The International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent: Challenges, key issues and achievements

International Review of the Red Cross

Volumn 91, Issue 876, 2009, Pages 675-712

  Bugnion, François ^a  

^a International Committee of the Red Cross   (Switzerland)

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EID: 84959354049     PISSN: 18163831     EISSN: 16075889     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S1816383110000147     Document Type: Article

References (156)

1. The history of the foundation of the Red Cross is well known and there is extensive literature on the subject. The following personal accounts and other works are of particular interest: J. Henry Dunant, A Memory of Solferino, English version provided by the American Red Cross, reprinted by the ICRC courtesy of the American Red Cross, ICRC, Geneva, 1986 (original French edition: Un souvenir de Solférino, Imprimerie Jules-Guillaume Fick, Geneva, 1862)
2. Henry Dunant, Mémoires, text compiled and presented by Bernard Gagnebin, Henry Dunant Institute, Geneva, and Éditions L'Age d'Homme, Lausanne, 1971, in particular pp. 32–121
3. Alexis François, Le berceau de la Croix-Rouge, Librairie A. Jullien, Geneva, and Librairie Édouard Champion, Paris, 1918
4. Pierre Boissier, History of the International Committee of the Red Cross: From Solferino to Tsushima, Henry Dunant Institute, Geneva, 1985, pp. 7–121
5. Franñois Bugnion, ‘La fondation de la Croix-Rouge et la premiére Convention de Genéve’, in Roger Durand (ed., with the collaboration of Jean-Daniel Candaux), De l'utopie à la réalité: Actes du Colloque Henry Dunant tenu à Genéve au palais de l'Athénée et ñ la chapelle de l'Oratoire les 3, 4 et 5 mai 1985, Henry Dunant Society, Geneva, 1988, pp. 191–223
6. François Bugnion, The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Protection of War Victims, ICRC, Geneva and Macmillan, Oxford, October 2003, pp. 1–28.
7. The plan of the founders of the Red Cross took practical shape in the Resolutions and Recommendations adopted by the constituent Conference of October 1863, which gave birth to the Red Cross. Those Resolutions formed the basis upon which the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies were established and the statutory framework of the Movement until the adoption by the Thirteenth International Conference of the Red Cross, held in The Hague in 1928, of the first Statutes of the International Red Cross. The Resolutions and Recommendations of the constituent Conference are reproduced in Compte rendu de la Conférence internationale réunie à Genève les 26, 27, 28 et 29 octobre 1863 pour étudier les moyens de pourvoir à l'insuffisance du service sanitaire dans les armées en campagne (excerpt from Bulletin No. 24 of the Geneva Public Welfare Society), Imprimerie Jules-Guillaume Fick, Geneva, 1863, pp. 147–149
8. Handbook of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, 14th edition, ICRC and Federation, Geneva, 2008, pp. 515–516
9. Dietrich Schindler and Jirí Toman (eds.), The Laws of Armed Conflicts: A Collection of Conventions, Resolutions and Other Documents, 4th edition, M. Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden and Boston, 2004, pp. 361–363.
10. Article 3 of the Resolutions of the constituent Conference of October 1863, Handbook, above note 4, p. 515.
11. Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (‘Statutes’), adopted by the Twenty-fifth International Conference of the Red Cross, held in Geneva in October 1986, in International Review of the Red Cross, No. 256, January-February 1987, pp. 25–59
12. Handbook, above note 4, pp. 517–534.
13. The National Society of Israel uses the name Magen David Adom (Red Shield of David).
14. Statutes, Art. 9, para. 1.
15. Statutes, Art. 9, para. 2.
16. Statutes, Art. 8.
17. Statutes, Art. 10.
18. Established by the Thirteenth International Conference of the Red Cross, held in The Hague in 1928, the Standing Commission comprises nine members - two representatives of the ICRC, two representatives of the Federation, and five members of National Societies, each elected in a personal capacity by the International Conference. On the origin and functions of the Standing Commission, see François Bugnion, ‘The Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent: its origins, role and prospects for the future’, in Liesbeth Lijnzaad, Johanna van Sambeek, and Bahia Tahzib-Lie (eds.), Making the Voice of Humanity Heard: Essays on Humanitarian Assistance and International Humanitarian Law in Honour of HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden and Boston, December 2003, pp. 41–59.
19. Statutes, Art. 10, para. 5.
20. Circulars from the Prussian Central Committee, 23 November 1868 and 1 March 1869, Compte rendu des Travaux de la Conférence internationale tenue à Berlin du 22 au 27 avril 1869 par les Délégués des Gouvernements signataires de la Convention de Genéve et des Sociétés et Associations de Secours aux Militaires blessés et malades, Imprimerie J.-F. Starcke, Berlin, 1869, pp. 3–5 and 7–9.
21. The proceedings of the first fifteen conferences were published only in French; as from the Sixteenth International Conference (London, 1938), the proceedings were also published in English and, as from the Eighteenth Conference (Toronto, 1952), in Spanish.
22. Richard Perruchoud, Les résolutions des Conférences internationales de la Croix-Rouge, Henry Dunant Institute, Geneva, 1979, pp. 46–49 and 394–397.
23. Les résolutions des Conférences internationales de la Croix-Rouge, p. 48.
24. Les résolutions des Conférences internationales de la Croix-Rouge, pp. 106, 107–108.
25. In a similar vein, see Auguste-Raynald Werner, La Croix-Rouge et les Conventions de Genève, Georg & Cie, Geneva, 1943, p. 79.
26. R. Perruchoud, above note 15, p. 108. In 1991, the General Assembly of the League of Red Cross Societies decided to change the institution's name to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
27. Statutes, Art. 11, para. 4.
28. Statutes, Art. 2, para. 4.
29. Sixteenth International Conference of the Red Cross, London, 20–24 June 1938, Report, The British Red Cross Society, London, 1938, p. 21.
30. Eighteenth International Conference of the Red Cross, Toronto, July-August 1952, Report, Canadian Red Cross Society, Toronto, 1952, pp. 11–12, 47–49 and 53–69.
31. Catherine Rey-Schyrr, De Yalta à Dien Bien Phu: Histoire du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge, vol. III, 1945–1955
32. ICRC and Georg Éditeurs, Geneva, 2007, pp. 120–125.
33. Nineteenth International Conference of the Red Cross, New Delhi, October-November 1957, Report, Indian Red Cross, New Delhi, 1958, pp. 53–55.
34. Report, pp. 60–68.
35. Report, pp. 141 and 161, Resolution XXXVI.
36. Report, pp. 141–146.
37. Report, p. 145.
38. Report, pp. 130–131 and 162, Resolution XL.
39. Centenary Congress of the International Red Cross, Commemoration Day, Council of Delegates, Report, ICRC, League, and Swiss Red Cross, Geneva, 1963, pp. 101–102.
40. ICRC Archives, record of the plenary meetings of the ICRC, letter from Mrs Li Te-chuan, President of the Chinese Red Cross, to Ambassador André François-Poncet, Chairman of the Standing Commission, 30 January 1965, annexed to President Samuel Gonard's letter to the members of the ICRC, 24 February 1965. Twentieth International Conference of the Red Cross, Vienna, 2–9 October 1965, Report, Austrian Red Cross, Vienna, 1965, pp. 39–40 (int. Lauda).
41. Twenty-first International Conference of the Red Cross, Istanbul, 6–13 September 1969, Report, Turkish Red Crescent Society, Istanbul, 1969, p. 9.
42. Resolution 2758 (XXVI) 1971, adopted on 25 October 1971
43. Resolutions Adopted by the General Assembly during its Twenty-sixth Session, 21 September-22 December 1971, United Nations General Assembly, Official Records: Twenty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 29 (A/8429), p. 2.
44. Twenty-second International Conference of the Red Cross, Tehran, 8–15 November 1973, Report, Iranian Red Lion and Sun Society, Tehran, 1973, p. 12.
45. Statement by Ambassador D. D. Afande, Twenty-fifth International Conference of the Red Cross, Geneva, 23–31 October 1986, Report, Swiss Red Cross, Berne, 1987, pp. 79–80.
46. Twenty-fifth International Conference of the Red Cross, Geneva, 23–31 October 1986, Report, pp. 97–98.
47. Statement by Minister Jean Mouton Brady, Twenty-fifth International Conference of the Red Cross, Geneva, 23–31 October 1986, Report, p. 85.
48. ‘Croix-Rouge: la conférence chavire’, in Journal de Genève, 25 October 1986, p. 16.
49. See also Jacques Moreillon, ‘Suspension of the government delegation of the Republic of South Africa at the Twenty-fifth International Conference of the Red Cross (Geneva, 1986): different perceptions of the same event’, in International Review of the Red Cross, No. 257, March-April 1987, pp. 133–151
50. Yves Sandoz, ‘Analyse juridique de la décision de suspendre la délégation gouvernementale sud-africaine de la XXVe Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge’, in Annuaire français de droit international, Vol. 32, 1986, pp. 591–602.
51. Twenty-fifth International Conference of the Red Cross, above note 38, pp. 121–122.
52. Paul-Émile Dentand, ‘Croix-Rouge: derniers compromis’, in Journal de Genève, 1 November 1986, p. 24.
53. Twenty-fifth International Conference of the Red Cross, above note 38, p. 145.
54. D. Schindler and J. Toman, above note 4, p. 649.
55. ‘International Conference for the Protection of War Victims (Geneva, 30 August-1 September 1993): report on the protection of war victims, prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, June 1993’, in International Review of the Red Cross, No. 296, September-October 1993, pp. 391–445.
56. ‘International Conference for the Protection of War Victims (Geneva, 30 August-1 September 1993): final declaration of the Conference’, in International Review of the Red Cross, No. 296, September-October 1993, pp. 377–381.
57. Twenty-sixth International Conference of the Red Cross, Geneva, 1–7 December 1995, Report, ICRC and Federation, Geneva, 1996, p. 40.
58. Seventeenth International Conference of the Red Cross, Stockholm, 20–30 August 1948, Report, Swedish Red Cross Society, Stockholm, 1948, p. 93, Resolution XIX.
59. Twenty-second International Conference of the Red Cross, Tehran, 8–15 November 1973, Report, p. 122, Resolution XIII.
60. Draft Rules for the Limitation of the Dangers Incurred by the Civilian Population in Time of War, 2nd edition, ICRC, Geneva, April 1958, p. 12
61. D. Schindler and J. Toman, above note 4, p. 342.
62. Nineteenth International Conference of the Red Cross, above note 26, pp. 153–154, Resolution XIII
63. Nineteenth International Conference of the Red Cross, New Delhi, October-November 1957, Final Record Concerning the Draft Rules for the Limitation of the Dangers Incurred by the Civilian Population in Time of War, ICRC, Geneva, April 1958, cyclostyled.
64. Twenty-sixth International Conference of the Red Cross, above note 50, p. 126, Resolution II, G.
65. Twenty-sixth International Conference of the Red Cross, pp. 126–127, Resolution II, H.
66. Twenty-eighth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Geneva, 2003, Report, ICRC and Federation, Geneva, 2004, pp. 30–31, Resolution III.
67. On the contribution of the International Conference to the development of international humanitarian law, see also Philippe Abplanalp, ‘The International Conferences of the Red Cross as a factor for the development of international humanitarian law and the cohesion of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement’, in International Review of the Red Cross, No. 308, October 1995, pp. 520–549.
68. Compte rendu des Travaux de la Conférence internationale tenue à Berlin, above note 14, pp. 3–5, 7–9, 15–18, 27–36, 153–208, 211–215, 251–253
69. P. Boissier, above note 3, pp. 229–230, 233–234. The representatives of the ICRC did not take part in the debate on that issue at the Berlin Conference, probably considering that it needed to be settled by the National Societies themselves. However, in the preliminary correspondence, the ICRC had indicated its opposition to such an extension of the National Societies' field of activity.
70. On the development of the activities of the International Committee during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870–1871, see P. Boissier, above note 3, pp. 241–269
71. F. Bugnion, International Committee of the Red Cross, above note 3, pp. 32–37.
72. Compte rendu des Travaux de la Conférence internationale tenue à Berlin, above note 14, p. 254, Resolution IV/3.
73. Troisième Conférence internationale des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge tenue a Geneve du 1er au 6 septembre 1884, Compte rendu, ICRC, Geneva, 1885, pp. 61–66, 69, 84–85, 86
74. Du rôle du Comite international etdes relations des Comites centraux de la Croix-Rouge, Report submitted by the International Committee to the International Conference of Red Cross Societies in Karlsruhe in 1887, ICRC, Geneva, 1887, pp. 9–14
75. Quatrieme Conference internationale des Societes de la Croix-Rouge tenue a Carlsruhe du 22 au 27 septembre 1887, Compte rendu, Central Committee of the German Red Cross Associations, Berlin, 1887, pp. 92–93, 95–97, 101.
76. Troisième Conférence internationale des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge, above note 61, pp. 74–83
77. Du rôle du Comité international, above note 61, pp. 22–24
78. Quatrième Conférence internationale des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge, above note 61, pp. 19–20, 90, 93–94.
79. Quatrième Conférence internationale des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge, 90.
80. Regulations respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land annexed to The Hague Convention (II) of 20 July 1899, Art. 15. On the origin of that provision, see F. Bugnion, in International Committee of the Red Cross, above note 3, pp. 69–71
81. Roger Durand, ‘Les prisonniers de guerre aux temps héröiques de la Croix-Rouge’, in R. Durand, above note 3, pp. 225–297.
82. Resolution VI, Neuvième Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge tenue à Washington du 7 au 17 mai 1912, Compte rendu, The American Red Cross, Washington, 1912, p. 318.
83. ‘L'insurrection dans l'Herzégovine’, in Bulletin international des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge, No. 25, January 1876, pp. 1–4
84. ‘Une mission au Monténégro: rapport présenté au Comité international de la Croix-Rouge par ses délégués’, in Bulletin international des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge, No. 26, April 1876, pp. 55–70.
85. This occurred on the initiative of the American Red Cross, which had submitted to the Conference a report on the question of Red Cross intervention in case of civil war. Neuvième Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge tenue à Washington du 7 au 17 mai 1912, Compte rendu, pp. 45–48, 200–203.
86. Compte rendu, p. 45.
87. On the action taken by the ICRC during the Russian civil war, see F. Bugnion, in International Committee of the Red Cross, above note 3, pp. 250–258.
88. Dixième Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge tenue à Genève du 30 mars au 7 avril 1921, Compte rendu, ICRC, Geneva, 1921, pp. 217–218, Resolution XIV.
89. On the action of the ICRC during the Spanish civil war, see F. Bugnion, in International Committee of the Red Cross, above note 3, pp. 266–283
90. Pierre Marqués, La Croix-Rouge pendant la Guerre d'Espagne (1936–1939): les missionnaires de l'humanitaire, L'Harmattan, Paris and Montreal, 2000.
91. On this subject, see the introductory speech given by Gustave Moynier at the constituent Conference of October 1863, Compte rendu de la Conférence internationale réunie à Genève, above note 4, pp. 8–9.
92. ‘Interoffice memorandum’ from Martin Hill, Assistant Secretary-General, to C. V. Narasimhan, Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General, 26 October 1962, reproduced in Chadwyck-Healey Inc. and The National Security Archives (eds.), Documents on the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962, Microfiche Collection, Chadwyck-Healey, Alexandria, VA, 1990, document 1392
93. quoted by Thomas Fischer, ‘The ICRC and the 1962 Cuban missile crisis’, in International Review of the Red Cross, No. 842, June 2001, p. 294. It should be pointed out that the only record of the ICRC initiative is to be found in this document. Neither President Léopold Boissier nor Roger Gallopin, the Executive Director, reported on the ICRC's contact with the United Nations.
94. ICRC Archives, minutes of the plenary session held on 31 October and 1 November 1962 Annual Report 1962, pp. 31–35.
95. See also T. Fischer, above note 76, pp. 287–309
96. Françoise Perret and François Bugnion, De Budapest à Saigon: histoire du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge, Vol. IV, 1956–1965, Georg Editor and ICRC, Geneva, December 2009, pp. 473–502.
97. The Council of Delegates brings together the representatives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies, of the ICRC, and of the Federation. The Standing Commission had decided to hold the Council of Delegates in Geneva in 1963, instead of the International Conference that it had had to give up convening because of the divergences on the question of the representation of China. On the origins, the role, and the attributions of the Council of Delegates, see Elzbieta Mikos-Skuza, ‘The Council of Delegates’, in Lijnzaad, van Sambeek, and Tahzib-Lie, above note 12, pp. 123–136.
98. Twentieth International Conference of the Red Cross, above note 33, pp. 100–101, Resolution X.
99. ICRC Archives, Minutes of the Executive Council of the ICRC, 1 July 1982, 11 and 12 August 1982, 19 August 1982, 26 August 1982 Minutes of the ICRC Assembly, 19 August and 1 September 1982 International Review of the Red Cross, No. 230, September-October 1982, pp. 295–296
100. Annual Report 1982, p. 58
101. Keesing's Contemporary Archives, 1983, pp. 31914–31920
102. F. Bugnion, International Committee of the Red Cross, above note 3, pp. 490–491. ICRC Archives, file 232 (214–00), Note 241 from the Baghdad delegation and annexes, 12 September 1990
103. Annual Report 1990, pp. 78–79
104. Christophe Girod, Tempête sur le désert: le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge et la guerre du Golfe, 1990–1991 Établissements Émile Bruylant, Brussels, and L. G. D.J., Paris, 1995, pp. 64–65.
105. ‘La paix, qui est bien le problàme crucial de tous les temps, dechaîne immanquablement dans les congràs qui prétendent lui trouver quelque affermissement des débats aussi pénibles que dangereux.’ Léopold Boissier, Statement on certain aspects of the centenary of the Red Cross, presented to the ICRC in its session on 3 October 1963, document D 841, appended to the minutes of the plenary session on 3 October 1963, p. 2.
106. Resolution XXI of the Twenty-fourth International Conference (Manila, 1981) and Resolution XVII of the Twenty-fifth International Conference.
107. Resolution IV, A, of the Twenty-sixth International Conference.
108. On the creation of the League of Red Cross Societies, see Daphne A. Reid and Patrick F. Gilbo, Beyond Conflict: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 1919–1994, Federation, Geneva, 1997, pp. 26–41.
109. Conférence internationale spéciale de la Croix-Rouge tenue à Berne du 16 au 18 novembre 1926, Compte rendu, Swiss Red Cross, Berne (s.d.).
110. For the history of those negotiations, reference could be made, in particular, to the following works: André Durand, History of the International Committee of the Red Cross: From Sarajevo to Hiroshima, Henry Dunant Institute, Geneva, 1978, pp. 139–194
111. D. A. Reid and P. F. Gilbo, above note 84, pp. 52–54 and 79–86.
112. Colonel Draudt and Max Huber, ‘Rapport à la XIIIe Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge sur les statuts de la Croix-Rouge internationale’, in Revue internationale de la Croix-Rouge, No. 119, November 1928, pp. 991–1010.
113. Treizi`me Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge tenue à La Haye du 23 au 27 octobre 1928, Compte rendu, Imprimerie nationale, The Hague, 1929, pp. 12–19, 48–75, 85, 101–114, 117–118, 182–186.
114. C. Rey-Schyrr, above note 25, pp. 42–48.
115. C. Rey-Schyrr pp. 51–134
116. Dominique-D. Junod, The Imperiled Red Cross and the Palestine-Eretz-Yisrael Conflict 1945–1952: The Influence of Institutional Concerns on a Humanitarian Operation, Kegan Paul International, London and New York, 1996, passim.
117. On the action of the ICRC during the 1948–1949 Arab-Israeli conflict and on the way in which that action became part of the ICRC's survival strategy, see, in particular, D.-D. Junod, above note 91.
118. Statutes of the International Red Cross and Rules of Procedure of the International Conference of the Red Cross: Proposed Revision, submitted by the Standing Commission of the International Conference of the Red Cross to the XVIIIth International Red Cross Conference (Document A 18), Geneva, 7 December 1951, cyclostyled.
119. Eighteenth International Conference of the Red Cross, above note 25, pp. 33–39, 96–101, 161–168.
120. Resolution XXXI, Twenty-fifth International Conference of the Red Cross, above note 38, pp. 121–122, 166.
121. Compte rendu des Travaux de la Conférence internationale tenue à Berlin, above note 14, pp. 80–84, 264.
122. Organisation générale et programme de la Croix-Rouge (D'après les décisions prises dans les Conférences internationales par les Fondateurs et les Représentants de cette Institution), 2nd edition, ICRC, Geneva, 1898, pp. 25–26.
123. Gustave Moynier, ‘Ce que c'est que la Croix-Rouge’, in Bulletin international des Sociétés de la Croix-Rouge, No. 21, January 1875, pp. 1–8
124. André Durand, ‘Quelques remarques sur l’élaboration des principes de la Croix-Rouge chez Gustave Moynier’, in Christophe Swinarski (ed.), Études et essais sur le droitinternational humanitaire et sur les principes de la Croix-Rouge en l'honneur de Jean Pictet, ICRC, Geneva, and Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1984, pp. 861–873.
125. Statutes of the International Committee of the Red Cross, 10 March 1921, Art. 3, in Revue internationale de la Croix-Rouge, No. 28, April 1921, pp. 379–380.
126. On the situation of the German Red Cross during World War II, see Dieter Riesenberger, Das Deutsche Rote Kreuz: Eine Geschichte 1864–1990 Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn, 2002, esp. pp. 269–371
127. Birgitt Morgenbrod and Stephanie Merkenich, Das Deutsche Rote Kreuz unter der NS-Diktatur, 1933–1945, Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn, 2008.
128. Board of Governors, 19th session, Oxford, 1946, Resolution XII, amended by Resolution VII of the 20th session, Stockholm 1948, Handbook, above note 4, pp. 721–724.
129. Eighteenth International Conference of the Red Cross, above note 25, pp. 112–113 and 148, Resolution X.
130. Max Huber, La pensée et l'action de la Croix-Rouge, ICRC, Geneva, 1954
131. Jean S. Pictet, Red Cross principles, ICRC, Geneva, 1956.
132. Council of Delegates of the International Red Cross, Verbatim Report, Prague, 1961, p. 46. At the Council of Delegates, there was only one debate, started by a statement made by the President of the Alliance of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the USSR. That debate concerned the role of the Red Cross with regard to the preservation of peace, which was mentioned in connection with the principle of humanity.
133. Twentieth International Conference of the Red Cross, above note 33, pp. 51–52 and 99–100, Resolution VIII.
134. See also Hans Haug, with Hans-Peter Gasser, Françoise Perret, and Jean-Pierre Robert-Tissot, Humanity for All: The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Paul Haupt Publishers, Berne, Stuttgart, and Vienna, and Henry Dunant Institute, Geneva, 1993, pp. 443–490.
135. International Review of the Red Cross, No. 256, January-February 1987, pp. 27–28
136. Handbook, above note 4, pp. 519–520.
137. International Court of Justice, Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America), Merits, Judgement of 27 June 1986, ICJ Reports 1986, p. 125.
138. Together for Humanity: Thirtieth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Geneva, 26–30 November 2007: Council of Delegates of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Geneva, 23–27 November 2007: Resolutions, ICRC - Federation, Geneva, 2008, pp. 78–80, Resolution 2.
139. On this issue, see François Bugnion, Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Crystal, ICRC, Geneva, 2007.
140. As an example, see two key reports that the ICRC submitted to the Twenty-eighth and to the Thirtieth International Conference: Twenty-eighth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Geneva, 2–6 December 2003, International Humanitarian Law and the Challenges of Contemporary Armed Conflicts, report prepared by the ICRC, October 2003 (document 03/IC/09)
141. Thirtieth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Geneva, 26–30 November 2007.
142. International Humanitarian Law and the Challenges of Contemporary Armed Conflicts, document prepared by the ICRC, October 2007 (document 30IC/07/8.4). Both reports are available at http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/section_ihl_reaffirmation_and_development?opendocument (last visited 16 March 2010).
143. Nineteenth International Conference of the Red Cross, above note 26, p. 155, Resolution XX.
144. Resolution XVII, Nineteenth International Conference of the Red Cross, New Delhi, October-November 1957, Report, pp. 103–104 and 154–155.
145. Statutes, Art. 8.
146. Statutes, Art. 11, para. 4.
147. On the role of governments within the framework of the International Conference, see Thomas Kupfer and Georg Stein, ‘The role of governments at International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent’, in Lijnzaad, van Sambeek, and Tahzib-Lie, above note 12, pp. 107–118.
148. Statutes, Art. 18, para. 1.
149. ‘Funambule et illusionniste, la Commission permanente doit jongler avec la politique sans s'y brûler, dans le but de l'escamoter à l'aube des Conférences’, Y. Sandoz, above note 41, p. 602.
150. Statutes, Art. 10, para. 8 stipulates that ‘The International Conference may establish for the duration of the Conference subsidiary bodies in accordance with the Rules of Procedure’.
151. P. Boissier, above note 3, p. 208.
152. Treizième Conférence internationale de la Croix-Rouge, above note 89, pp. 21–27.
153. Personal communication from the Secretariat of the Standing Commission, 3 June 2009.
154. Statutes, Art. 10, para. 4.
155. Twenty-seventh International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Geneva, 31 October-6 November 1999, Report, ICRC and Federation, Geneva, 2000, pp. 137–138.
156. Twenty-eighth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, above note 57, p. 277.