Geneva conventions 75th anniversary: humanitarian workers must be protected
2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. It could also be the deadliest year for Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and staff.
Since the start of the year, at least 28 volunteers and staff have lost their lives while performing their humanitarian duties.
This is among the highest levels of global violence against Red Cross and Red Crescent teams that we’ve ever experienced.
These colleagues were ordinary people with the courage to put on their Red Cross and Red Crescent vests and make the world a better place. They died while helping neighbours, responding to medical emergencies and caring for victims of violence. The British Red Cross stands in solidarity with every one of them.
In a world facing an unprecedented number of armed conflicts, the Geneva Conventions are just as relevant today as they were 75 years ago.
The deaths come as the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement marks 75 years since the signing of the four 1949 Geneva Conventions: a set of rules for armed conflict which are the cornerstone of modern international humanitarian law.
“In a world facing an unprecedented number of armed conflicts, the Geneva Conventions are just as relevant today as they were 75 years ago," says Béatrice Butsana-Sita, CEO of the British Red Cross.
"We will continue to play our part to ensure that these important rules are fully understood and respected. When this happens lives can be saved, and unnecessary loss can be avoided. We must preserve our shared humanity, no matter what the circumstances.”
We aren't part of the fight
As armed conflicts become more protracted, urbanised and complex, the risks to civilians, including medical and humanitarian workers, has dramatically increased.
Needed now, more than ever: The Geneva Conventions provide the rules for war and guide us through the most extreme circumstances.
What are the Geneva Conventions?
Signed in 1949, the four Geneva Conventions form the cornerstone of modern international humanitarian law – a set of rules for armed conflict.
The first protects the sick and wounded, medical and religious personnel. The second sets out rules for the care of the wounded, sick and shipwrecked in conflict at sea.
The third governs the humane treatment of prisoners of war. And the fourth protects all civilians, including those in occupied territory.
“The purpose of the Geneva Conventions is to preserve our common humanity even in the worst situations”, says Kate Forbes, President of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
“They are some of the only treaties to have been accepted by every single country in the world and have been fundamental in protecting people, including medical and humanitarian workers, during armed conflicts over the last seven decades.
“We reiterate our call for the protection of humanitarian workers and urge all parties to respect international humanitarian law.”
The Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions trace their origin to 1863, when a group of humanitarians held a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
Among them was Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. The meeting was the birth of what would become the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
By the end of the year, the committee persuaded governments to adopt Dunant’s proposal for national relief societies. The Convention also established the Red Cross Emblem as a universal symbol of medical services who should not be attacked during conflicts.
Over the following decades, ICRC continued to push for an expansion of protection for people in wartime, including wounded and shipwrecked sailors, prisoners of war and all civilians, including those in occupied territory.
The Red Cross Red Crescent Movements continues to promote the terms of the Conventions, and to remind participants in conflicts of their legal obligations under International Humanitarian Law.
More on the Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions
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