The origin of the red cross

/kloc-in the middle of the 0/9th century, in order to compete for the market, countries with increasingly prosperous commercial economy in Europe kept fighting with each other, fighting for land, killing people for profit, fighting for cities and killing people for profit. Military medical departments in various countries cannot solve the problem of rescue and treatment of the wounded in the battlefield alone. Therefore, after a bloody battle, there are often bodies everywhere, moaning and crying, and they die tragically and unbearable. A Swiss named Jean-Henri Dunant (1828- 19lO) arrived in Lombardy, northern Italy on June 25th, 859. At this time, Emperor Napoleon was leading the French army, withdrawing Ding and Austria at the same time, fighting bloody battles in magenta, Solferino and other places for Lombardy. In the battle of Solferino, more than 40,000 people were killed on both sides, and a large number of wounded soldiers were abandoned on the battlefield, steaming in the hot sun, and no one rescued them. The situation is very tragic. Seeing this scene, Du Nan, out of sympathy and pity for people, immediately called on local residents to organize with him, regardless of nationality, to rescue and care the abandoned wounded soldiers for eight days.

After returning to Geneva, Du Nan told the public about his experience in Solferino. People encouraged him to write books to inspire the conscience of the world. Three years later, Du Nan published his masterpiece Memories of Solferino in June. In the book, Du Nan tells the story of what he saw and heard in Solferino and the rescue of the wounded. At the end of the book, he suggested that: (1) countries should set up wounded rescue organizations; (2) Convene an international conference to study and formulate an international convention to protect the rights and interests of wounded soldiers and wounded rescue organizations. He actively lobbied the rulers of Germany and Austria, and his initiative was warmly supported by the upper classes of European countries. Therefore, 1863 On February 9th, Du Nan, together with General dufour, Lawyer Mowani, Appiah and Dr. Monova, established the International Rescue Committee under the Geneva Public Welfare Association, which is commonly called the Five-step Committee. Its first president was General dufour, who was the secretary of the International Committee, so the Red Cross was born. By 1880, the five-member Committee was officially renamed the International Committee of the Red Cross.

At the initiative and urging of the International Rescue Committee, an international conference called Preparatory Meeting was held in Geneva from 26 to 29 October in 1863 16 countries. The meeting adopted ten resolutions and three recommendations, in particular:

(1) Establish an ambulance committee in each country to assist the' Army' medical team in wartime;

(2) Training male nurses at ordinary times;

(3) Invalidate ambulances, military hospitals and medical personnel;

(4) Adopt uniform identification marks, namely the red cross flag and armband on a white background.

The five-member committee, especially Du Nan, made unremitting efforts to persuade European countries to send representatives to Geneva to study and formulate an international convention to protect the rights and interests of wounded soldiers and wounded rescue groups. 12 the diplomatic conference attended by plenipotentiaries was held in Geneva from August 8 to 22, 1964. The meeting adopted the draft convention proposed by the five-member committee almost without modification, and formally signed the Geneva Convention for the Improvement of the Situation of the Wounded in the Field Army, the first Geneva Convention, on August 22nd. There are only ten articles in the Convention, which generally confirms the resolutions adopted by the 1863 preparatory meeting in the form of an international convention, and also sets a normative model for international humanitarian law of war. Since then, the International Red Cross Movement and its special role in armed conflicts have been officially recognized by international conventions.

Subsequently, at the end of 19 and the beginning of the 20th century, 43 Red Cross Societies were established in major countries in Europe, Asia and the United States. The Red Cross Society of China was also born in Shanghai on May 29th, 1904. By April of 1987, Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies from 145 countries had officially joined the International Red Cross Movement.

The Origin, Types and Use of the Red Cross Symbol

1August, 949 12 Geneva Conventions officially recognized three battlefield ambulance identification marks: Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun. 1982, the red lion and sun standards were cancelled. In the process of field service, military medical departments use such signs to indicate their medical equipment, personnel, vehicles, ships, planes, houses, etc. , are protected by the Geneva Conventions, and shall not be attacked at will. The relevant situation is now described as follows:

I. Origin and types of the Red Cross symbol

The Red Cross, as the identification symbol of the rescue group (the Red Cross Society), adopted the "red cross armband with white background as the identification symbol of the volunteers of the wounded rescue group" from June 1863 to June 10. The subsequent Geneva Convention was more specific, clearly pointing out that the Red Cross sign was made by reversing the color of the Swiss flag. This is to commemorate Switzerland, because Geneva, Switzerland is the birthplace of the Red Cross. It can be seen that the sign of the Red Cross has nothing to do with religious superstition.

The sign of the Red Cross usually consists of five red squares of equal size. The constitution of the International Red Cross does not strictly stipulate the size and proportion of the Red Cross symbol itself, but only stipulates that two red rectangular stripes intersect vertically and have the same length from the center to both ends. This is why our common red cross symbols vary from place to place and have different specifications. Of course, the combination of the above five squares is better and more in line with the agreed standards.

1876, the Turkish government at war with Russia informed swiss federal council that "the Red Cross symbol offended the religious beliefs of its soldiers" and its army had adopted the Red Crescent symbol instead of the Red Cross symbol to indicate the ambulances they used. Turkey's sports style has been imitated by some Arab and Islamic countries, and they have also adopted the Red Crescent logo.

Why did the Red Cross sign offend the religious beliefs of Turkish soldiers? In order to explain this problem clearly, we have to briefly review a short period of world history. 1 1 century to13rd century, Western Europe believed in Christianity, and princes, nobles and missionaries of various countries tried to recapture the holy city of Jerusalem and the holy land of Christ from Muslims. They gathered Christians for the Crusades many times (the most famous one was eight times). At that time, the flag he still used was marked by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Although the Crusade ended in failure, since then, countries that believe in Islam have regarded the cross as a forbidden thing and prohibited its use. This kind of thought and emotion is naturally reflected in the use of the Red Cross symbol. However, some countries with great Islamic influence, such as Lebanon, Indonesia, Bangladesh, etc., have not adopted the Red Crescent logo, but still adopted the Red Cross logo used by most countries.

There are two forms of the Red Crescent symbol: bending to the left and right. The International Red Cross generally adopts a red crescent that bends to the right. As for the size and specifications of the logo, like the Red Cross logo, there is no unified standard model to follow so far.

Since 1923, Iran has adopted the red lion and the sun as the symbols of its Red Cross organization. However, after the Iranian revolution, on July 4 1980, the International Red Cross was officially notified to abandon the use of the red lion and the sun symbol and switch to the Red Crescent symbol. Therefore, by July of 1980 and 1949, among the three red cross symbols recognized by the Geneva Conventions, there are actually only two kinds of red cross and red crescent. In newspaper articles, we sometimes see the statement that "the Red Cross uses three different symbols", which is obviously not true because the information is blocked.

At present, among the 144 members of the National Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,19 use the Red Cross logo, 24 use the Red Crescent logo, and the rest of the former Soviet Union countries are the only red cross organizations that use both.

Second, the use of the Red Cross symbol.

According to Article 44 of the First Geneva Convention 1949 August 12, the Red Cross emblem (the Red Crescent emblem is also applicable) has two distinct properties: protection and interpretation. The former refers to personnel, equipment, vehicles, institutions, etc. Those who use these signs are protected by the relevant provisions of the Convention; The latter only explains or indicates the person or thing who uses the sign, and is only related to or affiliated with the Red Cross and is not protected by the Convention. The use of the Red Cross symbol is first and foremost the authority of the military authorities, especially the military medical department. Therefore, the use of the Red Cross symbol should generally be authorized by the relevant military authorities and should not be used for profit-making commercial activities. In wartime, this authorization was specially given to the military medical team engaged in saving lives, that is, its personnel can wear the Red Cross armband in the field rescue process; Its ambulances, hospital boats, medical planes, hospitals, etc. You can hang the red cross flag; Its medical equipment can be labeled with the Red Cross; Wait a minute. The warring parties shall give protection according to the Convention and shall not violate it. However, once these personnel, equipment, facilities and institutions no longer serve the wounded and sick on the battlefield, they will no longer be protected by the Convention; Hospitals, ambulances, etc. It is used to cover or transport combat troops, which violates the Convention.

The participating countries of the Geneva Convention have formulated strict domestic legislation according to the requirements of the Convention, and clearly defined the use methods of the Red Cross symbol. Generally speaking, the Red Cross has no right to use protective signs, but it can use the Red Cross signs in peacetime according to the provisions of domestic legislation. Of course, this use does not contain any protective significance. According to the regulations of the International Red Cross, members of the Red Cross, young members, first-aid personnel trained by the Red Cross and health workers can wear Red Cross badges, epaulettes, collar badges, badges, caps and pins. It is best to embed some patterns around the Red Cross signs such as these badges, or cast the words of the wearer. In particular, the standard loyalty should be as small as possible, not too big. Houses occupied by the Red Cross can also be painted with the Red Cross logo or hung with the Red Cross flag; Part of it is occupied, and only the Red Cross sign is hung in the occupied office; If the place owned by the Red Cross is uninhabited, only the emblem without logo can be hung. Others, such as ambulances and first-aid stations, which are owned and used by the Red Cross, can also be painted or hung with the Red Cross logo. Publications of the Red Cross, or articles sold in the process of fund-raising, may also bear the logo of the Red Cross. The relief items distributed to the victims free of charge can also be printed with the Red Cross logo. If the disaster relief materials shipped abroad are labeled with the Red Cross, they can also get preferential treatment of reducing or exempting transportation costs, especially emergency relief materials can be rushed first. Non-Red Cross organizations must obtain the consent of the relevant competent departments and the Red Cross before using the signs, and shall not go their own way.