona. Hezbollah forces also participated in numerous engagements with Israeli and South Lebanon Army forces. The conflict was de-escalated on 27 April by a ceasefire agreement banning attacks on civilians.
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva,Switzerland,and is a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and promoting humanitarian norms.
Pierre Krähenbühl is director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),the organization’s second-highest-ranking position,a role he began in April 2024. He previously served as ICRC’s Director of Operations from 2002 to early 2014.
There are a number of meanings for the term humanitarian. Here,humanitarian pertains to the practice of saving lives and alleviating suffering. It is usually related to emergency response whether in the case of a natural disaster or a man-made disaster such as war or other armed conflict. Humanitarian principles govern the way humanitarian response is carried out.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a worldwide humanitarian aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 191 member National Societies. It acts before,during and after disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people. It does so independently and with impartiality as to nationality,race,gender,religious beliefs,class and political opinions.
The Qatar Red Crescent Society,the Qatari branch of the Red Crescent Society,was established in 1978. In 1981,it gained international recognition from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva and joined the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). It is also a member of the Secretariat of Arab Red Crescent Societies in Jeddah. It became the first philanthropic organization in Qatar to establish a women's branch in 1982.
The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term Geneva Convention colloquially denotes the agreements of 1949,negotiated in the aftermath of the Second World War (1939–1945),which updated the terms of the two 1929 treaties and added two new conventions. The Geneva Conventions extensively define the basic rights of wartime prisoners,civilians and military personnel;establish protections for the wounded and sick;and provide protections for the civilians in and around a war-zone.
Nils Melzer is a Swiss academic,author,and practitioner in the field of international law. From 2016 until 2022,Melzer was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel,Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. He is a professor of international law at the University of Glasgow. From 2011-2013,he was Swiss Chair of International Humanitarian Law at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Melzer has criticised the governments of the U.S.,the U.K.,Ecuador and Sweden over their treatment of Julian Assange.
Yves Daccord,is a humanitarian leader,international strategist,influencer and changemaker. His current focus is on the theme of security,social contract and the role of cities at the age of digital surveillance and pandemics,which is the subject of a special initiative he is leading at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and society. From 2010 –March 2020 Yves was Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),a global humanitarian organization employing 20,000 staff. A former journalist,TV producer and international relations expert,his ICRC career spanned more than two decades in a variety of posts and challenging contexts –including Israel and the Occupied Territories,Sudan,Yemen,Chechnya and Georgia.
Peter Maurer is a Swiss diplomat who was the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 1 July 2012 until October 2022 and is currently President of the Basel Institute on Governance.
The term international framework of sexual violence refers to the collection of international legal instruments –such as treaties,conventions,protocols,case law,declarations,resolutions and recommendations –developed in the 20th and 21st century to address the problem of sexual violence. The framework seeks to establish and recognise the right all human beings to not experience sexual violence,to prevent sexual violence from being committed wherever possible,to punish perpetrators of sexual violence,and to provide care for victims of sexual violence. The standards set by this framework are intended to be adopted and implemented by governments around the world in order to protect their citizens against sexual violence.
Philippe Lazzarini is a Swiss-Italian humanitarian who has served as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since 2020.
The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights is a postgraduate joint center located in Geneva,Switzerland. The faculty includes professors from both founding institutions and guest professors from major universities.
The library of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) –in French:la bibliothèque du Comitéinternational de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) –is a public library based at the headquarter of the international organization in Geneva,Switzerland. It was apparently founded around the time of the ICRC's inception in 1863.
Health Care In Danger is a campaign organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross that highlights violent attacks on patients,healthcare workers,and healthcare facilities in conflict zones.
Humanitarian aid in conflict zones is the provision of emergency assistance and support to individuals and communities affected by armed conflict,with the aim of alleviating suffering,maintaining human dignity,and preserving life. This type of aid encompasses a wide range of services,including but not limited to,the delivery of food,water,shelter,medical care,and protection services,and is delivered amidst challenging and often dangerous conditions,with the goal of reaching those most in need regardless of their location,political affiliation,or status.
