International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world's largest group of humanitarian organisations.
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2 The Emblem Debate 3 National societies 4 See also 5 External link |
Introduction
The movement consists of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and 178 individual national societies.
On October 29, 1863 sixteen countries finished meeting in Geneva and agreed to form the International Red Cross.
The organization has more than 115 million volunteers.
The Emblem Debate
The Article 38 of the First Geneva Convention of August 12 1949 recognized three emblems for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement:
- Red cross
- Red crescent
- Red lion and sun
The organisation is currently (as of 2003) facing the unwillingness of some nations to accept the Red Cross or the Red Crescent emblems. For this reason, it is proposed to create a new emblem which will be acceptable by all nations regardless of their culture or religion.
For more information, you may visit the following sections of the official www.redcross.int website:
- Information regarding the Emblem Debate
- Graphic images of the traditional emblems plus the new proposed one
National societies
See also
- Henry Dunant: The Founder of the Red Cross movement
