“Tutti Fratelli” – humanity and neutrality

“I’ll be right there,” Simon calls and pulls a small white cloth bag with a red cross out of his backpack. Since we did a mini first aid course with a Samaritan teacher, he is always equipped with plasters, disinfectant, gloves and an elastic bandage. Now Dario has cut himself on a paper and a drop of blood is smearing his worksheet. Simon’s plaster comes just in time. Sina and Amira look on with interest. The first aid course is part of a teaching unit on the founding history and work of the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC. We used a great non-fiction picture book on the life of Henry Dunant for teaching¹. Obviously, these subject lives on among the children. I think: “That’s good!”.

Flashback – June 1859

The Geneva businessman Henry Dunant travels to Algeria. To buy land for economic use for the clients of his bank he stays in the then French colony. Through his travels he follows the French Emperor Napoleon III to obtain permission from him to do business there. But in the meantime, the emperor moved on to northern Italy. A great battle is about to be fought: France and the Kingdom of Piedmont against Austria, which occupies large parts of Italy. It is the end of June; a gruesome slaughter rages all day and there are thousands of wounded and dead. Dunant, on his journey just nearby, is presented with a picture of horror. He can’t help it, he begins – even though he is a medical layman – to help the wounded. He tries to get bandages from the surrounding hospitals and to organise transport. The women who have rushed from the surrounding area help, and everyone gets help, regardless of which army they belong to. This is new; until now, the dead and wounded were simply left lying around after a battle or only their “own” soldiers were taken care of.
  Back in Geneva, this misery will not let Dunant go, and he is stuck on the idea of how to help all victims of war, regardless of origin or social standing. The first thing he did was to write down his experiences. In 1862, he finished his book “A Remembrance of Solferino”² and was sent it to many influential people. It caused great consternation. Dunant now turns to the Non-Profit Society in Geneva. A working group was formed around him, the Committee of Five, which together considered how his idea could be realised. Only one year later, in 1863, the working group invites fourteen governments to an international conference This lays the foundation for the establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), for the benefit of all humanity, – an important milestone in the development of our country.

Switzerland as depositary state

160 years have passed since then. Today, the ICRC is a private, independent Swiss institution based in Geneva. It acts as a neutral mediator in armed conflict situations, bringing protection and assistance to all victims without distinction and implementing aid programmes for the suffering civilian population. Its work is based on the seven Red Cross principles (see box), which are at the heart of its activities. It is supported by the national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Its tasks also include making international humanitarian law and its rules known to the population and members of the armed forces. The ICRC is financed by funds from the States Parties to the Geneva Conventions, the national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, supranational organisations (such as the European Commission) as well as from public and private sources. Switzerland provides hospitality to this important humanitarian organisation and is its depositary state.

“Tutti Fratelli”

The help should go to all people in need, regardless of their nationality, religion, gender or race. That’s what Simon was still humming to himself, “Tutti Fratelli – we are all brothers”, when he put the plaster on Dario. The two are by no means friends and are always involved in quarrels. But in times of need, there is no question: they help each other, despite unresolved issues. Why? It is a deeply human need to be there for each other, to connect with fellow human beings and to have a meaning for them. This corresponds to the social nature of human beings. Only through cooperation and mutual help can humanity survive. Thus, the child is already socially predisposed at birth, and it is part of the task of its relationship persons in the family, school and society to bring these social-emotional competences, as they are called today, to blossom so that the child can build up a comprehensive relational ability. These components of psychological development have been proven today by carefully thought-out and well-validated studies in modern developmental psychology, especially in bonding research. The results are in line with the personal conception of man and cultural anthropology; they all describe man in his social relation. These are the psychological and anthropological foundations on which the ICRC carries out its valuable work by providing equal support to all victims of war and hardship.

The cross – an internationally accepted sign

Simon packed his little bag again and is leafing through the Globi book on first aid.³ “Dario had bad luck,” Simon notes, “paper can apparently cut like a knife. But luckily, it’s not as bad as David’s in gym class, that was bad luck.” Simon has memorised the instructions for sprains and other muscle and joint injuries: rest, ice, compression, elevation. He looks at me mischievously and you can see what’s on his mind: “I wonder if she’ll notice what else I know?” “Learning is a relational process,” I think and nod at him. “I like the red cross on the white fabric, you can see it well,” he finally says, “it’s like the Swiss cross, just reversed. All over the world, governments know that it is used to protect people. That’s what we were talking about.” He obviously grasped the background and the meaning of the internationally known sign, even if he doesn’t know its history in more detail. During the break, however, Amira comes to me. She fled to Switzerland from Afghanistan with her family. Her grandparents are still in her home country. She asks me: “you said that houses with the Red Cross on the roof have to be specially protected. Then why was the ICRC warehouse in Kabul bombed?”⁴ What should I have told her? Also, when she told me that her cousin was now learning to walk with a prosthetic leg at the rehabilitation centre there. “He stepped on a mine while playing,” she added.

A red cross on a white background –
sign of neutrality and humanity

As early as 1863, at the founding meetings of the Red Cross, it was proposed that those providing aid – the medical services of the armies, military hospitals and field hospitals – should all bear the same sign. A year later, in 1864, the Swiss Federal Council convened a diplomatic conference in Geneva. There, it was agreed in an international convention that military health services should be considered neutral and protected so that they could provide the necessary help to the wounded without hindrance. The proposal of a uniform sign – a red cross on a white background – was accepted by all states and recorded in Article 7 of the First Geneva Convention in 1864. All participating countries, including Turkey, agreed. In 1876, however, on the occasion of the war between Tsarist Russia and Turkey, the then government of the Ottoman Empire informed the Swiss Federal Council (as the government of the depositary state) that from now on it would use a red crescent instead of the red cross because it was too similar to the cross of the Russian Orthodox Church and offended the sensibilities of Muslim soldiers.
  It was not the time or the right moment to discuss this decision and the need for a uniform emblem. The irregularity of the procedure and the coercion involved were criticised, but the provision of aid to the Turkish army in distress had priority, and no stone should be put in the way of helping people in need. It was not until 1906, in a later conference convened by the Federal Council, that possible amendments to the 1864 agreement were on the agenda. This included the question of the protective mark. It became clear in the discussion that no one attributed any religious significance to the red cross on a white background, but that it was classified as a symbol of neutrality and humanity. The General Report of the Preparatory Commission for the Assembly also noted that: “The red cross is the inversion of the Swiss cross as a sign of neutrality and is included in honour of the founding and host country and depositary state, which is anchored in solid neutrality by international treaties.” These historically proven connections must not be overlooked when the importance of Switzerland’s neutrality for the work of the ICRC is being relativised.
  This seemed to end the debate about the sign; generally the uniformity of the Red Cross sign for all countries united in the treaty was still recognised. The exception of the red crescent and the red lion (Persia, de facto no longer in use since the Second World War) applied only to those countries that were granted it because they did not want to exclude them from the humanitarian treaty body. This decision later also proved to be correct because the ICRC is the only international association whose aim is to alleviate war suffering.

“I don’t understand that”

The arguments about the protective sign were not a topic of instruction for children in the middle school class of Sina, Simon, Amira and Dario. In addition to basic first aid skills, the focus was on developing human compassion and mutual aid. When the class put their first aid bag together and printed it with the red cross, it was clear to them that they had to make themselves recognisable through a uniform sign.
  But the further development of the ICRC as well as the uniform emblem had to overcome some hurdles. The strict neutrality clauses and the equal treatment of all concerned was a hurdle that did not suit all interests. For example, under the Treaty of Versailles, the victorious powers of the First World War founded the “League of Red Cross Societies”, an umbrella organisation into which only full members of the League of Nations were to be admitted. An unnecessary competing organisation to the existing Geneva Treaty and the national Red Cross societies coordinated by it.
  “I don’t understand that,” Sina would have said, her heart in the right place and always having a clear idea of right and wrong, “just because they won the war, they can’t just turn everything upside down and decide who gets help and who doesn’t. And why did it need another organisation in the first place?” Sina would also certainly not have understood why a discussion arose in the 1929 conference about recognising several signs of protection to work out an agreement on the application of the Geneva Convention for the protection of civilians which was therefore inadequate in the soon to be unleashed Second World War. This task should have been taken on by the League of Red Cross Societies, but it was and remained incapable of acting and ultimately had to content itself with the role of procurer of goods. However, there was at least fruitful cooperation with the ICRC during the Second World War and the first period afterwards.

An ICRC without red cross
on a white background?

Even after the Second World War, the discussion about distinctive signs did not rest, and there was even a proposal to replace all previous signs – including the red cross – with a new uniform sign, namely a cube, a proposal that was surprisingly reintroduced fifty years later at the turn of the millennium by the USA and Israel. If Simon had heard this, he would surely have gone ballistic: “That’s incredible! Wasn’t the aim of the Red Cross when it was founded to help all people in need? These discussions only distracted from that.” In fact, valuable energies were tied up on a side track instead of being able to tackle the urgent tasks facing humanity after the war. The red cross on a white background had become familiar in all corners of the world through the years of the Second World War and was associated with neutrality and the hope of protection and help in times of great need. But as said, these conflicts were not a topic in Simon’s class. However, upper school students might be interested in dealing with the topic (and possibly with the minutes of these meetings). Curriculum 21 would provide the opportunity for this, as the Red Cross is also listed under the somewhat skimpy description “Students will be able to analyse selected phenomena in 20^th and 21^st century history and explain their relevance for today”. A drawing project on the diverse posters from around the world would also be possible (see illustration). And surely, they would also be interested in the following area of responsibility of the ICRC: the search for missing people.

“Where is my son? Is he still alive?”

Unfortunately, most of the people who could tell us about the great tasks the ICRC had taken on during both World Wars are deceased by now. The search for missing persons, for example. “My son, our father, my husband – where are they? Are they still alive?” One has turned to the ICRC in Geneva with urgent questions like these since the beginning of the First World War.  About ten volunteers worked on this task prior to the war, these numbers increased dramatically in the following years. Ever more letters came in with which relatives were looking for their loved ones. By the end of 1914, about 1,200 persons were involved in these tasks. At the peak of the war, 30,000 letters arrived daily to the aid organisation. During the four years of war between 1914 and 1918, seven million file cards were produced. They were file cards with handwritten information about prisoners of war, about the deported, the wounded and missing soldiers. Traces of the fates of 2.5 million prisoners of war in total. The search for them was ambitious, taking into account that one had to scan through handwritten files and compare them with lists of prisoners to hopefully be able to give an answer to the whereabouts of the missing to their relatives. In the following wars this work continued, the number of file cards which had turned into a file system grew to 39 million cards. In 1940, 40,000 French soldiers were missing in action. Requests in Germany and France were fruitless at first. With a careful search, 30,000 of them were found.⁵ Since 1988, this impressive file system is exhibited at the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Moon Museum in Geneva. Since 2014 it is available online.
  These days, the ICRC is still active in over 60 countries, helping missing persons and their families. Impressive numbers prove this: 1,000 children were reunited with their families in 2015; 3,650 families in 21 countries who are  searching for their relatives  received psychological and psychosocial support; 479,000 family members got into contact with their families again through free phone calls; 25,700 inmates have been visited and individually looked after; humanitarian forensic services were provided in 53 countries worldwide; 19 countries have been supported in developing national laws and measures regarding missing persons and their families.⁶

The work continues

Recently, the ICRC was able to announce yet another successful return action as well. Between 14 and 16 April 2023, 900 inmates, who had been incarcerated during the Yemen conflict, were released from prison. It was the result of meetings which were moderated by the ICRC, together with the Bureau of the Special Envoy of the General Secretary of Yemen. They were concluded on 20 March 2023 in Bern (Switzerland). If we listen to Mohammad, one of the happy returnees, we can get a glimpse of what it meant for those people: “I have been in jail for six years. I cannot wait to return to Yemen, my home, and to see my family again as soon as possible. I miss my mother the most, and I can’t wait to see my father and my siblings again.”⁷
  I am sure that our children and teenagers can really relate to these topics. It is in our nature to be moved by the fates of other people. Simon, Amira, Dario and Sina already taken their first step.

Political strategy instead of assistance?

As I read the newspaper the next day, I started contemplating. “The International Commitee of the Red Cross may have a 500 to 700 million Swiss Francs deficit by the end of this year. That is equivalent to a quarter of the annual budget”, ICRC general director Robert Mardini stated in his interview with the newspaper “Le Temps”.⁸ If this trend would turn out to be true, the ICRC would have to lower its sights. Offices would have to be closed, employees fired and, support would end in places which are hard to reach. But it is in those places where the help of the ICRC is needed the most. Reasons for this? Most of the money comes from the governments of the signing countries. They provided about 82 percent of the budget on average in the last five years, Mardini said. The ICRC only accepts money from donors who respect the ICRC’s independence and impartiality. But the contributions of the signing countries are voluntary. In other words, the willingness or refusal to further support the ICRC financially could be manipulated by political strategies to put pressure on the ICRC or to weaken the organisation and Switzerland as a depository state as well.

Humankind as reference point for the state and the international community

What kind of commentary is to be expected from Sina and Amira if they listened to Peter Maurer, who recently retired from presidency of the ICRC and stated the following regarding the war events in Ukraine:
  “Even after the Minsk Agreement, many people have been killed on the front line. Nobody cared about it. Our operation in Eastern Ukraine was one of the least financed. Now, it is the largest ICRC mission in history.”⁹ Financial support according to political agenda? That stands in diametric opposition to the basic principle – the neutrality commandment of the aid organisation. I can hear the outrage of the two girls: “Why don’t they help all the people equally, are there people who are worth more than the others?”
  Wouldn’t it be time to think about what Cornelio Sommaruga, former ICRC president, said regarding the Kosovo conflict: “We have to put the human being and the respect towards his dignity back into the centre of political discussion and into the centre of political decision, because the reference point and purpose of both state and international community is always the human being […].”¹⁰ Humanity and neutrality are therefore a vital requirement for the workings of the ICRC as well as Switzerland as the depository state of this aid organization.  •

¹ Bors, Lisette. (2010). Who is Henry Dunant? Two children discover the history of Henry Dunant and the Red Cross. Zurich 2010, publisher Zeit-Fragen. ISBN 978-3-909234-10-3. The book is also available in French, Italian, German and Spanish.
² Dunant, Henry. Eine Erinnerung an Solferino. (A Memory of Solferino.) Berlin, 2010: Omnium. ISBN 978-3-942378-76-5 (out of print)
³ Alves, Katja. Erste Hilfe mit Globi. Ein Sachbuch für Kinder. (First Aid with Globi. A non-fiction book for children.) Zurich 2020: Globi-Verlag ISBN 978-3-85703-309-4
⁴ ICRC warehouse in Kabul bombed again. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of 27 October 2001
⁵ see Rings, Werner. Advokaten des Feindes. Das Abenteuer der politischen Neutralität. (Advocates of the Enemy. The adventure of political neutrality.) Zurich 1966: Ex Libris, p. 28ff.
⁶ see. https://www.icrc.org/de/document/vermisste-personen-und-das-humanitaere-voelkerrech on 15 April 2023)
⁷ see https://www.icrcnewsroom.org/story/en/2051/yemen-saudi-arabia-scenes-of-overwhelming-joy-as-nearly-900-detainees-return-home-in-three-day-release-operation/0/KQe1rkoaJY  (accessed on 15 April 2023)
⁸ see https://www.zentralplus.ch/news/ikrk-befuerchtet-zu-wenig-finanzmittel-2525882/ (accessed on 15 April 2023)
⁹ Maurer, Peter. Der Endloskrieg ist eine historische Tatsache.( The endless war is a historical fact.) In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of 12 April 2023
¹⁰ From the lecture by Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the ICRC from 1987–1999, entitled “Das internationale humanitäre Recht an der Schwelle des dritten Jahrtausends – Bilanz und Perspektiven” (International Humanitarian Law on the Threshold of the Third Millennium – Review and Prospects), delivered in Geneva on 30 October 1999.