international red cross and red crescent movement international red cross and red crescent movement the international red cross and red crescent movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. it was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering. within it there are three distinct organisations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organisations. international red crossand red crescent movementthe red cross and red crescent emblems, the symbols from which the movement derives its name, geneva, 2005the three emblems in use:red cross, red crescent, red crystalplaces where the organization is based, with color distinguishing denominations around the worldabbreviationicrc and ifrcfounded9 february 1863 (1863-02-09) (international committee of the red cross)5 may 1919 (1919-05-05) (international federation of red cross and red crescent societies)foundershenry dunantgustave moynierthéodore maunoirguillaume henri dufourlouis appiatypengo, npofocushumanitarianismlocationgeneva, switzerlandoriginsgenevaarea served worldwidemethodaidmembership un (united nations general assembly) cicr and ficrkey peoplepeter maureremployees c. 180,000volunteers c. 16.4 millionaward(s)nobel peace prize(1917 icrc, 1944 icrc, 1963 icrc & ifrc)websitewww.icrc.org history foundation the red cross, after the battle of gravelotte in 1870 henry dunant, author of a memory of solferino until the middle of the nineteenth century, there were no organized or well-established army nursing systems for casualties, nor safe or protected institutions, to accommodate and treat those who were wounded on the battlefield. a devout calvinist, the swiss businessman jean-henri dunant traveled to italy to meet then-french emperor napoleon iii in june 1859 with the intention of discussing difficulties in conducting business in algeria, which at that time was occupied by france. he arrived in the small town of solferino on the evening of 24 june after the battle of solferino, an engagement in the austro-sardinian war. in a single day, about 40,000 soldiers on both sides died or were left wounded on the field. dunant was shocked by the terrible aftermath of the battle, the suffering of the wounded soldiers, and the near-total lack of medical attendance and basic care. he completely abandoned the original intent of his trip and for several days he devoted himself to helping with the treatment and care for the wounded. he took point in organizing an overwhelming level of relief assistance with the local villagers to aid without discrimination. original document of the first geneva convention, 1864 back at his home in geneva, he decided to write a book entitled a memory of solferino, which he published using his own money in 1862. he sent copies of the book to leading political and military figures throughout europe, and people he thought could help him make a change. his book included vivid descriptions of his experiences in solferino in 1859, and he explicitly advocated the formation of national voluntary relief organizations to help nurse wounded soldiers in the case of war, inspired by christian teaching regarding social responsibility and his experience after the battlefield of solferino. he called for the development of an international treaty to guarantee the protection of medics and field hospitals for soldiers wounded on the battlefield. cross of the serbian red cross society in 1863, gustave moynier, a geneva lawyer and president of the geneva society for public welfare, received a copy of dunant's book and introduced it for discussion at a meeting of that society. as a result of this initial discussion, the society established an investigatory commission to examine the feasibility of dunant's suggestions and eventually to organize an international conference about their possible implementation. the members of this committee, which has subsequently been referred to as the "committee of the five", aside from dunant and moynier were physician louis appia, who had significant experience working as a field surgeon; appia's friend and colleague théodore maunoir, from the geneva hygiene and health commission; and guillaume-henri dufour, a swiss army general of great renown. eight days later, the five men decided to rename the committee to the "international committee for relief to the wounded". international conference from 26 to 29 october 1863, the international conference organized by the committee was held in geneva to develop possible measures to improve medical services on the battlefield. the conference was attended by 36 individuals: eighteen official delegates from national governments, six delegates from non-governmental organizations, seven non-official foreign delegates, and the five members of the international committee. the states and kingdoms represented by official delegates were: austrian empire, grand duchy of baden, kingdom of bavaria, french empire, kingdom of hanover, grand duchy of hesse, kingdom of italy, kingdom of the netherlands, kingdom of prussia, russian empire, kingdom of saxony, kingdom of spain, united kingdoms of sweden and norway, and united kingdom of great britain and ireland. "committee of the five": gustave moynier, guillaume-henri dufour, henry dunant, louis appia, théodore maunoir among the proposals written in the final resolutions of the conference, adopted on 29 october 1863, were: the foundation of national relief societies for wounded soldiers; neutrality and protection for wounded soldiers; the utilization of volunteer forces for relief assistance on the battlefield; the organization of additional conferences to enact these concepts; the introduction of a common distinctive protection symbol for medical personnel in the field, namely a white armlet bearing a red cross. memorial commemorating the first use of the red cross symbol in an armed conflict during the battle of dybbøl (denmark) in 1864; jointly erected in 1989 by the national red cross societies of denmark and germany geneva convention, national societies and icrc only a year later, the swiss government invited the governments of all european countries, as well as the united states, the empire of brazil and the mexican empire to attend an official diplomatic conference. sixteen countries sent a total of 26 delegates to geneva. on 22 august 1864, the conference adopted the first geneva convention "for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded in armies in the field". representatives of 12 states and kingdoms signed the convention: swiss confederation grand duchy of baden kingdom of belgium kingdom of denmark kingdom of spain french empire grand duchy of hesse kingdom of italy kingdom of the netherlands kingdom of portugal and the algarves kingdom of prussia kingdom of württemberg the convention contained ten articles, establishing for the first time legally binding rules guaranteeing neutrality and protection for wounded soldiers, field medical personnel, and specific humanitarian institutions in an armed conflict. directly following the establishment of the geneva convention, the first national societies were founded in belgium, denmark, france, oldenburg, prussia, spain, and württemberg. also in 1864, louis appia and charles van de velde, a captain of the dutch army, became the first independent and neutral delegates to work under the symbol of the red cross in an armed conflict. the ottoman government ratified this treaty on 5 july 1865. the turkish red crescent organization was founded in the ottoman empire in 1868, partly in response to the experience of the crimean war (1853-1856), in which disease overshadowed battle as the main cause of death and suffering among turkish soldiers. it was the first red crescent society of its kind and one of the most important charity organizations in the muslim world. in 1867, the first international conference of national aid societies for the nursing of the war wounded was convened. also in 1867, jean-henri dunant was forced to declare bankruptcy due to business failures in algeria, partly because he had neglected his business interests during his tireless activities for the international committee. the controversy surrounding dunant's business dealings and the resulting negative public opinion, combined with an ongoing conflict with gustave moynier, led to dunant's expulsion from his position as a member and secretary. he was charged with fraudulent bankruptcy and a warrant for his arrest was issued. thus, he was forced to leave geneva and never returned to his home city. in the following years, national societies were founded in nearly every country in europe. the project resonated well with patriotic sentiments that were on the rise in the late-nineteenth-century, and national societies were often encouraged as signifiers of national moral superiority. in 1876, the committee adopted the name "international committee of the red cross" (icrc), which is still its official designation today. five years later, the american red cross was founded through the efforts of clara barton. more and more countries signed the geneva convention and began to respect it in practice during armed conflicts. in a rather short period of time, the red cross gained huge momentum as an internationally respected movement, and the national societies became increasingly popular as a venue for volunteer work. when the first nobel peace prize was awarded in 1901, the norwegian nobel committee opted to give it jointly to jean-henri dunant and frédéric passy, a leading international pacifist. more significant than the honor of the prize itself, this prize marked the overdue rehabilitation of jean-henri dunant and represented a tribute to his key role in the formation of the red cross. dunant died nine years later in the small swiss health resort of heiden. only two months earlier his long-standing adversary gustave moynier had also died, leaving a mark in the history of the committee as its longest-serving president ever. gōtarō mikami's red cross flag with which in 1905 he deflected from his field hospital in manchuria the onslaught of the russian army in 1906, the 1864 geneva convention was revised for the first time. one year later, the hague convention x, adopted at the second international peace conference in the hague, extended the scope of the geneva convention to naval warfare. shortly before the beginning of the first world war in 1914, 50 years after the foundation of the icrc and the adoption of the first geneva convention, there were already 45 national relief societies throughout the world. the movement had extended itself beyond europe and north america to central and south america (argentine republic, the united states of brazil, the republic of chile, the republic of cuba, the united mexican states, the republic of peru, the republic of el salvador, the oriental republic of uruguay, the united states of venezuela), asia (the republic of china, the empire of japan and the kingdom of siam), and africa (union of south africa). world war i war 1914–1918. geneva, rath museum. international prisoners-of-war agency. researches department. german section. express messages and communications to families. with the outbreak of world war i, the icrc found itself confronted with enormous challenges that it could handle only by working closely with the national red cross societies. red cross nurses from around the world, including the united states and japan, came to support the medical services of the armed forces of the european countries involved in the war. on 15 august 1914, immediately after the start of the war, the icrc set up its international prisoners-of-war agency (ipwa) to trace pows and to re-establish communications with their respective families. the austrian writer and pacifist stefan zweig described the situation at the geneva headquarters of the icrc:hardly had the first blows been struck when cries of anguish from all lands began to be heard in switzerland. thousands who were without news of fathers, husbands, and sons in the battlefields, stretched despairing arms into the void. by hundreds, by thousands, by tens of thousands, letters and telegrams poured into the little house of the red cross in geneva, the only international rallying point that still remained. isolated, like stormy petrels, came the first inquiries for missing relatives; then these inquiries themselves became a storm. the letters arrived in sackfuls. nothing had been prepared for dealing with such an inundation of misery. the red cross had no space, no organization, no system, and above all no helpers. group picture of the volunteers – mostly women – in front of the musée rath in 1914 however, by the end of the year, the agency already had some 1,200 volunteers who worked in the musée rath of geneva, amongst them the french writer and pacifist romain rolland. when he was awarded the nobel prize for literature for 1915, he donated half of the prize money to the agency. most of the staff were women, some of whom – like marguerite van berchem, marguerite cramer and suzanne