INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS

A N N U A LR E P O R T

1957

+

GE N E V A

1958

3 6 2 .1 9 1563

(1957) ( £ n g l . )

BIBLIOTHEQUE DU CICR17, av. de la Paix, 1211 GELEVE tél. 022/34 60 01 int. 2424Prêt limité à 1 mois Prolongation possible PAR ECRIT

DATE DE RESTITUTION

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IN TERN A TIO N A L COMMITTEE OF T H E R E D CROSS

7 .Avenue de la Paix, GENEVA, Switzerland

Printed, in Switzerland

This report is published in French, English, Spanish and German

3 bl 131/^63

(AfL)INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS

A N N U A LR E P O R T

1957

GE N E V A

INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS

M embers :

Honorary President : M AX H U B E R , D octor of Laws, former President of the Perm anent Court of International Justice.

L ÉO PO LD B O IS SIE R , D octor of Laws, H onorary Professor a t the U niversity of Geneva, former Secretary-G eneral to the Inter-Parliam entary U nion, President (1946) 1.

JA C Q U ES C H E N E V IÈ R E , H on. D octor of L iterature (1919).

LUCIE O D IE R , former Director of the D istrict Nursing Service, G eneva Branch of the Sw iss Red Cross (1930).

CARL J . B U R C K H A R D T , D octor of Philosophy, former Sw iss M inister to France (1933).

M A RTIN B O D M ER , H on. D octor of Philosophy, V ice-President (1940).

E R N E S T GLOOR, D octor o f M edicine (1945).

P A U L C A R R Y , D octor of Laws, Professor at the U niversity of G eneva (1946).

P A U L R U E G G E R , former Sw iss M inister to Ita ly and the U nited K ingdom , Member of the Perm anent Court of Arbitration (1948).

H E N R I G U ISA N , General, former Com m ander-in-Chief of the Swiss Arm y (1948).

A L F R E D O V A N N O T T I, D octor of Medicine, Professor at the Lausanne U niversity (1949).

RODOLFO OLGIATI, former D irector of the D on Suisse (1949).

M A R G U E R IT E V AN BER C H EM , former H ead of Section, Central Prisoners of War A gency (1951).

F R É D É R IC SIO R D E T , Lawyer, Counsellor o f the ICRC from 1943 to 1951, V ice-President (1951).

M ARCEL JU N O D , D octor of M edicine, D elegate of the ICRC from 1935 to 1946 (1952).

G U ILLA U M E B O R D IE R , Certificated E ngineer E .P .F ., M .B.A. Harvard, Banker (1955).

Directorate :

RO G ER G A L LO PIN , Doctor of Laws, E xecu tive D irector.

JE A N S. PICTET,* D octor of Laws, D irector for General Affairs.

E D O U A R D D E B O N D E L I, A ssistant D irector, F inancial and A dm inistrative Services.

C LAU D E P IL L O U D , A ssistant-D irector, Legal D epartm ent.

The International C om m ittee of the R ed Cross holds a plenary session every m onth in order to take decisions of a general nature and to define its policy.

T he Presidential Council in 1957 was com posed o f Mr. L. Boissier, Mr. M. Bodm er, Mr. F. Siordet, Mr. J . Chenevière, Dr. E. Gloor and Mr. R. Olgiati.

The D irectorate deals w ith the work of the ICRC and the adm inistration o f its various departm ents.

1 The figures in brackets represent the dates of nom ination of the members of the International Committee.

P R E F A C E

The International Committee of the Red Cross was constantly on the alert in 1957. I ts essential work, closely linked with events which shook the world, consisted of assisting the victims of so many upheavals. The Committee s delegates were called upon to take action in unforeseen circumstances and to adapt their ditties to situations which could hardly have been imagined a few years ago. On every occasion ample evidence was given of the wisdom and authority of the Geneva Conventions.

Pursuing a difficult task the Committee gave the final form to the Draft Rules for the Lim itation of the Dangers incurred by the Civilian Population in Tim e of War. The meaning of this text has not always been fu lly understood ; it was therefore necessary to define it in order that all might know that it is merely one suggestion among others for a solution of the problem of the protection of non- combatants.

This endeavour, which had no other motive, apparently met with the approval of the New Delhi Conference which, while requesting Governments to give the Draft Rules their consideration, urged the International Committee to pursue its efforts in this field.

A t New Delhi the Committee had the great satisfaction of seeing its efforts approved by the Conference. Fortified by this encouragement, it will continue to make its way towards those in distress, whoever they may be and wherever they are to be found, and then further still towards those who share this great hope for the reconciliation of mankind.

Léopold B o i s s i e r ,

P residen t, In te rn a tio n a l C om m ittee

of th e R ed Cross.

I. PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES OF THE ICRC

Various relief actions and missions

The In ternational Com mittee of the Red Cross is ready to take im m ediate action on the ou tbreak of an arm ed conflict in any p art of the world.

I ts intervention, of a s tric tly hum anitarian nature, can have no effect upon the legal sta tu s of the parties to the conflict since it is the characteristic of the ICRC, a neutra l institu tion , to be entirely independent in its work of any racial, political or religious considerations.

W hen the ICRC offers its services in times of stress it merely affirms the requirem ents of hum anity . In th is spirit, for nearly a cen tu ry and on innum erable battle-fields, the representatives of the ICRC have never ceased to follow H enry D u n an t’s example and in their efforts to alleviate suffering they have echoed the cry of the people of Solferino : “ We are all brothers

** *

In 1957 the ICRC was engaged in various relief actions through­out the world.

As custom ary, this work was financed by funds collected by the ICRC from the Swiss people, or by gifts en trusted to the In ternational Com mittee by N ational Red Cross Societies and Governm ents.

The ICRC did not m erely d istribu te relief supplies. I t also perform ed the various duties on which its " trad itional mission "

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is based : visits to persons under detention 1, assistance to m ilitary personnel and civilians, legal protection, exchange of news through the Central Prisoners of W ar Agency, etc.

AMERICA

In America, the ICRC carried out little fresh activ ity in 1957. I t m aintained excellent relations w ith the G overnm ents and N ational Societies, either d irectly 2 or through its resident delegates 3

In addition, the In ternational Com mittee continued its endeav­ours to secure the ratification and dissem ination of the Geneva Conventions and to publicize the basic principles and the activ ity of the R ed Cross in the in ternational field.

The ICRC also had useful discussions w ith the presidents and secretaries-general of several N ational Red Cross Societies who visited Geneva. D uring these meetings, consideration was given to legal, financial or technical questions which are of common interest.

The ICRC did its u tm ost to ease the task of the N ational R ed Cross Societies and to assist their efforts, particu larly in the case of in ternal disturbances.

Lastly, the L atin American countries were kept inform ed of the ICRC activities by means of radio broadcasts in Spanish by the In ternational Committee 4.

ASIA

KO REA

A t the New Delhi Conference, the Red Cross of the Democratic People’s Republic of K orea gave the ICRC a num ber of replies in response to enquiries which had been transm itted to it by the

1 V isits to political de ta inees are described in a separa te ch ap te r (see p. 24).

2 Mission to th e U n ited S ta te s by Mr. W . Michel and Mr. W. Meyer.3 Mr. J . de C ham brier, delegate for L a tin A m erica (A rgentina), Mr. E.

H acgler, delegate in Brazil, Mr. G. R oethlisberger, delegate in Colombia.4 See p. 2.

Red Cross of the Republic of K orea concerning civilians reported missing as a result of the Korean conflict. The inform ation supplied was im m ediately transm itted to the representatives of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of Korea, so th a t the families con­cerned could be notified. The ICRC also passed on to the Red Cross of the Republic of K orea individual enquiries which it had received from the Red Cross of the Dem ocratic People’s Republic of Korea.

IN D IA

On Novem ber 10, 1957, an ICRC delegate 1 visited eight former Korean prisoners of w ar who were unwilling to re tu rn either to the D em ocratic People’s Republic of Korea or to the Republic of Korea after the hostilities and who had been allowed to stay in Ind ia since th a t time. The ICRC delegate inspected their living conditions.

IN D O N ESIA

In order to assist civilians who suffered hardships as a result of in ternal disturbances in Indonesia, the ICRC gave the Red Cross of th a t country 885 cases of condensed milk, of a value of Sw. F r. 30,000.

On December 30, 1957, a delegate 2 left Geneva for D jakarta , in order to examine the facilities accorded for trave l to the N ether­lands to D utch nationals obliged to leave Indonesia following the disturbances there. In conjunction w ith the Indonesian Red Cross, the ICRC delegate will take all necessary steps to assist them if required.

This action was taken in agreem ent w ith the Indonesia au tho r­ities ; it will be referred to in more detail in the next A nnual R eport.

JA PA N

In 1957, following the mission carried out in 1956 by Mr. W. Michel and Mr. E. de Week in Korea and Jap an , the ICRC continued its efforts to secure the release of Japanese fishermen detained at P usan (South Korea) and of Koreans in terned in camps a t Omura

1 Mr. C. Pilloud.2 Mr. A. D urand .

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and H am am atsu (Japan). Discussions were held a t New Delhi during the X lX th In ternational Red Cross Conference and prac­tical proposals were m ade to the two detaining Governm ents. An agreem ent was finally reached on December 31, 1957. E arlier in the year, the ICRC delegate in Jap an 1 again visited the camps a t O m ura and H am am atsu ; he was able to d istribu te relief sup­plies, in particu lar thanks to a gift am ounting to Sw. Fr. 57,000 from the Red Cross of the Dem ocratic People’s Republic of Korea.

N EPA L

The ICRC sent a consignm ent of m edicam ents, m ainly an ti­biotics, to the M inister of H ealth for Nepal, valued a t Sw. Fr. 3,572.

P H IL IP P IN E S

Implementation of Article 16 of the Peace Treaty dated Sep­tember 8, 1951 between the Allies and Japan.

In 1956, the ICRC allocated the appropriate am ount to all those countries which had supplied sufficiently accurate lists of former Allied prisoners of w ar in Japanese hands, in order to avoid fu rther delay in allocating com pensation as provided by the San Francisco T reaty 2, to those who suffered excessive hardship during their cap tiv ity . By the end of 1957, the to ta l am ount handed over, calculated on the basis of 157,617 recipients, was ¿1,945,584 and $5,442,515. A sum equivalent to about two fifths of this first paym ent has been set aside for cases still pending.

In 1957, the In ternational Com mittee continued its efforts to settle the case of those countries— and in particu lar the Philippines —which had not yet subm itted accurate lists. In th is connection, it became necessary to m ake a public appeal through the press and over the radio to former prisoners of w ar or to their executors to subm it their claims, w ith the relevant supporting docum ents, to the various sections of the N ational Red Cross Societies. W ith the

1 Mr. H . A ngst.2 See A nnual R ep o rt 1956, p. 35.

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Donations in cash being distributed by a delegate of the IC R C to Korean refugeesin O mura Camp, J a p a n

assistance of the Red Cross and the local authorities, the ICRC delegates then m ade on-the-spot checks wherever necessary.

The am ounts set aside for the Philippine beneficiaries will be d istribu ted as soon as registration and checking have been finished and complete lists are available.

R E PU B L IC OF V IE T NAM

Following an application by the Red Cross of the Republic of Viet Nam, the In ternational Com mittee accorded official recog­nition to th a t Society on May 23, 1957.

In the course of the year, the In ternational Com m ittee’s cor­respondent in Saigon 1 m ade representations in order to obtain the repatria tion of 24 Chinese fishermen from H ainan ; these fishermen, caught in a storm in F ebruary 1957, had drifted in their junk tow ards the South Viet Nam coast and had taken refuge in the port of Tourane (now Da-Nang). The ICRC representative visited the fishermen and they were subsequently released by the Vietnamese authorities. They left Tourane w ith their vessel on Ju n e 19. D uly provided w ith food and a safe conduct, they arrived safely a t H ainan and were welcomed by the R ed Cross of the Chinese People’s Republic.

In 1956, the ICRC gave the M inistère des anciens com battan ts the necessary equipm ent for the m anufacture of artificial limbs for am putees, as well as 200 artificial limbs to be fitted a t the centre 2. The Vietnamese Governm ent co-operated in this action by sup­plying the premises.

This centre is now in norm al operation and ou tpu t has reached about 40 artificial legs per m onth. Invalid chairs, copied from models sent by the ICRC, are also being m anufactured.

The cen tre’s new premises a t Saigon include, in addition to the carpen try and basket workshops, etc., a small hall for rehabilitation exercises, a dining room and room y sleeping quarters. I t is hoped th a t an operating theatre can be set up in the near future.

1 Mr. A. L euenberger.2 See A nnual R ep o rt 1956, p. 37.

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DEMOCRATIC R E PU B L IC OF V IE T NAM

The ICRC delegate in the Dem ocratic Republic of Viet Nam 1 successfully accomplished his mission and the In ternational Com­m ittee recalled him to Geneva in Jan u a ry 1957.

A fter representing the ICRC in Saigon since 1952, this delegate was sent to Hanoi in Jan u a ry 1955, in order to m ake arrangem ents w ith the authorities and the Red Cross of th a t country for the shipm ent to the Red Cross of the Dem ocratic Republic of Viet Nam of pharm aceutical relief supplies which had been donated by N ational Red Cross Societies and the ICRC.

The delegate also studied certain hum anitarian problems which fall w ithin the scope of the ICRC.

Following these negotiations, which progressed sm oothly, the Red Cross of the Dem ocratic Republic of Viet Nam applied for official recognition and this request was approved by the ICRC on November 1, 1957.

Certain foreign nationals who had rem ained in the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam after the cease-fire, in 1954, were deprived of diplom atic or consular protection and had difficulty in obtaining the necessary docum ents and financial resources to enable them to re tu rn to their coun try of origin. W ith the agreem ent of the authorities of the D em ocratic Republic of Viet Nam, the ICRC approached the European countries concerned on their behalf. A num ber of persons were thus rep a tria ted in 1957, the m ajority to Switzerland and Italy .

EUROPE

AU STRIA

The relief action s ta rted in 1956 for children and young people who had been disabled by the explosion of w ar m aterial, is still continuing. The necessary enquiries were m ade by the ICRC delegate in Vienna 2 in conjunction w ith the social services in the various " Lander ” . In addition to contributions tow ards appren­

1 Mr. A. D urand .2 Mr. G. Jo u b ert.

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ticeship fees, these young victim s were given rest cures in con­valescent homes and also received tex t books, clothing and shoes or orthopaedic footwear. In addition, the ICRC contribu ted to the cost of establishing in Vienna a sound library for the blind, in which books are in the form of recordings on m agnetic tape.

HUNGARY

The events in H ungary which shook the world aroused a universal charitable impulse which enabled one of the greatest relief actions of post-w ar years to be undertaken.

The Annual R eport for 1956 had already shown the m agnitude of this relief action. The ICRC continued to give its assistance in 1957 in accordance w ith agreem ents concluded w ith the League of Red Cross Societies, the U nited N ations, the H ungarian Red Cross and the H ungarian authorities. T heir united efforts thus m ade it possible to m eet the m ost urgent m aterial needs. A special report published by the IC R C 1 gives an account of the relief action. I t covers the period up to June 30, 1957 when it was estim ­a ted th a t the new harvest would relieve the difficult food situation. This report only refers, therefore, to relief activities in H ungary during the second half-year in 1957.

/. B A S I C A G R E E M E N T S

After closing its delegations in Vienna and B udapest a t the end of June 1957, the In ternational Com mittee m aintained in H ungary a mission composed of five members, under the direction of Mr. E. Fischer, delegate, to a tten d to the winding-up of the relief action begun in Novem ber 1956. An agreem ent for this purpose was concluded on June 27, 1957 between the M inistry of Public H ealth , the H ungarian R ed Cross and the ICRC. The tim e­lim it of three m onths fixed for the winding-up operations was prolonged to October 10, and la te r to October 20, 1957.

Since then it has been arranged th a t m atters still pending should be dealt w ith by tem porary missions sent from Geneva.

1 See R ep o rt on th e Relief A ction in H ungary , O ctober 1956-June 1957, G eneva 1957.

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In the interval, the H ungarian R ed Cross which, since Novem ber 1956, had been presided over by five professors of the F acu lty of Medicine, had been reorganised.

2. T H E L A S T R E L I E F P R O G R A M M E S

From the spring of 1957 the food situation showed considerable im provem ent and the relief action was centred on pharm aceutical products (still in short supply) and the re-equipm ent of hospitals and clinics which had suffered great dam age during the fighting in 1956.

As m any individual requests for assistance were m ade on the spot, the ICRC delegation grouped the applications to avoid the harm ful dispersal of supplies. The allocation of relief supplies was therefore directed to university clinics and the larger hospitals 1. H ospital equipm ent was thus d istribu ted ra tionally as requested by the medical specialists concerned and the M inistry of H ealth.

Considerable distributions were m ade of bedding and household linen. Small hospitals, old people’s homes and children’s hospitals were also included in th is relief program me. D istributions were also m ade to a few small dispensaries opened during the epidemic of poliomyelitis in 1957.

Between Ju ly 1 and O ctober 18, th irty-seven relief program mes were draw n up in succession w ith the H ungarian Red Cross and the M inistry of H ealth; the m ajority were carried out during this period. The representatives of the ICRC visited a num ber of the establishm ents supplied and had no difficulty in ascertaining th a t the distributions were being m ade as planned. The delivery of supplies was checked by m eans of vouchers signed by the doctor in charge who received the equipm ent supplied through the ICRC.

3. M A N U F A C T U R E OF A R T I F I C I A L L I M B S

Some commodities such as coal and seeds were d istribu ted through norm al economic channels, S ta te warehouses, etc. 2. The product of these operations, placed in a “ blocked ” account in B udapest, was to be used for relief actions. W ith these am ounts

1 T he ICRC sen t th e H u n g arian A ssociation for th e B lind books, m aps, B raille typew rite rs and m agnifying glasses and guide-rulers to assist reading.

2 See R ep o rt on th e Relief A ction in H ungary , p. 22.

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and the balance of the funds received in Geneva a relief program m e could be arranged for a longer duration on behalf of H ungarian war-disabled.

A Commission of E xperts 1 visited in April 1957 the artificial limb factory now working in H ungary ; it m ade suggestions for more m odern working m ethods and for setting up new workshops and a rehabilitation centre. On the basis of its conclusions, the ICRC and the M inistry of H ealth signed an agreem ent on October 12, 1957 ; in execution of this agreem ent H ungarian technicians have already taken preparato ry courses a t the artificial limb workshops a t Eisenberg. The building of the new factory in B udapest will s ta rt in the au tum n of 1958.

4. S T A T I S T I C A L F I G U R E S

A table is appended of the relief supplies received and carried to H ungary. The value, according to the estim ations of the ICRC delegates or the donors, reached nearly 88 million Swiss francs for the period from October 1956 to December 1957. The to ta l weight of the gifts in kind was about 50,000 tons.

These figures include all the gift supplies received from N ational Red Cross Societies or o ther sources, handled by the ICRC and included in the relief program mes set up in agreem ent w ith the H ungarian Red Cross. They do not include the various gifts sent direct to H ungary, not en trusted to the ICRC which were not included in its d istribution programmes.

1 Miss A. P firter, H ead of th e M edical Personnel Section and W ar D is­ab lem en t Section of th e ICRC, an d tw o techn ic ians from th e E isenberg artificial lim b w orkshops (G erm an D em ocratic R epublic).

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R E L IE F PROGRAMMES AS FROM JU N E 30, 1957

No. 168 Soap for in s titu tio n s in B udapest.No. 169 W ashing m achines for clinics an d in s titu tions.No. 170 3,750 kg. of soap for old people’s homes.No. 171 L inen for hosp itals in th e provinces.No. 172 10,000 m etres of c lo th for th e m edical un its of th e

H u n g arian R ed Cross.No. 173 30 to n s of in fan t foods for hospitals.No. 174 M edicam ents for hosp ita ls in th e provinces.No. 175 M edical articles.No. 176 A rtificial resp ira tion appliances len t to Laszlo H ospita l.No. 177 Coffee, te a and sugar handed over to th e H u n g arian R ed

Cross.No. 178 M edical m ateria l supplied to various hospitals.No. 179 T extiles an d beds for po liom yelitis hospitals.No. 180 C hocolate and sugar handed over to th e H u n g arian R ed

Cross.No. 181 C rutches for th e crippled.No. 182 V W car for th e H u n g arian R ed Cross.No. 183 P H -m etre and elec tro-encephalograph a p p a ra tu s for

hospitals.No. 184 R ad iograph a p p a ra tu s for hospitals.No. 185 L inen for hosp ita l o p era ting th ea tres .No. 186 O perating tab les for hospitals.No. 187 L inen for hospitals.No. 188 M edical m a teria l for hosp ita ls in the provinces.No. 189 C hild ren ’s c lo th ing handed to th e H ungarian R ed Cross.No. 190 Iro n lungs for Laszlo H ospita l.No. 191 Surgical in s tru m en ts for skin disease an d eye clinics in

B udapest.No. 192 C lothing for 4 C hurch com m unities.No. 193 377 kg. te a handed over to th e H u n g arian R ed Cross.No. 194 E q u ip m en t for F iize rradvany T B H ospita l.No. 195 C lothing for o rphans.No. 196 C lothing and th e a tre p roperties for th e Jasza i Odri

A cto rs’ H om e.No. 197 M edical a p p a ra tu s (van Slyke, etc.) for various hospitals.No. 198 C hildren’s beds for th e hosp ita l in I lk a u tca .No. 199 R adcliff resp ira to rs for various hospitals.No. 200 M edical books for various hospitals.No. 201 M ateria l for th e blind.No. 202 T ypew rite rs for th e H ungarian R ed Cross.No. 203 Surgical in s tru m en ts for various hosp ita ls.No. 204 M edical artic les for various hospitals.

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T A B L E No. 1

G IF T S U P P L IE S R E C E IV E D IN K IN D O R P U R C H A S E D W IT H CASH D O N A T IO N S A ND C A R R IE D TO B U D A P E S T

Kg. Sw. Fr.T otal

Kg. Sw. Fr.

(a) Foodstuffs :C ondensed and pow dered m ilk 6,155,681 13,782,675T inned m ea t and fish . . . 864,601 3,717,631T inned fru it an d vegetables 115,548 316,621In fa n t f o o d s ............................ 121,745 316,537F a ts , oil and b u tte r . . . 1,961,124 4,082,289C h e e s e ..................................... 1,220,543 4,112,456S u g a r .......................................... 443,486 388,463Coffee and t e a ....................... 27,866 295,292C hocolate an d cocoa-pow der 152,857 735,813R i c e .......................................... 646,895 582,205F l o u r .......................................... 8,216,563 5,211,137O ther c e r e a l s ....................... 34,505 25,318P u l s e .......................................... 79,550 66,026P a s t a .......................................... 59,395 65,334S a l t .......................................... 1 0 ,1 0 0 5,858S undry foodstuffs . . . . 224,491 317,013F ru its ..................................... 92,833 117,838P o t a t o e s ................................ 30,470 3,351F ood p a r c e l s ............................ 5,551,750 13,747,274V a r io u s ..................................... 13,779 96,873 26,023,782 47,986,004

(b) Textiles and leather goods :C lothing an d underw ear . . 2,132,657 6,934,209F o o t w e a r ................................ 244,812 1,224,060B l a n k e t s ................................ 395,840 1,512,947S h e e t s ..................................... 36,423 91,057S undry b e d d i n g ................... 21,140 52,850S undry t e x t i l e s ................... 10,498 76,976L ea th e r b a g s ....................... 2,393 11,965T extiles for children . . . 107,526 2,241,450 2,951,289 12,145,514

(c) Medicaments and medicale q u i p m e n t ............................ 195,848 8,575,063

(d) Hospital equipment . . . 578,110 5,073,311

(e) Various supplies :T oilet requ isites (soap, razors) 227,441 387,885K itchen u t e n s i l s ................... 50,546 106,101B ed-fram es and m attresses 73,117 197,003W in d o w - g la s s ....................... 105,515 131,894C o a l .......................................... 9,223,370 1,106,804Seeds (th rough th e FAO) . 9,600,000 4,308,500V e h ic le s ..................................... 258,000S undry articles .................. 212,796 127,900 19,492,785 6,624,087

49,241,814 80,403,969

The above figures represent an estim ate, as near as possible, of the gifts in kind handled by the ICRC. In several cases the value was given by the donor Societies themselves.

T A B L E No. 2

G IF T S IN CASH A ND IN K IN D

Country Gifts in kind G ifts in cash Total

Sw . Fr. Sw . Fr. Sw. Fr.A r g e n t i n a ..................................... 64,509 — 64,509A u s t r a l ia .......................................... 135,000 447,171 582,171A u s t r i a .......................................... 331,851 — 331,851B e l g i u m .......................................... 707,592 174,650 882,242B r a z i l .............................................. 10,000 12,987 22,987C anada .......................................... 593,128 573,530 1.166,658C e v lo n .............................................. — 13,803 13,803C h ile ................................................... — 7,133 7,133C o lo m b ia .......................................... — 42,887 42,887D e n m a rk .......................................... 1,749,967 — 1,749,967E c u a d o r ......................................... — 13,673 13,673F i n l a n d .......................................... 951,917 2,667 954,584F rance .............................................. 971,751 249,401 1,221,152F rance (In term in . C om m ittee ). 4,334,409 — 4,334,409G erm an F edera l R epublic . . 13,325,195 463,500 13,788,695G r e e c e .............................................. 60,608 — 60,608G u a te m a la ..................................... — 3,097 3,097I n d i a .............................................. — 6,386 6,386I r a n ................................................... — 27,932 27,932I s r a e l .............................................. 12,000 — 12,000I ta ly .............................................. 674,666 40,096 714,672Ja p a n .............................................. — 178,343 178,343Lebanon .......................................... — 668 668L ie c h te n s te in ................................ 198,440 20,000 218,440L u x e m b u rg ..................................... 27,281 35,130 62,411M e x ic o .............................................. 10,164 — 10.164M o n a c o .......................................... 50,000 15,528 65,528N e t h e r l a n d s ................................ 3,853,203 150,000 4,003,203New Z e a l a n d ................................ — 262,160 262,160N o r w a y .......................................... 1,284,608 — 1,284,608P a k i s t a n .......................................... — 2,253 2,253P o r t u g a l ......................................... 60,489 — 60,489Sou th A f r i c a ................................ — 646,868 646,868S p a i n .............................................. 492,022 •— 492,022Sw eden .......................................... 4,422,405 194,026 4,616,431S w itz e r la n d ..................................... 4,964,363 1,030,000 5,994,363T h a i l a n d .......................................... 20,249 10,711 30,960U n ited K i n g d o m ....................... 4,936,951 1,229,831 6,166,782U n ited S t a t e s ................................ 27,595,789 976,126 28,571,915U ruguay .......................................... 8,066 64,256 72,322V i e t n a m .......................................... — 2,140 2,140F .A .O .................................................. 4,308,500 — 4,308,500U .N .I.C .E .F ..................................... 2,740,537 — 2,740,537V a r i o u s .......................................... 1,507,509 470,706 1,978,215

80,403,169 7,367,659 87,770,828

18

GERMAN F E D E R A L R E PU B L IC

The purchase and delivery by the ICRC of invalid chairs for disabled, am pu tated or paralysed Volksdeutsche was alm ost com­pleted in 1957, in conjunction w ith the Germ an Red Cross in Bonn. Approxim ately 100 invalid chairs have been distributed.

ITALY

W ith the funds allocated to the In ternational Com mittee by the Swiss Federal Council, 22 Ita lian children, youths and adults, were given trea tm en t a t the Geneva eye h o sp ita l1. The cases were subm itted by the Ita lian Red Cross. Tw o-thirds of them are from the South of Ita ly . This assistance is still in progress.

SPAIN

In Spain, the “ resident delegate ” of the ICRC 2 was very active in behalf of refugees. In m any instances, he intervened to help them to em igrate to o ther countries, or to facilitate their integration into the national economic life of Spain. He also provided m aterial assistance of various kinds.

The ICRC delegate did his u tm ost to assist detainees in several categories as well as their families, by bringing them the m oral and m aterial encouragem ent which they needed.

W ith the approval of the adm inistrative services concerned, he visited some of these detainees in central or regional prisons. He was able to converse freely w ith them and to form an impression of the general conditions of detention.

A large num ber of individual requests (enquiries, tracing, obtaining of docum ents, etc.) concerning Spanish nationals abroad have been dealt w ith either on the spot, or by the Central Agency of the ICRC. Enquiries have also been m ade in Geneva concerning Spanish m ilitary personnel who are abroad and cannot be traced.

The ICRC delegate has always m aintained excellent relations

1 T he eye hosp ita l is d irec ted by Professor A. I 'rancesche tti.2 Mr. E . A rbenz.

19

w ith the Spanish authorities and the Spanish Red Cross and established close and friendly working contacts w ith th a t Society. In particular, he was able to follow the Spanish Red Cross Society’s activities in behalf of Spanish nationals rep atria ted from the USSR 1 and concerning the victims of the events in H ungary.

A fter the Valencia region was devasta ted by severe floods, the ICRC delegate, on behalf of the In ternational Committee, gave the Spanish Red Cross Sw. fr. 5,000 to assist the victims.

THE NEAR EAST

In October 1956, Mr. D. de Traz was appointed General- Delegate for the N ear E ast, w ith headquarters a t Beirut.

Thus, when the Suez conflict broke out, the ICRC was ready, and w ith ta c t and good judgm ent the General-Delegate established liaison w ith the public authorities, the U nited N ations represen­tatives and the N ational R ed Cross Societies.

He also co-ordinated action by other ICRC delegates in the area and m ade frequent visits to E gypt and Israel. In m ost cases, it was he who negotiated agreem ents perm itting the ICRC to take action in the N ear E ast.

The General-Delegate also carried out a series of missions to the capitals of the A rab countries. He had discussions w ith leading officials in Jo rdan , Iraq , Saudi Arabia, the Lebanon, Syria and the Sudan, w ith particu lar reference to the possibility of some of these countries acceding to the Geneva Conventions, the New Delhi Conference and assistance to Algerian refugees in Tunisia and Morocco.

In Saudi Arabia, Mr. de Traz was received by H.M. King Saud, who assured him of his coun try ’s in ten tion of acceding to the Geneva Conventions in the near future. In the Sudan, the General- Delegate succeeded in obtaining parliam entary ratification of th a t coun try ’s instrum ent of accession to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Shortly afterw ards, the Sudanese R ed Crescent requested official recognition by the ICRC ; this was accorded on N ovem ber 1.

The ICRC General-Delegate, accom panied by the H ead of the

1 See p. 48.

20

Medical Personnel and W ar Disablem ent Section of the ICRC 1, also handed over to the Jo rd an Red Crescent about one hundred kits for vo lun tary medical auxiliary personnel, six medical kits and one " R apidoc ” set (complete surgical kit) and supplies of dressings.

E G Y PT

The A nnual R eport for 1956 gives an account of the relief action undertaken by the ICRC in the N ear E ast afte r the Suez Conflict ; th is work was continued in 1957.

(1) A SSIST A N C E TO P R IS O N E R S O F W A R .

The num ber of E gyp tian prisoners of w ar in the hands of the Israeli forces am ounted to over 5,600 officers and men. A fter first being placed in tran sit cam ps from which, on the in tervention of the C om m ittee’s delegate 2, several hundred civilians captured by error were rap id ly released, the m ajority of these prisoners were assembled in the perm anent cam p a t A tlith , about one hundred kilom etres north of Tel Aviv. They were visited regularly by the delegate of the ICRC who was able to converse w ith them w ithout the Israeli authorities being present and was allowed to d istribu te relief supplies and provide cultural and religious m aterial (copies of the Koran, books, cinema shows, musical instrum ents, footballs, jam , fru it, coffee, etc.) He also arranged for the exchange of family news between the prisoners and their relatives, which was au th o r­ised w ithout restriction through the services of the Central P ri­soners of W ar Agency, Geneva.

I t was possible to arrange for the repatriation of a certain num ber of seriously wounded before the close of hostilities 3, and the ICRC took steps for the unwounded prisoners of w ar to be authorised to re tu rn home. These repatriations took place under the auspices of the ICRC shortly after the close of hostilities, and in eleven stages, from Jan u a ry 21 to F eb ruary 5. The 5,384 p ri­soners in A tlith cam p were all repatria ted in groups of about five

1 Miss A. P firter.2 D r. L. A. G ailland.3 See A nnual R ep o rt 1956, p. 30.

21

hundred under the personal supervision of the delegate of the ICRC. In each case after m aking out a nom inal list including the names, first names, ranks and arm y num bers, the roll was called in the cam p by an Israeli police officer accom panied by an E gyptian senior officer in cap tiv ity . In the early m orning the prisoners of war were placed in Israeli arm y lorries and the convoy, consisting of 25 to 30 vehicles, left the cam p under escort. A t the end of the m orning it arrived a t the dem arcation line. The prisoners were then formed into detachm ents of 25 men and the num ber checked by officers of the U nited N ations Em ergency Forces. This opera­tion was carried out under the responsibility of Major Baron of the Israeli Army, M ajor Morgan of the Canadian Arm y, U nited N ations liaison officer, and Dr. Gailland, delegate of the In te r­national Com mittee of the Red Cross in Israel. A fter the roll-call the prisoners of w ar were taken by U N E F vehicles to El Arish and Misfak, where E gyptian m ilitary personnel were waiting for the convoy. The prisoners were once more formed into detachm ents and the num ber checked by an E gyptian officer in the presence of Major Morgan and the delegate of the In ternational Committee.

W hen the first convoy arrived, the delegates of the In ternational Committee in E gypt and in I s ra e l1 were present a t the handing over of the prisoners to the E gyptian A uthorities ; Dr. Gailland followed every stage of the operations on each occasion covering nearly 300 kilom etres from the departure camp, m aking the same journey back to his base. Twelve journeys of this description, from Jan u a ry 21 to 31, represented a respectable num ber of kilometres, sometimes over rough roads and in som ewhat difficult circum ­stances. Thus, in conform ity w ith the governing principles of the Geneva Conventions, the In ternational Com mittee of the Red Cross was present during the repatriation operations and could ascertain th a t they were carried out in accordance w ith hum ani­ta rian regulations.

The last repatriation of E gyptian prisoners of w ar took place a t a g reat distance from the M editerranean coast, a t the m ost southern point of the Sinai Peninsula. I t took place on F ebruary 5 a t Ras Canissa, on the route leading to E l Tor. The 202 prisoners

1 Mr. T hud ichum and D r. G ailland.

22

I n the N ea r East, through the efforts of the IC R C , a num ber of seriously wounded E g y p t ia n prisoners of war were repatriated before

the end of hostilities

ms»\

of war who were still in the Sharm El Shaik tran sit camp, about 25 kilometres away, were brought to the locality to be handed over to the U N E F officers, in the presence of the delegate of the In ternational Com mittee in I s ra e l1 ; another of the Com m ittee’s delegates, who had come specially from Cairo 2, was present at El Tor when the m en were taken over by the Egyptian authorities from the U N E F officers.

Moreover, on Jan u a ry 26, in Dr. G ailland’s presence, the few Israeli prisoners held by the E gyptian A rm y were handed over to the Israeli m ilitary authorities a t R afah by the officers of the U N E F, the same procedure being followed as for the repatriation of E gyptian prisoners of war. During their cap tiv ity th ey had been visited by the delegates of the ICRC.

The names and the personal belongings of E gyptian prisoners of w ar who died in cap tiv ity were also transm itted , via Geneva, to the authorities of their country.

The ICRC also opened num erous enquiries w ith the Israeli au thorities concerning E gyptian m ilitary personnel and civilians who disappeared during the hostilities.

(2) A SSIST A N C E TO E G Y P T IA N C IV IL IA N S.

(a) I n occupied, territory.

The delegate of the ICRC in Israel 3 in the course of several o ther missions m ade enquiries as to the living conditions and requirem ents of the population and refugees in the occupied areas of Gaza and Sinai. At Gaza he investigated the trea tm en t given to persons protected by the F o u rth Convention and arrangem ents were m ade for him to visit a t regular intervals E gyptian nationals in terned in a residential area of the city. A t El-Arish and a t R afah he assisted persons in need and children by m aking distributions of tinned milk and egg powder. In the Sinai peninsula, he m ade sure th a t no harm had been caused to the civilian population. The delegate also took part in the repatriation of civilian Egyptians in terned a t Gaza.

1 D r. L. A. G ailland.- Mr. R obert.3 Dr. G ailland.

23

In May the ICRC sent a gift of m edicam ents to hospitals in the area.

(b) A t Port Said

D uring the m ilitary operations in E gypt, thousands of persons left the P o rt Said area occupied by the Franco-B ritish forces and sought refuge inland. In m any cases these people’s houses had been destroyed and th ey were obliged to live in camps hastily set up by the E gyptian authorities.

The delegate of the ICRC 1 and two leading members of the E gyptian Red Crescent 2 visited P ort Said on F ebruary 5, 1957, to examine the situation of these persons. They were accom panied by a representative of the League of Red Cross Societies 3 who was passing through E gypt. From the jo in t report draw n up after this visit, it was seen th a t according to inform ation supplied by the authorities, some 15,000 persons assembled in two cam ps had need of fu rther aid. A lthough the E gyptian M inistry of Social W elfare supplied the necessary foodstuffs and m edicam ents, it was thought advisable to d istribu te to these persons 8,000 blankets, 250 ten ts, 10 sewing m achines and kitchen utensils. In order to m eet the situation, the In ternational Com mittee again placed a delegate in P o rt Said 4 in the premises occupied until the end of December 1956 by the head of its delegation in Egypt.

Funds transferred from Geneva enabled a considerable portion of the relief supplies to be purchased locally and d istribu ted by the delegate of the ICRC in agreem ent w ith the authorities and the E gyptian Red Crescent ; these supplies consisted of 4,000 blankets, 10 sewing machines and kitchen utensils.

In addition, an im portan t cash donation from the Iraq i Red Crescent, received by the In ternational Com mittee in Geneva following its appeal of Novem ber 1956 5, was transferred to E gypt in accordance w ith the donor’s wish and, a t the request of the E gyptian Red Crescent, was used for P o rt Said victims. The ICRC

1 Mr. M ax H en ri H uber.2 Mrs. M. B ou tros G hali and Dr. M edhat.3 D r. F . D auben ton .4 Mr. M. H . H uber.6 See A nnual R ep o rt for 1956, p. 26.

24

also suggested to the E gyptian R ed Crescent to m ake use of the balance of funds received from N ational R ed Cross and Red Crescent Societies following the events in Suez, for the purchase of relief supplies for the P o rt Said victims.

(3) A SSIST A N C E TO A L IE N C IV IL IA N S

(a) Persons detained or interned

In co-operation w ith the representatives of the P rotecting Powers, the delegates of the ICRC visited alien civilians (in p a rti­cular British) under detention or interned. T hey induced the E gyptian authorities to im prove the detainees’ living conditions, w ith the help of gifts received from various N ational Red Cross Societies.

(b) Stateless persons

The ICRC delegation also dealt w ith the question of stateless persons, especially Jew s, who had been obliged to leave E gypt as a result of the events. The In ternational Com mittee offered to act, for hum anitarian duties, as the substitu te of the P rotecting Power on behalf of all stateless persons whose lack of a definite s ta tu s deprived them of this protection.

For th is purpose, from Jan u a ry 2 to Septem ber 14, the In te r­national Committee of the Red Cross organised 14 journeys by sea 1 to Naples, and la ter to Piraeus, thus enabling 7,190 stateless persons to em igrate in proper circum stances. The m ajority were bound for o ther countries of Europe and Israel, South America, the U nited S tates or A ustralasia. In Greece as in Ita ly , these persons received assistance from the N ational R ed Cross Society, the In tergovernm ental Committee for European M igration and Jew ish charitable associations.

No collective departures took place after Septem ber 14. In d i­vidual em igrants leaving the country nevertheless continued to have recourse to the services of the ICRC delegation. The delegation gives them advice and help in the num erous adm inistrative for­m alities which they m ust perform and, in case of need, helps them to pay the cost of their journey.

1 See tab le , p. 26.

25

I

In 1957, a few hundred aged, disabled or destitu te persons who could not, or did not, wish to leave the country, were helped by the ICRC delegation.

(4) O T H E R A C T IV IT IE S

In Egypt, the ICRC intervened w ith the Governm ent on behalf of 6 members of the crew of the Israeli fishing boat “ DORON ” arrested by the E gyptian naval forces on Septem ber 23. These seamen, held a t Abassieh m ilitary prison, Cairo, were visited on November 5 by the delegates of the ICRC 1 who handed them a few comforts. The seamen were repatria ted la te r w ith the help of the U nited Nations.

O ther interventions were m ade concerning individual cases.

C O L L E C T IV E T R A N S P O R T S O F S T A T E L E S S P E R SO N S FR O M E G Y P T TO G R E E C E A ND IT A L Y

Vessels D estination D ate of departure

D ate of arrival

N um ber of passengers

12345678 9

1011121314

Misr .MisrMisrMecca .Mecca .Mecca .Mecca .E olia .C orin th iaN efertitiN efertitiN efertitiN efertitiN efertitiC orin th ia

N aplesP iraeusPiraeusP iraeusP iraeusP iraeusP iraeusP iraeusP iraeusP iraeusP iraeusP iraeusP iraeusP iraeus

2 .1 .5 72 1 .1 .5 7

8 .2 .5 74 .3 .5 7

1 9 .3 .5 78 .4 .5 7

1 1 .5 .5 72 4 .6 .5 73 0 .6 .5 7

4 .7 .5 72 1 .7 .5 7

7 .8 .5 72 8 .8 .5 71 4 .9 .5 7

6 .1 .5 72 3 .1 .5 71 0 .2 .5 7

7 .3 .5 72 2 .3 .5 71 0 .4 .5 71 3 .5 .5 72 6 .6 .5 7

3 .7 .5 76 .7 .5 7

2 3 .7 .5 79 .8 .5 7

3 0 .8 .5 71 6 .9 .5 7

967812806

1,0931,187

793608180

8446

19513

185221

7,190

In Israel, the ICRC m ade num erous approaches to the au th o r­ities in connection w ith in terned E gyptian civilians.

Mr. D. de T raz and Mr. E. Muller.

26

On November 25, the H onorary Delegate of the ICRC in I s ra e l1 visited S h a tta Camp where E gyptian or Jo rdan ian nationals were serving sentences inflicted by the Israeli tribunals for clan­destine crossings of the frontier and (as “ fedayin ”) for having com m itted acts of terrorism . A report on this visit was sent to the E gyptian Governm ent.

(5) D E L E G A T IO N S T A F F

(a) In Egypt

A fter over a year of very tiring work, the head of the delega­tion 2 re tu rned to Geneva on October 20. His post was filled by the R esident Delegate of the ICRC in E g y p t3.

The staff of the delegation (all Swiss citizens) which am ounted to 9 persons in January , was reduced to 6 a t the end of December 4. A few staff m em bers were also engaged locally.

b) Israel

Dr. L. Gailland, sent to Israel a t the beginning of the conflict, left the country a t the end of Jan u a ry ; his post was filled by a honorary-delegate of Swiss nationality .

NORTH AFRICA

A SSISTA N C E TO A L G E R IA N R E F U G E E S

Owing to the events in Algeria a great m any civilians, m ostly women, children and aged persons, took refuge in Morocco and Tunisia.

These people, who form erly lived by farm ing in the border regions, crossed into the neighbouring territories w ithout taking any m eans of subsistence w ith them .

F or those who entered Morocco, the exodus began in March 1956, and a little la ter for the others.

1 Mr. H . Tschopp.2 Mr. M. T hudichum .3 Mr. E . M uller.4 Mr. E . M uller, Mr. E . Ja q u e t, Mr. N. H uber, Mr. E . R obert, Mrs. N.

R obert, Miss E . B ugnot.

27

In view of the very difficult situation of these indirect victims of an arm ed conflict, the ICRC undertook to assist them in the spring of 1957.

(a) Assistance of the IC R C in Morocco

According to inform ation collected on the spot by the delegates of the ICRC 1, the num ber of refugees scattered in groups along the Algero-Moroccan frontier could be estim ated a t some 40,000. Their situation was serious, particularly in the southern p art of the country. W ith the agreem ent of the Moroccan authorities the ICRC delegates m ade four distributions of relief supplies (total value 560,000 Swiss francs) donated by the ICRC and various N ational Societies.

Each d istribu tion took place under the supervision of the In ternational C om m ittee’s delegates ; as there was no Moroccan Red Crescent in existence, they worked in co-operation w ith the local authorities and the representatives of the refugees.

F IR S T D IS T R IB U T IO N

At the end of March 1957 the ICRC m ade available to its dele­gate in Morocco 2 a first am ount of 5,000,000 Moroccan francs 3 to provide emergency relief for these civilians who included a great num ber of women and children. The am ount allocated was g ra­dually increased to fifteen million Moroccan francs. Thus, from April 20, the delegates of the ICRC 4 were able to arrange for several d istributions of foodstuffs, m ainly barley flour, semolina, tea and sardines, in M artim prey, O ujda and outskirts, Bou-Beker, B erguent and Figuig.

SECO N D D IS T R IB U T IO N

As these efforts were not sufficient, the ICRC decided to devote some 10 million Moroccan francs to a second distribution of relief supplies, and arranged for a fu rther d istribution in Ju ly , in the O ujda area, of barley, hard wheat, sardines, oil and sugar.

1 Mr. C. V au tier, R esiden t D elegate of th e IC R C in Morocco, Mr. C. P illoud. Mr. J . P . Schoenholzer and D r. O then in-G irard .

2 Mr. C. V autier.3 D raw n from th e proceeds of th e ICRC A nnual Collection in Sw itzerland.4 Mr. C. V au tie r an d Mr. M. C hauvet.

28

T H IR D D ISTR IB U TIO N

L ater, w ith the help of considerable gifts received from abroad x, the ICRC m ade fu rther funds available to its delegates.2 Large quantities of foodstuffs were purchased locally (hard w heat, dried peas, sugar, oil, condensed milk, tea and soap) and d istribu ted to Algerian refugees in Saïda, B erguent, Oglot, Sedra, Figuig, Ahfir, M artim prey du Kiss and Berkane.

F O U R T H D IS T R IB U T IO N

In O ctober 1957 the ICRC undertook fu rther relief action on behalf of Alferian refugees in Morocco.3 W ith the approach of w inter the need for clothing was becoming urgent and the delegates of the ICRC 4 m ade considerable local purchases of clothing m ate­rial, trousers and shirts, which were d istribu ted am ong the various refugee centres from October 16 to 26 in the frontier area a t Saida, Ahfir, Berkane, Beni D rar, Oujda, Bou-Beker, Tiouli, T aira t, T endrara, B ouârfa and Figuig. Over 32,000 m etres of p rin ted dress m aterial, some 6,200 shirts and 7,800 pairs of trousers were handed over to the families m ost in need. I t m ay be estim ­ated th a t over half the refugees benefited by the relief action to which the ICRC devoted the sum of about 11,600,000 Moroccan francs.

(b) Assistance of the IC R C in Tunisia

In June 1957 the Tunisian A uthorities and the Tunisian Red Crescent m ade an appeal for the In ternational C om m ittee’s assist­ance on behalf of civilian Algerian refugees in Tunisia. The G overnm ent and the new N ational Society had m ade a spontaneous effort to help the victim s of the events b u t they considered th a t fu rther assistance from the ICRC was necessary.

1 G erm an R ed Cross, B onn ; N etherlands R ed Cross ; Swiss R ed Cross ; Sw edish R ed Cross ; L ebanese R ed Cross ; D an ish R ed Cross ; I ta lia n R ed Cross ; O th e r donors.

2 D r. L. G ailland an d Mr. G. Colladon.3 T he ICRC u ndertook to supp ly artificial eyes to a num ber of v ictim s

of th e d is tu rbances in A lgeria who had sough t refuge in M orocco ; o th er w ounded w ho had suffered am p u ta tio n s w ere provided w ith artific ial limbs.

4 D r. L. G ailland — Mr. G. Colladon.

29

The ICRC sent a delegate 1 to Tunisia to discuss the question w ith the authorities ; from the inform ation collected it was seen th a t some 50,000 refugees were in the Souk el Arba, Ain D raham and Kef districts. A delegate of the ICRC 2 arrived a t Tunis during the second fortn ight in August and, in conjunction w ith the Tuni­sian Red Crescent, im m ediately s ta rted to d istribu te foodstuffs in the Ain D raham and Sakiet Sidi Youssef districts.

In Septem ber w ith the help of gifts from abroad, in particu lar a donation from the French A uthorities and a gift in kind from the Canadian Red Cross, a d istribu tion of clothing and blankets could be made. A contribution from the U nited N ations High Com­missioner for Refugees m ade it possible to am plify th is relief action, of which the value was about 260,000 Swiss francs.

The appeal sent out by the ICRC and the League of Red Cross Societies 3 m ade fu rther and very im portan t distributions possible during the first m onths of 1958.

(c) International appeal on behalf of Algerian refugees in Morocco and Tunisia

The X lX th In ternational Conference of the Red Cross, in a resolution which was adopted unanim ously, gave its support to the In ternational Com m ittee's efforts. The tex t of this resolution is given below :

" The X lX th International Conference of the Red Cross,Considering that a large number of Algerians, the majority being

composed of women, children and aged persons who, fleeing from events in Algeria, have taken refuge in Tunisia and Morocco ;

Considering that the majority of these refugees, whose numbers are increasing daily, are absolutely destitute ; that the approaching severe winter in North Africa will render still worse the living conditions of this mass of human beings, who are already homeless, under-nourished, without sufficient clothing and deprived of all means of resistance against illness,

Considering that the assistance given by the Tunisian and Moroccan Governments, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the

1 D r. P . Krieg.2 Mr. G. H offm ann.3 See below.

30

I n T u n is ia , where m a n y thousands of A lger ia n refugees live in d is tressing conditions, the delegates of the I C R C hand over tents for the homeless

Tunisian Red Crescent as well as other associations animated by the Red Cross spirit, is not sufficient to prevent the serious danger which threatens the existence of these innocent victims of the war ;

Considers that only an effort of an international and universal nature would be able to meet the immense resources required to give assistance to these hundreds of thousands of human beings,

guided by the humanitarian spirit which the associations composing it have so frequently shown during recent similar situations

makes an urgent appeal to the world for similar efforts to be made on behalf of the Algerian refugees. ”

In view7 of this resolution, on December 10 the ICRC, in con­nection w ith the League of Red Cross Societies, launched an appeal in which it described its relief action on behalf of Algerian refugees. A fter having pointed out th a t a general solution had to be found to this problem, the appeal stressed the urgency of the require­m ents as follow's :

(a) In Morocco

(1) Food requirements : m utton , hard w heat, oil, condensed milk, sugar, barley, vegetables and tea. A m inim um daily ration of 1500 calories v7as essential, w'hich m eant a m onthly distribution per person of 10 kg. of wheat, 2 kg. of vegetables, 1 litre of oil, 1 kg. of sugar and 4 tins of condensed m ilk for the children, i.e. the am ounts necessary for four m onths’ distribution to cover the needs of all the refugees v7ere :

1,600 tons of hard wheat 320 tons of dry vegetables

160.000 litres of oil160 tons of sugar (loaf)

128.000 tins of condensed milk for children.Mutton, tea and barley wrere also required.

(2) Clothing requirements. P rin ted dress m aterial for women, v'oollen garm ents and overcoats for children, trousers for men and blankets were the m ost urgent needs. In view of the practical diffi­culties of d istribution and the custom s of the refugees, donors were requested not to send used clothing. (The proportionate requirem ents were children 40 % , women 40 % , men 20 %.)

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(b) In Tunisia

The inform ation given from Morocco was applicable to Tunisia also. In the m ountain regions of Ain D rah am and Kef, clothing (pullovers and prin ted dress m aterial) and blankets were p a rti­cularly needed. The proportionate requirem ents in this connection were children 50 % , women 35 % , men 15 % .”

P ractical suggestions for the work were contained in the appeal sent to all N ational Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Lion and Sun Societies as follows :

“ The appeal we are addressing to you today, in implementation of the resolution quoted above, is an urgent one. Its aim is to give the refugees further assistance, without prejudice to any future action on more general lines by non-Red Cross organisations in order to find a solution to this problem.

The appeal is for foodstuffs and clothing. Gifts may be made in kind or in money. Gifts in kind should be made in accordance with the information given above under letter (A), since the refugees cannot get accustomed in a short time to new types of food. Furthermore, the assistance thus given only meets minimum requirements and it is therefore all the more important that the relief distributed should be the most suitable.

In order to ensure co-ordination in drawing up programmes and the fair distribution of the various goods listed, it is desirable that donors, before sending any relief in kind, should get in contact with the Inter­national Committee or the League of Red Cross Societies in Geneva. Commodities such as oil and hard wheat can doubtless be purchased on the spot ; gifts in cash will therefore also be very useful.

Since April 1957, the International Committee has had in Morocco an organisation ready to function immediately new gift supplies arrive and offering every guarantee that the gifts reach those for whom they are intended. In the absence of a Moroccan Red Crescent, distributions are made in co-operation with the authorities and with the local orga­nisations responsible for looking after refugees.

Gifts in kind may be addressed to the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, 9, Passage du Grand Socco (Sumica) Casablanca ; the headquarters of the International Committee in Geneva should be advised of the despatch of the goods at the same time. Cash donations should be sent to the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in Geneva.

In Tunisia, the International Committee’s delegation, which has been in existence since June 1957, is carrying out its activities in co­operation with the Tunisian Red Crescent, which was recently recognised by the International Committee and admitted to the League of Red

32

Cross Societies. The League has just sent one of its representatives to Tunis, to get in touch with the Tunisian Red Crescent and assist it in the development of its organisation.

Gifts in kind from National Societies should be addressed to the Tunisian Red Crescent. The International Committee, the League and the Tunisian Red Crescent Society will consult together to arrange for their distribution. Gifts of money should be addressed to either the International Committee or the League at their headquarters in Geneva.

The running costs of the action, both in Morocco and Tunisia, will be the subject of a further communication. Their amount will depend to a large degree on the facilities which can be obtained on the spot (exemption from Customs duty, the provision of means of transport, etc.) and on the extent of the help given by National Societies.

The International Committee and the League thank the National Societies in anticipation of their kind support in carrying out this important humanitarian action. ’’

The num erous gifts received subsequent to this appeal enabled new distributions to be m ade from the beginning of 1958.

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II. ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF INTERNAL DISTURBANCES

The assistance of victim s of in ternal disturbances is one of the m ost im portan t b u t also one of the m ost delicate tasks confronting the ICRC a t the present time.

As an active organisation, the In ternational Committee m ust endeavour to adap t its ac tiv ity to the requirem ents of changing circum stances, and to bring relief to victim s of the unstable condi­tions which have prevailed since the end of the war.

In the event of unrest or disturbances, the repressive or even sim ply preventive measures which the S ta te m ay take regarding its own nationals (rioters, rebels or perhaps m erely political oppo­nents) can have the same consequences for those to whom such measures are applied as w ar m ay bring for prisoners of w ar or civilian internees.

From the humanitarian point of view, the situation is similar to th a t caused by war, and it is right and proper th a t the In te r­national Com mittee should seek to assist the persons affected.

B ut the m atte r is not so clear from the legal point of view. Article 3, which is common to all four Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, is the only clause providing for the good offices of the In ternational Com mittee “ in the case of arm ed conflict not of an in ternational character ” . The wording implies th a t there m ust be an in terpretation . I t is for the S tates concerned to give th a t in terp re ta tion ; and since they consider th a t they are acting in rightful self-defence, they natu ra lly tend to object to any

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in tervention in their dom estic affairs. There is therefore a risk th a t political detainees m ay be deprived of the hum anitarian assistance which the Geneva Conventions guarantee to prisoners of w ar and civilian internees.

In order to have a basis perm itting the ICRC to approach Governm ents and in order also to ob tain permission to afford to political detainees and victim s of disturbances the hum anitarian assistance which they m ight need, the In ternational Committee convened two Commissions of E xperts, in 1953 and 1955, composed of persons well known in in ternational affairs who were p a rti­cularly well qualified bo th in knowledge and in experience. These experts gave an au thorita tive opinion concerning the conditions in which this hum anitarian ac tiv ity could and should be undertaken 1.

Strengthened by th is opinion, and in accordance w ith its own traditions, the In ternational Com mittee has achieved notable results in various parts of the world—thanks to the sym pathetic a ttitu d e of some governm ents—for example in G uatem ala, N orth Africa, Greece, Cyprus, Kenya, the Germ an Dem ocratic Republic and the Germ an Federal Republic 2.

W henever ICRC delegates have been authorised to visit camps and prisons, th ey have confined them selves to inspecting the m aterial conditions of detention in order to propose any im prove­m ents which m ay seem necessary. They have always insisted on being allowed to converse freely and w ithout witnesses w ith the detainees.

Following each visit, the ICRC transm its a report to the D etain­ing Power containing the com m ents m ade by delegates. In order to safeguard its neutra lity , and to prevent the use of its conclusions for o ther th an hum anitarian purposes, the ICRC has always refrained from m aking these reports public.

A LG ERIA

Reference has been m ade in previous A nnual R eports to the th ree missions sent by the In ternational Committee to Algeria since 1955, in the course of which the ICRC delegates visited over

1 See A nnual R ep o rt 1955, p. 75 et seq.2 See A nnual R ep o rt 1956, p. 42 et seq.

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one hundred places of detention. This ac tiv ity was intensified in 1957. The ICRC perm anent delegate in Paris 1 m aintained liaison w ith the French authorities and the French R ed Cross, and m ade arrangem ents to enable the ICRC to carry out its task.

7. Fourth mission

In May and June, the fourth ICRC mission to Algeria was carried o u t 2. The object of this mission was to visit places of detention. The ICRC delegates visited nine prison establishm ents, nine assem bly centres, tw enty-eight screening and tran sit centres and two hospitals. In the assem bly centres, th ey d istribu ted relief supplies valued a t Fr. frs. 1,500,000.

During each visit the delegates were, as custom ary, able to converse w ithout witnesses w ith detained persons of their choice.

The delegates endeavoured to obtain the im provem ents in detention conditions which they considered necessary, in particu lar during the final interview s in Algiers w ith Mr. Lacoste, Resident M inister, and General Salan, Commander-in-Chief of the combined forces in Algeria. The rem arks and suggestions of the ICRC mission were transm itted to the head of the French G overnm ent and to the M inister for Algerian Affairs.

2. F ifth mission

B y a telegram dated Novem ber 13, the French authorities authorised the ICRC to send a fifth mission 3. The visits began on N ovem ber 27. B y the end of December, the delegates had visited two assembly centres, forty-six screening and tran sit centres and six hospitals where detainees who were sick or had been wounded during the fighting were receiving trea tm ent. The mission con­tinued a t the beginning of 1958.

Thus in 1957, the ICRC delegates m ade a to ta l of 102 visits to various establishm ents in Algeria. They d istribu ted relief supplies consisting of clothing and foodstuffs to civilians in the Melouza and Bordj Bou Arreridj areas who had been displaced owing to the events. These relief supplies were valued a t some F r. frs. 4,500,000.

1 Mr. W . Michel.2 B y Mr. P ierre G aillard and D r. L ouis G ailland.3 Mr. P . G aillard , D r. L. A. G ailland, assisted b y Mr. R . V ust.

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A delegate of the I C R C vis its detainees in an A lg er ian prison

French prisoners in the hands of the “ Front de Libération Nationale ”

Throughout 1957, the ICRC continued its unrem itting efforts in order to assist French prisoners who were presum ed to be held by the F .L .N . (lists of names, correspondence w ith families, visits).

A lthough the discussions were encouraging, no practical results had been achieved by the end of December. I t was only in early 1958 th a t the In ternational C om m ittee’s efforts began to show results.

CYPRUS

Continuing the work begun in Cyprus in 1955 1, the General Delegate of the ICRC for the Middle E ast 2 m ade three visits to the island, w ith the consent of the B ritish authorities. During these missions, which took place in March, August and November, he m ade eleven visits to places of detention, including three visits to the central prison a t Nicosia, to the camps a t K okkino-Trim ithia and Pyla, a visit to the cam p a t Pyror, and one to the interrogation centre a t Om orphita.

On each occasion, the ICRC delegate conversed w ithout w it­nesses w ith detainees and noted their comments. The reports prepared following each of his visits were tran sm itted to the appropriate authorities.

Following his August mission, the delegate was received by Sir John H arding, who was a t th a t time Governor of Cyprus, and was able to m ake com m ents and suggestions.

A fter these missions, the ICRC sent to the detainees relief supplies valued a t a to ta l of Sw. F r. 10,000.

GERMAN DEM OCRATIC R E PU B L IC

In 1957, w ith the authorisation of the G overnm ent of the Germ an Dem ocratic Republic, the ICRC delegate 3, accom panied by a representative of the N ational Red Cross Society, was able to visit three prisons and two pen iten tiary labour camps.

1 See A nnual R ep o rt 1955, pp. 20 and 21.2 Mr. D. de T raz.3 Mr. H . G. B eckh.

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He inspected the principal installations of these places of deten­tion and was able to converse w ithout witnesses w ith detained persons of his choice. He passed on his com m ents to the com petent authorities who gave them all consideration.

The ICRC hopes to continue these visits in order to gain a general idea of the situation.

GERM AN F E D E R A L R EPU B LIC

The A ttorney General and the M inistry of Justice in Bonn, and the senior officials of the M inistries of Justice of the various “ L an d e r” gave permission for the ICRC to visit all places of deten­tion in the G erm an Federal Republic.

In 1957, a delegate of the ICRC 1, accom panied by a represen­ta tive of the N ational R ed Cross Society, visited nineteen prisons and penal institu tions as well as two pen titen tia ry hospitals. In each case he was able to converse w ithout witnesses w ith detainees of his choice. He transm itted his com m ents to the authorities concerned, who indicated their readiness to take them into account to the fullest ex ten t possible.

Following the visits, the In ternational Committee was au tho r­ised to m ake newspapers available to a num ber of detainees who had requested them .

GOA

In December 1957, an ICRC delegate 2 visited Goa in order to obtain inform ation concerning Ind ian detainees who had been arrested for “ political crimes against the security of the S ta te ” , in regard to their places of detention and the living conditions of those whose cases are still sub judice.

The delegate was received w ith understanding by the Governor General of Portuguese India. He was authorised to visit prisons and to ta lk w ithout witnesses to Ind ian and Portuguese detainees. On the eve of his departure, he was received for a second tim e by the Governor, who wished to be inform ed in person of the facts noted by the ICRC delegate during his visits.

1 Mr. H . G. B eckh.8 Mr. W . Michel.

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The General Delegation of the Portuguese R ed Cross a t Goa gave Mr. Michel the warm est of welcomes during his s tay and pro­mised full assistance in all circum stances.

G R EEC E

The ICRC continued to give assistance to detained and exiled persons in Greece during 1957. The mission which had been in ter­rup ted in October 1956 because of the events in H ungary was resum ed a t the beginning of 1957. The ICRC delegate 1 was then able to visit several places of detention and exile where he d istri­bu ted clothing and m edicam ents w ith the assistance of the Greek authorities and the Greek R ed Cross.

K EN Y A

A t the beginning of 1957, the B ritish authorities, who had been approached some tim e before 2, gave permisison for an ICRC mission to visit K enya 3 ; the mission w ent to K enya in March and April 1957, and visited fifty-two cam ps and prisons and eighteen “ rehabilitation ” villages.

Following the events in Kenya, the B ritish authorities detained several thousand persons accused of partic ipation in or sym pathy for the Mau-Mau m ovem ent. Despite a policy of gradual release,35,000 persons were still detained when the ICRC delegates visited Kenya.

As is the custom, the ICRC delegates investigated all aspects of life in the camps. They thus noted w ith in terest th a t several cam ps contained hu ts of a new type, m ade of alum inium . Well insulated against heat and cold, easy to erect and simple to m ain­tain , th ey seem well suited to the climate.

In the new villages specially built for the rehabilitation of released persons and their families, nurses and welfare workers of the B ritish R ed Cross are carrying out rem arkable work on health and social problems.

1 Mr. G. Colladon.2 See A nnual R ep o rt 1956, p. 44.3 D r. L . A. G ailland an d Mr. H . P . Junod .

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A t the beginning and the end of their mission, the two ICRC delegates had long conversations w ith Sir Evelyn Baring, the Governor of Kenya, and were able to pass on to him their general com m ents on w hat they had seen during their visits to fifty-two camps. A detailed report on their findings and suggestions was sent to the B ritish G overnm ent and, for inform ation, to the Governor of K enya and the B ritish Red Cross.

R E PU B L IC OF V IE T NAM

In October 1957, the In ternational C om m ittee’s representative in Saigon 1 was authorised by the Governm ent of the Republic of Viet N am to visit a num ber of political detainees who had been arrested following the events which occurred in 1954-1955 in the Saigon area.

The delegate was able to confirm th a t the prisoners are au th o r­ised to correspond w ith their families and to receive visits and parcels from them .

1 Mr. A. L euenberger.

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The General-Delegate of the IC R C for the N ea r East made three visits to P y la Camp, the largest place of detention in Cyprus

h i a working cam p in K e n y a the delegates of the I C R C converse without witnesses with the detainees

III. S U M M A R Y T A B L E OF R E L I E F A C T I O N S

P R IN C IP A L R E L IE F A CTIO N S C L A S S IF IE D B Y C O U N T R IE S A ND C A T E G O R IE S O F P E R S O N S A SSIS T E D

Value Swiss Francs

A lg e r ia ................... in ternees, d e t a i n e e s ....................... 12,995.—displaced civ ilian popu la tion . . 28,532.—

A u s t r i a ................... civilian popu la tion andw a r - d is a b le d ................................. 2,942.—

B ulgaria . . . . civ ilian popu la tion andw a r - d is a b le d ................................. 2,014.—

C y p r u s ................... po litical detainees ....................... 10,000.—C zechoslovakia . w a r - d i s a b le d ..................................... 190.—

civilian p o p u l a t i o n ....................... 1,111.—E g y p t ................... c iv ilian popu la tion , refugees . . 99,000.—G erm any (Federal

R epublic) . . . w ar-d isab led « V olksdeutsche » . 8,449.—G r e e c e ................... po litical deta inees and in ternees 210,000.—Ja p a n ................... K orean i n t e r n e e s ............................ 59,451.—Jo rd an ................... civilian p o p u l a t i o n ....................... 6,900.—H u n g a ry . . . . c iv ilian p o p u l a t i o n ....................... 69,107,450.—In donesia . . . . displaced p e r s o n s ............................ 30,000.—I t a l y ....................... in ternees .......................................... 3,562.—

blind young persons ................... 27,635.—M orocco . . . . A lgerian r e f u g e e s ............................ 560,375.—

w ounded an d s i c k ....................... 21,535.—N e p a l ................... civilian p o p u l a t i o n ....................... 3,572.—P o l a n d ................... w ar-d isab led and rep a tria ted

p e r s o n s .......................................... 8,009.—civilian p o p u l a t i o n ....................... 1,554.—

S p a i n ................... c iv ilian p o p u l a t i o n ....................... 5,149.—T u n is ia ................... A lgerian r e f u g e e s ............................ 261,585.—O th er coun tries . refugees, s ta te less persons, e tc. . 1,091,931.—

T o ta l as on D ecem ber 31, 1957 ....................... 71,563,941.—

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III. RE-UNITING OF FAMILIES

Of all the hum anitarian problems which the ICRC has to deal w ith, th a t of re-uniting families who were dispersed by the w ar is one of the m ost poignant.

I t happens all too frequently th a t, after peace is re-established, people can no longer find their families.

The In ternational Committee does its u tm ost to re-unite these families who have often lived through years of separation.

(a) Hungarian children

Following the events in H ungary in the au tum n of 1956, a large num ber of H ungarian families were dispersed ; the ICRC has given a great deal of consideration to this problem, and in particu lar to the question of children separated from their parents. In response to requests by the H ungarian authorities and the authorities in a num ber of “ countries of asylum ” , and in view of the hum anitarian aspect of the problem, the In ternational Com­m ittee agreed to use its good offices in order to try to find a solu­tion. A fter collecting all available inform ation, it appointed a special delegate 1 to study in H ungary w hat action m ight be taken.

In April 1957, following this first mission, the ICRC subm itted a d ra ft general agreem ent to the H ungarian Governm ent.

The agreem ent contained a plan whereby families would be re-united either in H ungary or abroad, according to the freely expressed wish of the head of the family. Re-uniting should be on

1 Mr. A. G uillerm et.

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an individual and voluntary basis, and the com petent authorities should g ran t exit visas w ithout delay, under a simplified procedure distinct from th a t generally applied for em igration, to persons wishing to rejoin their close relatives. Lastly, the whole operation would be under the supervision and control of the ICRC.

The H ungarian G overnm ent did not accept these proposals. W hile adm itting th a t the problem of em igration should also be settled, it considered it to be a m atte r of secondary im portance and em phasised th a t p riority should be given to the repatria tion to H ungary of child refugees abroad. Furtherm ore, it could not agree th a t the ICRC should exercise any supervision or control ; in its view, the In ternational Committee should lim it itself to tran s­m itting to N ational R ed Cross Societies in the “ countries of asy­lum ” the lists of children claimed, and to requesting these N ational Societies to arrange for repatriation.

In these circum stances, the In ternational Committee was obliged to desist from its efforts to find a general solution to the problem.

The H ungarian G overnm ent then pu t forward the proposal th a t the question should be settled by direct agreem ent between the H ungarian R ed Cross and the N ational Societies of the coun­tries concerned.

For its part, the In ternational Committee expressed its willing­ness to co-operate in the work of re-uniting dispersed families, in the event th a t there was no direct agreem ent between H ungary and any individual “ country of asylum ” , on condition th a t the ICRC was requested to do so by both parties and in so far as both parties agreed to give it freedom of action and supervision corres­ponding to the responsibilities it would undertake.

In the summer, the H ungarian Red Cross expressed its concern to the ICRC delegates a t the ever increasing num ber of requests which it had received from parents in H ungary for the re tu rn of their children from other countries, and proposed a proce­dure which, in its opinion, would expedite the re tu rn of these children.

The ICRC exam ined both the H ungarian requests and the applications received from refugees in m ost of the “ countries of asylum ” , for their children who had rem ained in H ungary to be

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allowed to join them . In order to facilitate direct agreem ent between the parties concerned, it proposed th a t they should present their respective points of view a t a m eeting during which the various aspects of the problem would be studied.

Pending a final reply from the H ungarian R ed Cross, which had indicated th a t in principle the suggestion was acceptable, the In ternational Com mittee transm itted its proposal to the N ational R ed Cross Societies of the “ countries of asylum ” . Most of them supported the proposal and indicated their readiness to take part in the m eeting on condition th a t the problem be considered in the light of the Resolution which had in the m eantim e been adopted by the X lX th In ternational Red Cross Conference and which reads as follows :

" The X lX th International Conference of the Red Cross,considering that as a result of war, internal conflicts and other events

a large number of persons, both adults and children, are still separated from their homes and from their families which have been dispersed, and

whereas much human suffering has been caused as a result of such separation, and,

whereas the X V IIIth International Conference of the Red Cross meeting in Toronto in 1952 by Resolution No. 20 has already recognized the National Societies of the Red Cross, " as the natural intermediaries with their respective Governments to facilitate to the greatest extent the liberation of these persons, to seek information concerning the fate of such persons and to facilitate the despatch to them of material relief ",

reaffirms the principles enunciated in this Resolution,urges all National Societies and Governments to intensify their

efforts in these matters and, in particular, to facilitate by every means the reunion of persons, both adults and children, with their families in accordance with the wishes of such persons, and in the case of minor children in accordance with the wishes of the recognised head of the family no m atter where domiciled.”

The reply of the H ungarian R ed Cross, which reached Geneva in December, s ta ted th a t th a t Society would take p art in a con­ference of representatives of the countries of asylum only on condition th a t the sole question on the agenda was th a t of the re tu rn of children to H ungary. In these circum stances, the m eeting could not take place. Despite th is setback, which the ICRC deplores,

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it appears th a t 600 children (out of 1500) have been repatria ted to H ungary. As on Decem ber 31, 1957, the In ternational Com­m ittee had no knowledge of any H ungarian children having been allowed to join their paren ts abroad.

The ICRC continues to follow th is question and is ready to co-operate in any solution which is consistent w ith the principles declared a t New Delhi.

(b) Greek refugees

Previous A nnual R eports 1 have referred to action by the In terna tional Com mittee in order to enable Greek nationals who had been delayed in E astern European countries a t the end of the w ar to rejoin their families.

In 1957, the efforts of the ICRC, the League of Red Cross Societies and the N ational R ed Cross Societies concerned m ade it possible for tw enty-tw o Greeks to leave R um ania and travel to A ustralia where p a rt of their families had settled.

In this way, since 1948, the ICRC has assisted more th an5,000 Greeks, including 3,000 children, to rejoin their families.

(c) Persons of German origin

As soon as the w ar was over, the ICRC took up the problem of " Volksdeutsche ” who were then living in Poland, Czecho­slovakia and the B alkan countries.

This problem is linked up w ith th a t of the nationals of the form er Reich who were resident in territories east of the Oder and the Neisse. U nder the 1945 Potsdam T reaty , several million people were to be expelled from these territories, and added to th a t num ber were all those persons who had been driven from their homes by m ilitary operations and were unable to re tu rn to them . Despairing of being able to s tay in their native land, large groups of people soon took the road to exile.

A t first, the efforts of the ICRC were lim ited to doing as much as possible to im prove the lot of those evacuees who were to be transferred in accordance w ith arrangem ents m ade by the appro­priate governm ent authorities. I ts ac tiv ity was som ewhat modified after it began to receive an ever-growing num ber of appeals from

1 See A nnual R ep o rt 1955, pp. 32 and 33.

Germ ans and “ Volksdeutsche ” who had rem ained in the areas to which the T rea ty referred and who asked the ICRC to intervene on their behalf so th a t th ey m ight be allowed to move according to their own wishes to Germ any, A ustria or o ther regions where their close relatives had settled. In accordance w ith its hum a­n itarian tradition , the ICRC then took the in itiative of reuniting these families and it has continued th is work since th a t time.

A t the outset, the ICRC took the necessary steps in order to obtain em igration perm its and en try visas and also played an im portan t p art in organising travel. L ate r on, th is work was largely handed over, whenever possible, to the N ational Red Cross Societies w ith whom the ICRC had continued to co-operate closely. Nevertheless, the In ternational Com mittee has always played a central p a rt in the re-uniting of families and it follows the m atte r closely.

In the course of the year, the ICRC continued to play a key rôle in a num ber of countries to which it sent delegates. B y the end of 1957, more th an 230,000 persons of Germ an origin had been re-united w ith their families.

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IV. CENTRAL PRISONERS OF WAR AGENCY AND INTERNATIONAL TRACING SERVICE

A) The Central Prisoners of War Agency

The world centre of inform ation for which the Geneva Conven­tions provide, the Central Prisoners of W ar Agency, was organised by the ICRC in Geneva during the great world conflicts ; its work continues today.

I t analyses, registers and transm its to the official countries of origin lists of prisoners of w ar and of persons released or repatriated . I t also collects inform ation from p rivate sources, m akes searches for civilians and m ilitary personnel who disappeared during con­flicts and keeps their families inform ed of the results.

The Agency draws up certificates of cap tiv ity and of deaths.W hen all o ther m eans of com m unication have broken down, it

forwards messages and transm its news between civilians separated by the events, and prisoners of w ar and their families.

Its card-indexes contain 45 million cards which represent 15 million cases dealt with.

Although the Second W orld W ar came to an end over 12 years ago the work of the Central Agency continues. I t is constantly asked to perform new duties ; the num ber of cases dealt w ith at present shows a definite increase over the pervious year. The events in H ungary and the Middle E ast are not the only reason for the increased ac tiv ity which is largely due to the flow of enquiries received from Central and E ast European countries.

** *

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In 1957 the Central Prisoners of W ar Agency received 148,985 postal item s and sent out 160,339. I t dealt w ith 187,429 cases and opened 33,112 new enquiries w ith N ational Red Cross Societies, Ministries, register offices, Town Halls etc. These figures are double those of 1956 ; the Agency had therefore to m ake a special effort to carry out its work.

P O L IS H SEC TIO N .

A great m any Polish families apply to the Polish Section in the hope of obtaining news of relatives who disappeared during the hostilities or em igrated im m ediately after the war. The Section also receives m any enquiries concerning persons resident in former Polish te rrito ry which is now under Soviet control. These tracing operations often give satisfactory results ; th is Section alone received 18,587 postal item s in 1957 (9,483 in 1956).

B A L T IC SECTIO N .

The renewed ac tiv ity of the B altic Section notified in 1956 increased still fu rther in 1957. M any persons were able to renew contact w ith near relatives from whom th ey had been separated since 1944.

U SSR SE C T IO N .

The mail from and to the USSR is continually increasing. The USSR Section has renewed contact between persons resident in the USSR and others living abroad who, in some cases, had lost touch w ith each other for the past 15 to 20 years.

JU G O SLA V SE C T IO N .

The Jugoslav Section is m ainly engaged in searching for former Jugoslav com batants and prisoners of w ar who did not re tu rn to their homes after the Second W orld W ar.

S P A N IS H SECTIO N .

The Spanish Section continues to deal w ith enquiries concerning deported Spanish persons who died in concentration camps in

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Germ any, and for whom proof of death is required to enable the families to claim com pensation.

Num erous Spanish nationals recently rep a tria ted from the USSR apply to the ICRC to obtain news of their wives, in most cases Soviet nationals, who stayed behind in their country. The Spanish Section also forwards to the Soviet authorities applica­tions from some of the rep a tria ted persons who suffered accidents a t work and wish to have their pensions in this connection tran s­ferred to Spain.

G R E E K SE C T IO N .

In the past few years the Greek Section has increased its enqui­ries to N ational Societies for inform ation concerning Greek natio ­nals who were transferred to E ast European countries during the civil war. In 1957 the ICRC received from the Alliance of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the USSR over 3,000 replies which it forwarded to the Greek R ed Cross ; 134 replies gave positive inform ation while the others reported negative results of the searches undertaken by the Alliance.

F R E N C H SEC TIO N .

The events in Algeria caused an increase in the work of this Section which, a t the request of French families who arc w ithout news of men missing in Algeria, m akes enquiries through au th o r­ities which m ay be in a position to supply inform ation.

IT A L IA N SE C T IO N .

The principal work of the Ita lian Section still continues to be the identification of com batants, prisoners of w ar and civilian internees who died during the Second W orld W ar. At the request of the Ita lian authorities, this Section devotes its efforts to this work w ith satisfactory results. The Section also searches for com­b a tan ts who disappeared during the hostilities on the E astern F ron t. The Alliance of Red Cross and R ed Crescent Societies of the USSR, which deals w ith these enquiries, gave replies to m any of them in 1957.

49

GERMAN SECTION.

In 1957 the Germ an Section received 43,746 postal item s (.i.e. 12,000 more th an in the previous year), relating to searches for the missing, identification of deceased persons etc. In 1957 it issued 12,568 certificates of cap tiv ity to form er prisoners of war. As a consequence of mass m ovem ents and transfers of the popula­tion and the shifting of frontiers, m uch of its work is also concerned w ith the tracing of civilians.

The Section also deals w ith num erous cases of “ Volksdeutsche ” living in various E ast European countries who wish to join relatives in Germany, A ustria and other parts of Europe, and abroad. In 1957 th is work was also carried out on behalf of “ Volksdeutsche ” in R um ania.

K O R E A N SE C T IO N .

In the last m onths of 1956 and early in 1957 the K orean Section sent to the R ed Cross of the D em ocratic People’s Republic of Korea in Pyongyang 7,034 enquiries concerning South Korean civilians who disappeared during the hostilities. This N ational Society sent 337 replies to the ICRC which were forwarded to the Red Cross of the Republic of K orea in Seoul. I t also transm itted 14,132 enquiries concerning N orth K orean civilians, which were sent on to Seoul, through the Central Agency.

M ID D L E E A ST SE C T IO N .

This Section, set up in N ovem ber 1956 following the Suez conflict, continued to seek for E gyp tian m ilitary personnel missing or captured during hostilities and the transm ission of civilian message forms (containing 25 words concerning family news only) sent through the Central Prisoners of W ar Agency of the ICRC. As a result of the renewal of postal com m unica­tions and the repatria tion of prisoners the Section has less work. I t continues nevertheless to receive enquiries from E gyptian families who are w ithout news of m en who disappeared during the fighting.

50

STATELESS PERSONS SECTION.

D uring the last qu arte r of 1956 the Central Agency set up this Section for the purpose of assisting stateless persons leaving Egypt. This Section was very active in 1957 and assisted num erous persons wishing to em igrate.1

H U N G A R IA N SE C T IO N .

W ith the co-operation of N ational Red Cross Societies in the countries of asylum, the Central Agency m ade a census of H un­garian refugees and set up a central card-index which, a t present, contains over 310,000 cards. W ith the inform ation thus collected, the enquiries opened and the transm ission of civilian messages, the H ungarian Section was able to place in contact thousands of persons who were w ithout news of near relatives.

In addition 27,000 civilian messages were broadcast over the ICRC wave-length 2 during the in terrup tion in postal com m uni­cations w ith H ungary.

This Section received 55,303 postal item s in 1957 and sent out 61,588.

* *

The Central Agency’s o ther Sections are still engaged in acti­vities on a more lim ited scale bu t for an equally useful purpose.

Enquiries are still received concerning nationals of various countries enrolled in the French Foreign Legion who have ceased to give news. Enquiries are opened to obtain news of these men and inform their families.

* ^

B) The International Tracing Service-—Arolsen

The In ternational Tracing Service (ITS), whose headquarters are a t Arolsen (Germ any), is today the most im portan t source of inform ation concerning persons deported or displaced during the Second W orld W ar, either in Germ any itself or in the countries occupied by the German forces.

1 See p. 25.2 See p. 71.

51

& O Ó, O O Ó

I ts card indexes contain 25 million individual cards ; cases have already been dealt with.

The transm ission of the bureau and adm inistration of the ITS to the ICRC was set forth in the agreem ents concluded a t Bonn on June 6, 1955. The In ternational Commission for the adm inistration of the ITS, in stitu ted in accordance w ith the agreem ents and to which the ICRC is responsible in this connection, m et four times in 1957. This Commission includes a delegate of each of the follow­ing G overnm ents : Belgium, France, Germ any, Greece, Israel,Ita ly , Luxem bourg, the Netherlands, the U nited Kingdom and the U nited States. A representative of the U nited N ations High Commissioner for Refugees, a representative of the ICRC and of the ITS m anagem ent also a tten d the meetings. As in the past, four m embers of the ICRC s ta f f1, all Swiss nationals, are a t the head of the ITS, of which the staff on December 31, 1957, was composed of 248 employees (Germans and displaced persons).

** *

The work of the ITS increased in 1957. Compared w ith 1956 the num ber of enquiries received shows an increase of 30 % and the num ber of certificates issued 50 % . This increase is p artly the result of the prolongation to October, 1957, of the tim e-lim it fixed by the G overnm ent of the Germ an Federal Republic for sending in claims for com pensation and, further, the m easures taken to increase the o u tp u t of the ITS, in particu lar by the in troduction of new working m ethods and by increasing the staff.

* * *

In 1957 the ITS received a to ta l of 203,801 applications (158,439 in 1956). This figure includes :

32,445 individual enquiries (39,572 in 1956) concerning victim s o f deporta tion measures or racial persecution, and refugees ;

134,462 (95,680 in 1956) requests for certificates to obtain com pensation ;

1 Mr. N. B u rck h ard t, D irec to r ; Mr. A. de C ocatrix , Mr. G. H offm ann and Mr. B runs.

52

36,740 applications for death certificates (22,951 in 1956) ;

154 requests for inform ation of a historical or statistica l natu re (236 in 1956).

** *

The postal item s dispatched by the ITS in 1957 am ounted to 358,842 (236,523 in 1956). The docum ents consisted of:

138,700 reports on individual enquiries concerning interned, persecuted or displaced persons, or refugees (105,107 in 1956) i.e. 6,905 positive reports, 48,161 tem porary reports, 83,634 negative reports.

218,030 certificates or reports concerning applications to obtain com pensation (129,611 in 1956) including 31,147 certi­ficates of captiv ity , 37,576 certificates of residence, 22,337 tem porary replies and 126,700 negative replies.

1,958 dea th certificates (1,538 in 1956).

154 reports of a historical or statistica l nature (267 in1956).

** *

The ITS central card-index was supplem ented by the addition of 343,869 cards (328,398 in 1956) and the classification of 425,979 cards (341,438 in 1956).

In addition the ITS handed over 4,792 p h o tosta t copies of docum ents to national Tracing B ureaux and other organisations. Some tasks are not included in the above figures, for instance the microfilms of ITS docum ents produced by the Y ad Vashem Memo­rial A uthority . This work, carried out with the help of the ITS staff and on its premises, was s ta rted in 1955 and finished in December 1957. The ITS has continued to analyse and m ake use of new docum ents m ade available in 1957 concerning persons who disappeared in concentration camps. These docum ents contain some 700,000 names.

An im portan t num ber of docum ents was sent to the ITS by the W orld Jew ish Congress in London, the M inistère des Anciens C om battants et Victimes de la Guerre, Paris, the Com itato Ricerche

53

D eportati Ebrei, Rome, the Musée d ’E ta t d ’Oswiecim (Auschwitz), and the Y ad Vashem Memorial A uthority.

All the inform ation draw n by the ITS from new docum ents is entered on cards which are then placed in the central card-index. If, when filing a card bearing new inform ation, it joins up w ith an enquiry card, this is called a " concurrence No inform ation is com m unicated until a stu d y of the file has been m ade to ascertain if it will be of use to the enquirer. This checking is useful since only one-sixth of the “ concurrences " (which num bered 30,000 in 1957) have led to the issue of new certificates or supplem entary reports.

D uring the year, the ITS came to the end of its inventory of docum ents in connection w ith form er concentration camps. In accordance w ith the provisions of the agreem ents, this complete inventory signed by the delegates of the form er Occupying Power and by a representative of the ICRC is deposited a t the In te r­national C om m itttee’s headquarters. The Governm ent members of the In ternational Commission for the ITS, the Secretary-General of the W est European Union and the Secretary-General of the U nited N ations have each received a copy.

54

V. VOLUNTARY MEDICAL PERSONNEL

The Red Cross was founded “ to tra in in peace tim e a sufficient num ber of persons capable of giving the necessary trea tm ent and care to the wounded and sick of the arm ed forces in tim e of w ar

So long as G overnm ents m aintain powerful armies, thus showing th a t th ey do not consider w ar to be impossible, it is the d u ty of the Red Cross to hold itself ready to carry out its work as an auxiliary to the A rm y Medical Services.

E verybody is aware today of the danger which threatens hum anity . There is constan t ta lk of new weapons or of the dangers which they m ay cause. In the event of a conflict, it is probable th a t few N ational R ed Cross Societies would be able to m eet the situation by their own means. The m ajority of them would be obliged, no doubt, to have recourse to the m edical personnel and equipm ent of sister Societies. Newly formed Red Cross Societies should endeavour first of all to prom ote in their countries a a ttitu d e favourable to the respect of the application of the principles of the Geneva Conventions, which sometimes m eet w ith opposition, owing to ignorance and trad itional customs. E ach N ational Society should therefore be prepared, i.e. it should tra in a sufficient num ber of vo lun tary medical personnel. To assist them , the In ternational Conference of the Red Cross has en trusted the ICRC w ith the mission of assisting in the train ing and developm ent of th is per­sonnel.

** *

55

In 1957 the ICRC seized every opportun ity of studying these questions in conjunction w ith the League, N ational R ed Cross Societies, A rm y Medical Services or o ther organisations.

In particu lar i t published a s tudy en titled “ Nurses and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 ” 1 ; the docum ent was published in French and English and the Germ an translation is being prepared.

** *

During the year the train ing of medical personnel led to num er­ous visits abroad by the Head of the Medical Personnel and W ar D isablem ent Section, Miss A. Pfirter. In the Germ an Dem ocratic Republic she discussed the m a tte r w ith the heads of the German R ed Cross in Dresden, and then got in touch w ith the R ed Cross of the Germ an Federal Republic in Bonn, where she m et num erous leading m em bers.2 Miss P firter then visited a t Godesberg the Bundesschule Mehlen, of the Germ an Red Cross, which trains vo lun tary medical personnel units.

In Rome, she visited the new professional nursing school of the Ita lian R ed Cross and the headquarters of this Society.

** *

Miss P firter took p art in the X lX th In ternational Conference of the Red Cross. On behalf of the ICRC, she subm itted to the Medico-social Commission a report en titled " Nursing duties, organisation, enrolm ent and train ing of professional and auxiliary personnel for their duties in tim e of w ar ” .

** *

After the close of the Conference, Miss Pfirter, as the guest of the Ind ian R ed Cross, visited hospitals, nursing schools and welfare and children centres th roughout the country. She was present a t first-aid exercises and had conversations w ith the heads of local branches of the Red Cross and the A rm y Medical Service. Thus she was able to discuss the question of the train ing of vo luntary

1 Mr. J .-P . Schoenholzer “ N urses and th e G eneva C onventions of 1949 ", G eneva, 1957.

2 In p a rticu la r F ra u G eneraloberin von O ertzcn, responsible for all R ed Cross nursing schools in W est G erm any.

56

m edical personnel for emergencies. She w ent to Lucknow, C alcutta (where she visited a cam p of refugees from E ast Pakistan), H yde­rabad, N arendranagar, Theri-Gahrwal Valley, Am ritsar, Ludhiana, Ju llendur and New Delhi.

On her re tu rn journey she passed through Iraq , where she noted w ith appreciation the efforts of the Iraq i R ed Crescent to tra in team s of auxiliary medical personnel. H er visit to Teheran having coincided w ith an earthquake in the ICermanshah district, she saw the efficient work of the first-aid team s of the Red Lion and Sun in the disaster area.

As this mission was not finished by December 31, 1957 the rem aining details will be given in the nex t annual report.

** 4»

The In ternational Committee was represented by Miss L. Odier, M ember of the ICRC, a t the 8th P robationer Course of the W orld H ealth Organisation, held in Geneva from May 6 to 15, 1957. Miss Odier and Miss P firter represented the ICRC a t the 13th Meeting of the N ursing Advisory Committee of the League of R ed Cross Societies, which took place from June 11 to 13, 1957.

Miss P firter also took p art in the X lth Quadriennial Congress of the In ternational Council of Nurses (ICN) held in Rome from May 27 to June 3. A fter the Congress Miss Densford, Member of the ICN and Miss Sher, of the same Organisation, visited Geneva to collect inform ation on the activities of the In ternational Com­m ittee. On this occasion, the representatives of the ICN and the ICRC discussed various questions concerning refugee nurses. The editress of the ICN Magazine, Miss Susan King-Hall, also visited the ICRC in July .

Num erous foreign and Swiss nurses also visited Geneva and were supplied by the ICRC w ith docum ents on the subjects in which th ey were interested.

** *

At the request of the French Red Cross, the League of Red Cross Societies and the ICRC organised in Geneva a study course for this Society’s Nursing School instructors. The N ational Red

57

Cross Societies of Switzerland and Ita ly , both sent an instructo r to this stu d y course. D uring the course (July 6 to 20, 1957), the students visited the headquarters of the In ternational Committee and attended lectures on the principles and fundam entals of the work of the ICRC, m edical personnel in tim e of war, the Geneva Conventions, the war-disabled and the Central Prisoners of W ar Agency.

58

VI. PRACTICAL APPLICATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANITARIAN LAW

From its origin the In ternational Committee of the Red Cross has been concerned w ith the prom ulgation of the rules on which hum anitarian law is based today.

The F irst Geneva Convention of 1864 draw n from a draft project of the Geneva Committee, was in fact the starting point of successive modifications which have affirmed the respect of the hum an person by the protection of victim s of conflicts (the trad i­tional field of Red Cross activities), regulations for arm am ents and m ethods of warfare or, yet again, the organisation throughout the world of campaigns for the prevention of certain social evils.

The F irst Geneva Convention incorporated into in ternational law hum anitarian principles which, until then, were only of a m oral nature. I t was also the beginning of m ultilateral agreem ents of an universal scope such as the Hague Convention of 1899 and 1907 respecting the Laws and Customs of W ar and the various Pacts or Conventions set up under the auspices of the League of N ations, -and later, by the U nited Nations, for the prevention of slavery, the drug traffic, etc.

Since its foundation in 1863, the In ternational Committee of the Red Cross, w ith the experience acquired on battle-fields has devoted its efforts in particu lar to the developm ent of the Geneva law whose object is to protect w ar victims. Nevertheless, the ICRC has never ceased to seek inform ation concerning the progress of o ther branches of hum anitarian law, and even to lend its assist­ance if it thought it would serve a useful purpose.

59

Thus, when the X lX th In ternational Conference of the Red Cross was held it subm itted the “ D raft Rules for the L im itation of the Dangers incurred by the Civil Population in Time of W a r” 1 which are a t present being exam ined by Governm ents. In confor­m ity w ith its trad itional duties the In ternational Committee of the R ed Cross continued to work, in 1957, for the developm ent of hum anitarian law.

I t pursued its efforts tow ards the dissem ination of the Geneva Conventions, in particu lar by d istributing an illustra ted booklet in nine languages (French, English, Spanish, German, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese and Russian), giving a sum m ary of the Conventions by pictures which it published in 1956.

The ICRC also continued its work on the C om m entary on the Geneva Convention of 1949 concerning the wounded, sick and shipwrecked of arm ed forces a t sea and the Convention on Prisoners of W ar. I t also replied to num erous legal enquiries on the subject.

G E N E V A C O N V E N TIO N S O F A U G U ST 12, 1949

(1) R A T IF IC A T IO N S A N D ACCESSIO NS.

In 1957 the Swiss Federal Council in Berne announced the deposit of the instrum ents of ratification of the Geneva Conven­tions by Iran (February 20, 1957), A lbania (May 27, 1957), Brazil (June 29, 1957) and the U nited Kingdom of Great B ritain and N orthern Ireland (Septem ber 23, 1957). In addition, the following Powers have acceded to these Conventions : H aiti (April 11, 1957), Tunisia (May 4, 1957), D em ocratic Republic of Viet Nam (June 28,1957), D em ocratic People’s Republic of K orea (August 27, 1957), the Sudan (Septem ber 23, 1957). These various ratifications or accessions brought the num ber of Powers p a r ty to the Geneva Conventions to 69 on December 31, 1957.

The In ternational Committee of the Red Cross, whenever it was possible to do so, m ade representations to the Governm ents or N ational Societies of the countries no t yet bound by these Conventions, to hasten the procedure of ratifications or accessions.2

1 See pp. 80 to 84.2 T he S ta tes s igna to ry to th e G eneva C onventions for w hich ratifications

had n o t been received up to D ecem ber 31, 1957 are th e following : A ustralia , B urm a, B olivia, C anada, Ceylon, Colom bia, C osta R ica, E th io p ia , Ire land , N ew Zealand, P a rag u ay , P o rtu g a l and U ruguay .

60

Convenios Genfer Afsrq^T *

Conventions de Genève Geneva Conventions

¡KEHEBCKHE KOHBEHUHH

Ide Ginebra

Abkommen

D issem ina tion of the Geneva C onventions by pictures : the cover of an illustrated booklet in n ine languages pub lished by the IC R C

(2) STUDIES CONCERNING T H E GENEVA CONVENTIONS.

Rescue craft.

The Second Geneva Convention of 1949 contains provisions (mainly in Article 27) for the protection of rescue craft and the coastal installations for their use.

The In ternational Life-boat Conference has m ade efforts on several occasions to obtain efficient protection for the crafts and their crews. I t has approached the Belgian and Swiss Governm ents on the subject and m ade very active efforts to induce the various S tates to in terp re t these provisions of the Second Convention in a favourable sense.

Article 22 of this Convention provides for the notification of the characteristics of hospital ships and rescue craft. The tex t is not very explicit, however, as regards the procedure for notifica­tion and, therefore, a t the request of the Belgian Governm ent, the Swiss Federal A uthorities were requested to send a note to all the S tates signatory to the Geneva Conventions w ith a view to the conclusion, between the High Protecting Parties, of a new agree­m ent whereby the inform ation and characteristics concerning rescue craft would be transm itted in peace tim e to the ICRC in Geneva, which would assemble this inform ation and give periodic advice of it to the S tates concerned. Some tw enty Governm ents have so far responded favourably to this suggestion. The ICRC had previously sta ted th a t it was prepared, a t the request of the S tates concerned, to accept these duties ; it would seem there­fore th a t a positive result is in view and the ICRC is following the question.

Members of folice forces

The In ternational Federation of Police Officers has for some years been in contact w ith the ICRC, and had special discussions w ith it of la te years, in connection w ith the application to members of the police forces of the provisions of the F ourth Geneva Conven­tion relative to the P rotection of the Civilian Population. In 1956 this Federation adopted a d raft declaration relative to the applica­tion of the F o u rth Convention to police officers.

61

In ternational M edica l L a w

For several years, as from the Second W orld W ar, the medical world has felt a need for explicit regulations concerning the rights and duties of m embers of the m edical profession, first of all by national legislation and la ter by in terna tional regulations. Circum­stances have caused m any doctors to find them selves placed under the au tho rity of foreign adm inistrative bodies and this experience, often of a distressing nature , has aroused a wish for the medical profession to be subject to uniform regulations.

The previous A nnual R e p o r t1 referred to meetings held between the In ternational Committee of M ilitary Medicine and Pharm acy, W orld Medical Association, and the ICRC, a ttended by an observer of the W orld H ealth Organisation. Various contacts were also m ade w ith the “ Comité pour la neutra lité de la médecine ”, in Paris whose work is followed by the ICRC.

In 1957 the regulations which were discussed during the meetings and considered likely to ensure the care of the wounded and sick in all circum stances, and the protection of doctors in the perform ­ance of their duties, were finally ad justed and adopted by these associations, together w ith draft rules concerning medical ethics in w ar time.

These d ra ft rules m ention, in particular, a distinctive emblem (a red Aesculapian staff on a white background) for the protection of civilian doctors not on the staff of a civilian hospital who, it will be recalled, are not authorised by the F o u rth Convention to m ake use of the Red Cross emblem.

The ICRC subm itted the results of this work to the X lX th In ternational Conference of the R ed Cross which noted them with satisfaction and gave its support by adopting the following reso­lution :

" The X lX th International Conference of the Red Cross,considering the efforts already made by the International Committee

of the Red Cross to minimise the suffering caused by armed conflicts of all types, expresses the wish that a new provision be added to the existing Geneva Conventions of 1949, extending the provisions of Article 3 thereof so that :

1 See A nnual R ep o rt for 1956, p. 51.

62

(a) the wounded may be cared for without discrimination and doctors in no way hindered when giving the care which they are called upon to provide in these circumstances,

(b) the inviolable principle of medical professional secrecy may be respected,

(c) there may be no restrictions, other than those provided by inter­national legislation, on the sale and free circulation of medi­cines, it being understood that these will be used exclusively for therapeutic purposes,

furthermore, makes an urgent appeal to all Governments to repeal any measures which might be contrary to the present Resolution.”

D R A F T R U L E S F O R T H E L IM IT A T IO N O F T H E D A N G E R S IN C U R R E D B Y T H E C IV IL IA N P O P U L A T IO N IN T IM E O F W A R

The A nnual R eport for 1956 m entioned the work of the ICRC for the purpose of resta ting and defining, in view of the develop­m ent in m ethods of warfare, the rules for the protection of the civilian population in tim e of war.

This work reached a conclusion by the publication in autum n 1956 of " D raft Rules ” which were subm itted to the X lX th In te r­national Conference of the Red Cross. The Conference considered them to be in conform ity w ith Red Cross ideals and the require­m ents of hum anity .1

Legal A id to Aliens

The V lth Conference of Non-G overnm ental Organisations interested in Migration held in Geneva from A ugust 9 to 13, 1957 adopted a resolution which recom m ended in particu lar the creation in Geneva of an “ In ternational Centre for the Co-ordination of Legal Assistance ” , w ith the close co-operation of the In ternational Com mittee of the R ed Cross, for the purpose of :

(a) Placing all relevant information at the disposal of the legal assistance agencies existing in various countries, and facilitating the exchange of information between those agencies ;

(b) Encouraging co-operation between those agencies and promoting the establishment of new legal assistance agencies wherever they are deemed necessary ;

1 See S um m ary of th e discussions of th e Conference, pp. 80 to 84.

63

(c) Facilitating contacts between national agencies to assist them in settling difficult cases, especially those entailing co-ordinated action in several countries ;

(d) Communicating expeditiously to member organisations all information relating to legal assistance agencies throughout the world, and in particular soliciting the answers required to the questionnaire drawn up by the New York Working Party.

The ICRC and the League, in accordance w ith the wishes expressed by the X V IIth and X V IIIth In ternational Red Cross Conferences, had already considered favourably the establishm ent of such a body provided th a t it could be organised to act in accord­ance w ith Red Cross principles.

The need for giving legal assistance to aliens and the quality of the services given varies from country to country. Some, like the U nited S tates, already have an official organisation which gives legal assistance and free legal advice, to the poor, and this organ­isation m eets requirem ents for the m ost part. Indeed aliens, including refugees and stateless persons, benefit from it in the same w ay as citizens. Elsewhere the conditions under which legal assistance is given are in general less favourable, and despite the devoted work of a large num ber of non-governm ental organisations, in the foreground of which m ay be m entioned the In ternational Social Service, there seems to rem ain m uch to do not only in extending legal assistance itself b u t also in co-ordinating efforts to provide it.

The question was discussed a t the X lX th In ternational Con­ference of the Red Cross. The Chairm an of the In ternational H um anitarian Law Commission thanked the ICRC and the League for their efforts in this field and the Conference passed a resolution approving the R eport of the ICRC.

There can be no question of the In ternational Centre which is to be established giving direct legal assistance. The lim ited tasks incum bent upon it are, moreover, quite clearly defined in the resolution m entioned above. If it succeeded, however, in co­ordinating the activities of bodies which fulfil the same functions as the Red Cross legal assistance sections m entioned above it would be doing useful work, especially in assisting the organisations concerned to obtain the support from various sources of which they m ay have need.

64

G E N E V A C O N V E N TIO N S O F A U G U ST 12, 1949

L is t of States party to the Geneva Conventions.

No. D ate Countries N o. D ate Countries

1950 19541 M arch 31 Sw itzerland 33 Feb. 10 T u rk ey2 A pril 21 Jugoslav ia 34 M arch 29 L iberia *3 Ju ly 9 M onaco 35 A pril 15 C uba4 Sept. 21 L iech tenste in 36 M ay 10 U .S .S .R .5 O ct. 12 Chile 37 Ju n e 1 R um an ia6 N ov. 9 In d ia 38 Ju ly 22 B ulgaria7 Dec. 19 C zechoslovakia 39 Aug. 3 B yelorussian S .S .R .

40 Aug. 3 H u n g ary1951 41 Aug. 3 N etherlands

8 F eb. 22 H oly See 42 Aug. 3 U krain ian S .S.R .9 M arch 7 Philipp ines (F irst

C onvention only)4344

Aug. 11 Sept. 3

E cuado rG erm an Fed. Rep.*

10 A pril 10 L ebanon 45 N ov. 26 Po land11 M ay 29 Jo rd a n * 46 Dec. 29 T hailand12 Ju n e 12 P ak is tan13 Ju n e 27 D enm ark 195514 Ju n e 28 F rance 47 Feb. 22 F in land15 Ju ly 6 Israel 48 Aug. 22 U n ited S ta tes of16 Aug. 3 N orw ay

1956A m erica

17 Dec. 17 I ta ly49 Feb. 10 P an am a *50 Feb. 13 V enezuela

1952 51 Feb. 14 Ira q *18 M arch 31 U nion of South 52 Feb. 15 Peru

A frica * 53 M ay 22 L ib y a *19 M ay 14 G uatem ala 54 Ju n e 5 Greece20 A ug. 4 Spain 55 Ju ly 26 M orocco *21 Sept. 3 Belgium 56 Sept. 18 A rgen tine R epublicSee 57 Sept. 26 A fghan istan

N o .9 O ct. 6 Philipp ines (Second, 58 Oct. 29 L aos *T h ird an d F o u rth 59 Nov. 30 G erm an D em . R ep.

22 O ct. 29Conventions)

Mexico60 Dec. 28 P eop le 's R epublic

of C hina23 N ov. 10 E g y p t 1957

61 Feb. 20 Iran1953 62 A pril 11 H a iti *

24 A pril 21 Ja p a n * 63 M ay 4 T un isia *25 Ju n e 17 Salvador 64 M ay 27 A lbania26 Ju ly 1 L uxem burg 65 Ju n e 28 D em . R epublic27 Aug. 27 A ustria of V ie t N am *28 Aug. 29 San M arino * 66 Ju n e 29 B razil29 N ov. 2 Syria 67 Aug. 27 Dem. R ep. of K orea *30 N ov. 14 R ep. of V iet N am * 68 Sept. 23 U n ited K ingdom and31 Dec. 17 N icaragua N o rth e rn Ire land32 Dec. 28 Sweden 69 Sept. 23 Sudan *

* Accessions are shown by an asterisk

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VII. INFORMATION—PRESS—PUBLICATIONS

The activ ity of the ICRC in the field of public inform ation is of the u tm ost im portance. I t is essential for the In ternational Com mittee to have the support of public confidence and public opinion in order to be able to carry out its task . I t m ust therefore, by publicizing its rôle, establish an atm osphere which will help this confidence to spread, in order to increase the efficiency of the Red Cross in general and of ICRC delegates in particular. The press and inform ation services of the ICRC m aintain this liaison w ith public opinion.

** *

In 1957, the ICRC Press and Inform ation Section was reorgan­ised ; a professional jo u rn a lis t1 has been appointed to direct it.

During the year, the press and inform ation services were engaged in m any varied activities :

(a) Relations with the international Press.

The ICRC is in constan t touch w ith the services providing w ritten, spoken and filmed news in every country. A large num ber of journalists visit the In ternational Com m ittee’s headquarters at Geneva to obtain inform ation. Close co-operation has been estab­lished both w ith the Swiss Press and w ith in ternational Press representatives who are accredited in Geneva, and w ith the edi­torial offices of the principal newspapers in both hemispheres.

1 Mr. Georges A. F iech ter.

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I t often happens th a t the ICRC is unable to give im m ediate publicity to some action undertaken by it, in the in terests of the success of th a t particu lar action. B u t as soon as possible the Press is informed.

In 1957, 79 press releases were d istributed, in French, English, Germ an and Spanish. These communiqués, which all bear the indication “ ICRCPRESS ”, were d istribu ted to some 400 news agencies, newspaper correspondents and editorial offices, as well as to the diplom atic corps, the N ational Red Cross Societies and various in ternational organisations. Transm ission of press releases by teleprin ter to the news agencies and the editorial offices of the principal daily newspapers enabled them to be published im medi­ately over a wide area. The ICRC collected new spaper clippings containing a to ta l of more th an 200,000 lines, which reproduce all or p a rt of its press releases.

During the X lX th In ternational Red Cross Conference a t New Delhi, a special Inform ation Service was in operation. A series of news item s concerning the discussions were prepared and were sent to Geneva by telegraph and subsequently transm itted to the Press by teleprin ter from there.

On his re tu rn from New Delhi, Mr. Leopold Boissier, President of the ICRC, gave a press conference which was a ttended by a large num ber of journalists.

B R O A D C A ST IN G A ND T E L E V IS IO N

The Office of H um anitarian A ctivities and the B roadcasting and Television Office are responsible for the In ternational Com­m ittee’s ac tiv ity in this field. T hey are under the responsibility of the head of the ICRC Inform ation Section, they are adm inis­tered by the D irector of Radio-Genève 1, where th ey have their offices, and are directed by a board of directors composed of ICRC and radio officials.2

1 Mr. R ené D ovaz.2 ICRC : D r. E . Gloor, fo rm er V ice-president, Mr. J . S. P ic te t, D irector

for G eneral Affairs and Mr. G. A. F iech ter, H ead of Press and In fo rm ation Section.

R ad io : Mr. R . D ovaz, Mr. R . de R eding, Mr. P . B orsinger, R ad io advisers to th e ICRC.

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The B roadcasting and Television Office 1 has been com pletely reorganised ; it now occupies the studios of the Intercroixrouge Group a t Radio-Genève and collects the m aterial required for ICRC radio and television program mes. I t is also responsible for adm inistering the ICRC wave-length and, in regard to broadcasting, m aintains liaison between the ICRC, the N ational R ed Cross Societies and other organisations. I t also ensures rap id com m unica­tion services, even in tim e of crisis, for the ICRC and the Central Inform ation Agency.

T he Office of H um anitarian Activities 2 is responsible for the production and broadcasting of radio program m es of a hum ani­tarian description.

In 1957, these two sections carried out the following activities :

1. Test Broadcasts 1957

The High Frequency B roadcasting Conference assigned to the ICRC a wave-length belonging to Switzerland—41 m. 61, 7210 kc. The Swiss Confederation also places the installations of the Swiss Short-wave Service a t the disposal of the In te r­national Committee. This exceptional privilege would enable the In ternational Com mittee to com m unicate w ith the rest of the world in case of conflict, in order to co-ordinate the work of its delegates from Geneva, to organise relief action, and to exchange news of prisoners of w ar and civilians. I t also m akes it possible to transm it by radio telephotography lists of detained, deceased and missing persons, and to rem ind the belligerents of the hum anitarian principles of the Geneva Conventions.

Even now, the ICRC studies the range of its wave-length so as to be fully acquainted w ith possible fluctuations and to be able to list them . A t least eleven years are required for the preparation of a technical record like this, since the d a ta in it depend on the norm al perm anent cycle of the solar system . This stu d y is m ade by m eans of test broadcasts, m ade a t different times throughout the year. Each tes t broadcast is announced and the ICRC sends out “ report cards ” to a large num ber of correspondents, some

1 D irected by Mr. Georges K uhne.2 D irected by Mr. R o b ert Ferrazino .

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specialists and some not, who are prepared to assist the In te r­national Committee in this work. Once these report cards have been sorted, the exact range of each broadcast and the best tim e for reception in each area can be determ ined. Since 1951, the ICRC has been m aking test broadcasts of this kind over its w ave­length. In 1957, they were m ade on Ju n e 25, 27 and 29 in the m orning and a t noon over a tw in-poled om nidirectional an tenna w ith a power of 100 lew. and in the afternoon and evening w ith a power of 25 kw. Some 150,000 listeners followed these broadcasts. The results were very satisfactory : the ICRC received a fo tal of 2,875 listening reports and 44 recordings sent from 45 countries in five continents.

F o r the first time, a fairly large num ber of reports were received from the E ast European countries (from S tate institu tions such as the national postal or broadcasting authorities).

The general public is not yet well aw are of the existence of the Intercroixrouge w ave-length and indeed its use involves consider­able confusion. Certain transm itting stations use the 7210 kc. frequency, although they are not authorised to do so. They include the following :

D a k a r ............................... 12 kw 6 am - 11 pm GMTC ongo 20 kw 4 am - 4 pm ,,China . . . D aven try . R am pishalm

100 kw 12 pm - 12 am 100 kw 12 pm - 12 am 100 kw ,,100 kw ,, ,,40 kw 12 am - 3 pm

100 kw 3 - 5 pm

S k e l to n ......................W o o fe rto n .................Lopik (Netherlands)

Accord­ing to season

and5 - 8 pm

10 - 12 pm 8 - 1 0 am

C alcutta Delhi .

20 kw 12 pm - 1 pm 100 kw 1 am - 1 pm

Tromsoe (Norway) . . 5 kw 6 am - 7 pm3 - 1 1 pm

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H ôrby 100 kw 3 - 4 am GMT4 - 5 am ,,5 - 6 am ,,

Acord- ing to season

1 - 2 pm 2 - 4 pm5 - 6 pm6 - 7 pm

11 pm - 2 pm ,

This list, provided by the In ternational Telecom munication Union, only includes the principal stations. The times shown are those announced by the adm inistrations concerned, b u t they are no t necessarily used during the whole year. This situation, which is frequently a hindrance in norm al times, m ight well be catas­trophic in tim e of conflict.

2. International broadcasts jor Red Cross Day

As in previous years, the in ternational broadcast for Red Cross D ay took place on May 8, from 8.30 to 9 pm. I t included the first perform ance of a work by the Swiss composer Pierre Wissmer. This work, entitled “ CLAM AVI ", was perform ed by the Orchestre de la Suisse Rom ande, conducted by the composer. The pro­gram m e was broadcasted sim ultaneously over sixteen stations broadcasting in French, German, Ita lian and Serbo-Croat.

A message from the President of the ICRC, Mr. Leopold Boissier, was also relayed. I t was transla ted into several lan­guages, recorded on m agnetic tape and sent to fifty countries. I t was then broadcast in those countries on Universal Red Cross Day.

These program m es were com pleted by special broadcasts prepared by the Swiss Short-W ave Service, which began w ith the French, Germ an and Ita lian linguistic identification signals and were followed by program m es in English and Spanish.

The fact th a t th is broadcast was tran sm itted over alm ost the whole European network, and also th a t it was transla ted into all the languages of the old world, resulted in a m axim um listening audience, estim ated a t 30 million people.

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3. Broadcasts for the IC R C collection

In 1957, some fifteen broadcasts were prepared in order to facilitate and to support, over the radio, the annual ICRC collec­tion in Sw itzerland.1

4. E nd of year Message 1957

The end of year message of Mr. Leopold Boissier was broadcast in six languages.2

5. Broadcasts to Hungary

A t the beginning of 1957, following the resum ption of telegraph, telephone and postal services between H ungary and the rest of the world, the ICRC Broadcasting Section suspended its special

1 R A D IO SO TT E N SSlogans (G eneva-L ausanne) : end A ugust to S ep tem ber 15.Broadcast p lay (Geneva) : S ep tem ber 2 (O peration F reedom ).Current events (Geneva) : S ep tem ber 2 (« In s ta n ts du M onde », Mr. F . S iordet,

Mr. P . G aillard).Les Institu tions et les H om m es (Geneva) : S ep tem ber 6 (R ed Cross P rincip les,

Mr. J . P ic te t).Les Institu tions et les H om m es (Geneva) : S ep tem ber 13 (Mr. C. A m m ann). P rogram m e of p o e try ded ica ted to Mr. Boissier : S ep tem ber 15 (Isabelle

V illars).R A D IO B E R O M Ü N S T E R

Slogans (Zurich) : from S ep tem ber 1 to 15.Current events (Zurich) : A ugust 30 (Mr. G. R utisliauser).Current events (Zurich) : S ep tem ber 6 (Mr. M. T hudichum ).Current events (Zurich) : S ep tem ber 11 (Mr. R . G allopin).

R A D IO LUG AN O Slogans (Lugano) : F rom A ugust 31 to S ep tem ber 21.Current events (Lugano) : a d a p ta tio n of in terv iew w ith Mr. F . S iordet and

Mr. P . G aillard.Broadcast p lay (Lugano) : S ep tem ber 17. A d ap ta tio n of “ O pera tion F ree­

dom ” .

2 I n French : Sw itzerland, F rance, Belgium L uxem burg , M onte-Carlo, C anada, A lgeria, Morocco, T un isia ; Swiss short-w ave.

I n German : Sw itzerland, G erm any, B erlin, A ustria ; Swiss short- wave. I n English : A ustra lia , N ew Zealand, Ind ia , P ak is tan , C anada ; Swiss

short-w ave. (The U n ited K ingdom and th e D om inions received F rench and E nglish te x ts by post.)

I n Spanish : Spain ; Swiss short-w ave. (L atin A m erican countries received F rench and Spanish te x ts b y post.)

I n Ita lian : Sw itzerland, I ta ly ; Swiss short-w ave.I n A rabic : Morocco, T unisia, A lgeria, L ibya, E g y p t, S udan , Jo rdan ,

Syria, Lebanon, Iraq , Saudi A rabia.

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broadcasts to th a t country. Only messages addressed by H ungarian refugees to their families still in H ungary were broadcast. B y the end of Jan u a ry 1957, when this service was suspended, 27,000 messages had been broadcast. This was the first tim e th a t the w ave­length assigned to the ICRC—41 m 61— had actually been used.

6. News Broadcasts

In 1957 the ICRC B roadcasting Section produced 174 pro­gramm es of various kinds. These program mes, which filled 70 hours of radio tim e and were tran sm itted in 62 countries in five con­tinents, could be heard by alm ost 330 million listeners.1

7. Broadcasts in Spanish

In 1957, Mr. J . J . Gomez de R ueda presented 26 program m es in Spanish to listeners in L atin America. These program m es were broadcast by the Swiss Short-W ave Service, under the auspices of the ICRC. Mr. de R ueda has a thorough knowledge of Red Cross concepts and these program m es have aroused great interest. Most of them are subsequently reproduced in the L atin Am erican press or in N ational Red Cross Societies’ magazines.

8. Broadcasts in Arabic

After several years of preparation, weekly broadcasts in Arabic are now being given by the ICRC, w ith the assistance of the Swiss Short-W ave Service. I t was not easy to add an additional language to the program m es broadcast by this station , b u t this was finally achieved thanks to the co-operation of Mr. Paul Borsinger, D irector of the Swiss Short-W ave Service and radio adviser to the ICRC.

The ICRC prepares, records and takes full m oral responsibility for its broadcasts in Arabic, which are transm itted by the Swiss Short-W ave Service. The first broadcast in Arabic took place on Ju ly 12, 1957, over the following wave-lengths : 16 m 93, 17720 kc. and 25 m 28,11865 kc. ; the power of the transm ission was 100 kw .2

1 N um ber of listeners com puted on th e basis of s ta tis tic s of th e E u ropean B roadcasting U nion.

2 T his w ave-length w as su bsequen tly changed, an d th e program m es are now tra n sm itte d over 16 m 87 (17784 kc.) and 19 m 60 (15365 kc.).

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Mr. Ibrahim Zreikat is responsible for preparing and recording these 15-minute program mes, which are broadcast each Saturday a t 7.15 pm (Swiss time) and are heard by thousands of listeners.

9. Reporting

D uring the X lX th In ternational Red Cross Conference there was close co-operation between the ICRC, Radio-Genève and the Swiss Short-W ave Service. The la tte r two organisations were represented in New Delhi by one English and one French reporter.

The French language reporter 1 broadcast eleven com m entaries over the Radio-Suisse Rom ande wave-length. These were re­broadcast in Germ an and Ita lian by the Ita lian and German services of the Swiss radio, and some of them were also re-broadcast by other European stations.

The com m entaries by the English language re p o r te r2 were broadcast by the Swiss Short-W ave Service to all the British Commonwealth countries, the U nited S tates and Canada.

Some ten feature program m es about the ICRC were also broad­cast by the Ind ian Radio.

Lastly, on his re tu rn from New Delhi, the President of the ICRC gave an interview which was broadcast nine tim es by the Swiss Short-W ave Service.

10. Television Programme on M ay 8, 1957

For Universal Red Cross Day, May 8, a 16-minute film was prepared, illustrating the activities of the ICRC and the League of R ed Cross Societies during the events in H ungary. I t was tran sm itted by television in the following 15 countries :

A ustria Jap an PortugalBelgium Jugoslavia SpainD enm ark Luxem burg SwedenFrance Monaco SwitzerlandIta ly N etherlands U nited Kingdom

1 Mr. R . Ferrazino .2 Mr. R ussel H enderson.

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BROADCAST FOR T H E ICRC COLLECTION

In support of the Swiss annual collection for the ICRC, in Septem ber 1957, the Swiss Television Services in French and Germ an tran sm itted four interviews of ICRC delegates.1

R E V U E IN T E R N A T IO N A L E D E LA C R O IX -R O U G E

The events which shook the world in 1957 had repercussions on the In ternational C om m ittee’s activities which have been reported a t length in the Revue In ternationale -, the official organ of the In ternational Committee. In articles or in the “ News Item s ” section, it has recounted the various phases of the trem en­dous relief work which was undertaken by the Red Cross a t the tim e of the events in H ungary and a t Suez. I t has included reports on missions by delegates in Germ any and the E ast European countries, particu larly in connection w ith the re-uniting of families, as well as in the N ear E ast, N orth Africa, Cypru and Kenya.

Mr. X. Leclainche, D irector General of Public Assistance in Paris, contribu ted a notew orthy article en titled “ Il fau t hum aniser l ’hôpital ” , and Mr. P. Villetorte, Chief Commissioner of the French Police, provided a m em orandum on the application by the police of a convention protecting persons in case of in ternal disturbances. Mr. B. de Rouge, Secretary General of the League, w rote an excel­lent article on th a t organisation’s action in behalf of H ungarian refugees. M ention m ust also be m ade of an article on the Swiss Aeronautical Rescue Guard.

The Revue In ternationale has published a num ber of articles w ritten specially by N ational Red Cross Societies concerning their work, which illustra te the devotion and ingenuity w ith which these Societies carry on their cam paign against suffering.

The Revue In ternationale published reports on the prepara to ry work for the X lX th In ternational R ed Cross Conference. The

1 F R E N C H L A N G U A G E T E L E V I S I O NSept. 2 G eneva : In te rv iew — Mr. M. T hud ichumSept. 9 ,, ,, D r. L. G ailland

G E R M A N L A N G U A G E T E L E V I S I O N Sept. 6 Zurich : In te rv iew — Mr. M. T hud ichumSept. 11 » » Mr. R . G allopin

D r. R edli2 E d ito r : Mr. J . G. Dossier.

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resolutions adopted by th a t Conference were also published. In 1957, publication of the “ D raft Rules for the L im itation of the Dangers incurred by the Civilian Population in Time of W ar ” , which were presented a t New Delhi, was com pleted. An im portan t article by Mr. C. Pilloud on reservations to the Geneva Conventions also appeared in the Revue Internationale.

As p a rt of a series of articles concerning outstanding figures in the h istory of the Red Cross, a lengthy study by Mr. R. Boppe was published in several instalm ents in the Revue In ternationale, as a trib u te to Dr. Louis Appia, an em inent m em ber of the “ Com­m ittee of F ive ” which launched the Red Cross m ovem ent.

Various o ther feature articles were also published.The Supplem ents, which appear in English, German and Spanish

reproduced some of the articles published in the Revue In te rn a­tionale, as well as the principal news item s concerning the trad i­tional activities of the ICRC.

FIL M S

The ICRC prepared a short film on its recent activities. The m aterial for the film, which will be shown to the public in 1958, was compiled by the Press and Inform ation Section. I t was pro­duced and directed by Charles Duvanel.

W ith the co-operation of the Indian Governm ent, a film was m ade during the X lX th In ternational Red Cross Conference. I t was m ade available to the d istributors of news films, through the good offices of the Cham bre Syndicale de la Presse filmée and was included in a large num ber of news programmes.

M any calls were m ade on the ICRC film library during the year. Film s about the In ternational C om m ittee’s activities were shown to groups of visitors on more th an 200 occasions and were m ade available to various N ational Societies, Embassies or organ­isations who had requested them .

Lectures and requests for documentation

A large num ber of lectures and talks were given on the activities, the h istory and the structu re of the ICRC, either to groups visiting the ICRC headquarters (e.g. : to groups of students from the In s titu t U niversitaire de H autes E tudes In ternationales) or on

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the occasion of congresses, meetings and seminars in Switzerland or o ther countries.

Mr. J . S. P ictet, D irector for General Affairs of the ICRC, gave two talks in Berne to young m em bers of the Swiss Federal Political D epartm ent.

On May 22, Mr. Leopold Boissier gave an im portan t lecture to the In ternational Assembly of the R otary Club, which was held a t Lucerne. H e also gave a ta lk entitled “ In the days of Florence Nightingale and H enry D unant " a t the opening of the m edical days a t Brussels.

The Press and Inform ation Section replied to some 350 requests for docum ents.

P H O T O G R A P H S

The ICRC expanded its photographic service. A new filing system was set up for the 80,000 photographs which are in its archives.

In addition, thanks to a gift from the W etzlar firm of E rnst Leitz, early in 1958 the ICRC photographic laborato ry will be equipped w ith m odern apparatus for reproducing and enlarging photographs and docum ents.

In 1957, more th an 500 photographs supplied by the ICRC were published in the Swiss press.

E X H IB IT IO N S

The ICRC prepared a series of posters and photographic exhibits illustra ting its various activities. These were included in the exhibition a t New Delhi, which was opened by the leader of the Swiss G overnm ent Delegation, Mr. Paul Ruegger, on the occasion of the X lX th In ternational Red Cross Conference.

The Press and Inform ation Section prepared and presented the ICRC exhibit in the In ternational Red Cross Pavilion, a t the Brussels Exhibition.

P U B L IC A T IO N S

The following docum ents were published by the ICRC during the year :

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A nnual Report for 1956— (in French, English and Spanish, Germ an edition m imeographed)— Geneva 1957, 90 p.

Les Réserves aux Conventions de Geneve de 1949, by Claude Pilloud, head of the Legal D epartm ent of the In ternational Com mittee of the R ed Cross— Geneva, 1957, 29 p. (in French).

Report on the Relief Actio?i in Hungary, October 1956— June 1957 (in French, English, Spanish and German) — Geneva 1957, 58 p.

Resolutions adopted by the X lX th In ternational Conference of the Red Cross, held a t New Delhi, October-Novem ber 1957 (in French, English and Spanish)— Geneva, 1957, 25 p.

In addition, the In ternational Com mittee has en trusted a form er m em ber of its s ta f f1 w ith the task of preparing a H istory of the origin and activities of the ICRC. This work is to be pub­lished a t the tim e of the Red Cross C entenary celebrations in 1963.

CA M PA IG N F O R ICRC C O L L EC T IO N IN S W IT Z E R L A N D

In co-operation w ith the organiser of the annual ICRC collec­tion in Switzerland 2, a series of radio and television broadcasts was arranged 3, various articles were w ritten and published and photographs were m ade available to the Swiss daily and weekly newspapers. Docum ents were also prepared for direct distribution to the public.

1 Mr. P ierre Boissier.2 Mr. Charles A m m ann.3 See p. 74.

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VIII. RELATIONS WITH RED CROSS INSTITUTIONS

T H E X lX th IN T E R N A T IO N A L C O N F E R E N C E O F T H E R E D CROSS

The In ternational Red Cross held its X lX th regular session a t New Delhi, from O ctober 28 to Novem ber 7. This was the second In ternational Red Cross Conference in Asia : in 1934 it was held a t Tokyo. The X lX th Conference was originally planned to take place a t the beginning of 1957, b u t because of the abnorm al am ount of relief work in which the Red Cross was engaged a t th a t time, following the events in H ungary and E gypt, it was postponed until the autum n.

The In ternational Conference, which is held every four years in principle, is always an im portan t event. I t is true th a t the destiny of the Red Cross is shaped above all in tim e of crisis and suffering, in the field ra th e r th an in the assembly hall, and its slogan m ight alm ost be : action first, speeches afterw ards. B ut th a t in no way detracts from the im portance of these in ternational meetings, which are a sort of parliam entary session of an empire on the world scale, composed of countries from every p art of the globe. In a world as divided as ours, it is necessary th a t from time to tim e the ideas of each one should be presented, in order th a t the common path , which is not necessarily the m iddle path , of hum anity , m ay emerge.

The special and all-im portant features of the Conference is th a t its m embers consist of the national and in ternational Red Cross institu tions as well as the S tates p a rty to the Geneva Conventions

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Opening ceremony of the X l X t h Internat ional Conference of the Red Cross,N e w Delhi

—in fact alm ost all Powers—all w ith full voting rights. A t the Conference, therefore, the governm ent authorities are entitled to as m any votes as the N ational Red Cross Societies. In practice, however, there are fewer governm ental delegates. The S tates as such are no t legally bound by the decisions of the Conference.

The fact th a t G overnm ents are represented a t the Conference is in line w ith the natu re of the Red Cross, which serves as an auxiliary to the public authorities, and in re tu rn receives their constan t support.

The In ternational Conference is the supreme deliberative body of the R ed Cross. I ts principal objective is to ensure un ity in the work of the various branches which m ake up the In ternational Red Cross, and the ICRC is represented there in its own right. The Conference also considers proposals for the developm ent of hum ani­ta rian law.

D uring the Conference, the In ternational C om m ittee’s respon­sibility falls in to three categories : in the first place, it has a m oral responsibility to take an im portan t p a rt as a result of the undis­pu ted au tho rity which it enjoys in this dom ain ; secondly, technical, for the ICRC representatives are appointed to each commission, and they present a large num ber of reports.1 Lastly, the ICRC has a practical responsibility, since it m akes some of its staff members available to assist in the organisation of the Conference.

The ICRC delegation to the New Delhi Conference consist­ed of the President, Mr. Leopold Boissier, the Vice-Presidents, Mr. M. Bodm er and Mr. F. Siordet, Dr. M. Junod, a m em ber of the Committee, Mr. R. Gallopin, Executive Director, and Mr. J . P ictet, D irector for General Affairs, assisted by Mr. C. Pilloud, Mr. M. Borsinger, Mr. G. Fiechter, Mr. P. Gaillard, Mr. W. Michel, Mr. J . W ilhelm and Miss A. Pfirter.

* **

The In ternational Committee and the League gave all possible assistance to the Ind ian Red Cross for the organisation of the Conference. The experience gained a t previous conferences was draw n upon, and one of the directors of the Secretariat of the Indian

1 F o r th e 1957 Conference, 18 repo rts w ere prepared .

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Red Cross spent several weeks a t Geneva. In addition, the ICRC and the League each sent a staff m em ber to New Delhi in Novem ber 1956 to take p art in the organisation of the Conference ; they re tu rned there a t the beginning of October 1957.

After each plenary session or commission m eeting, a spokesm an of the ICRC 1 reported on the views expressed and answered questions from journalists accredited to the Conference (about 200 in all).

** *

82 countries took p a rt in the Conference, which was inaugurated by the President of the Republic of India, Mr. R. Prasad. The Prim e Minister, Mr. J . N ehru also spoke during the opening meeting.

The Chairm an of the Conference was R ajkum ari A m rit K aur, P resident of the Indian R ed Cross. The item s on the agenda were first considered in three commissions. The first of these, the In te r­national H um anitarian Law Commission, revealed itself from the s ta r t to be the m ost im portan t. I ts metings were held in the m ain hall of the Vigyan B havan, where the p lenary sessions also took place, and all the delegations were well represented. The Com­mission was presided over, w ith great competence, by Mr. John M acAulay, who had already directed w ith success the discussions of the X V III th In ternational Conference a t Toronto, in 1952. The work was carried out in favourable conditions and the partic i­pan ts showed a conciliatory spirit.

The In ternational H um anitarian Law Commission s ta rted its program m e w ith the m ost significant item , i.e. the s tudy of the Draft Rules for the Lim itation of the Dangers incurred by the Civilian Population in Tim e of War, prepared by the In ternational Com­m ittee of the Red Cross w ith the co-operation of experts and m ade available, over a year before, to Governm ents and R ed Cross Societies.

We are giving below some essential passages from the expla­n a to ry sta tem ent m ade by the In ternational C om m ittee’s repre­sentative 2 when introducing the Draft Rules :

1 Mr. G. A. F iech ter.2 Mr. F . Siordet.

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" . . . These Draft Rules have their origin in the memory of the cruel losses inflicted on the civilian population during the First, and more particularly the Second World War and our anxiety to avoid a repetition of these losses, which the development of modern means of destruction could only increase. The fact must be recognised that while all States which signed the Geneva Conventions in 1949 proclaimed that non-combatants must be respected and protected and assistance given to the victims, this protection and assistance might be jeopardised so long as there were indiscriminate attacks on military personnel and civilians alike with weapons which might even raze whole cities to the ground.

. . . The Draft Rules are the result not merely of the International Committee of the Red Cross carrying out a task entrusted to it but of joint efforts. From the beginning of our work, we have kept the National Societies informed of our intentions and we communicated to them the results of the first advisory meeting of the Commission of Experts held in Geneva in March 1954. Almost at the same time the Board of Governors, meeting in Oslo in May 1954 and moved by the same anxiety for the better protection of the civilian population, spontaneously and unanimously requested the ICRC “ to make a thorough examination of the subject and propose at the next International Conference of the Red Cross the necessary additions to the Conventions in force in order to protect civilian populations efficiently from the dangers of atomic, chemical and bacteriological warfare ”.

. . . When, in 1952, we resumed the studies undertaken by the ICRC before 1939 and began the preparation of these Draft Rules, world opinion had been put on its guard by a new and important factor, not present before the war : the development of nuclear energy. I t is a fact that many see a guarantee for the civilian populations in prohibition, pure and simple, of the use of atomic energy for warlike purposes. Many resolutions of International Red Cross Conferences or of the Board of Governors reflect this trend by expressing a wish that Governments succeed in reaching agreement on such a prohibition and on the means of ensuring its observance.

While the ICRC has associated itself with these resolutions, it has nevertheless considered it necessary from the very start to tackle the problem of the protection of civilians in case of conflict from a different viewpoint in keeping with the purpose of the Red Cross. Indeed, prohi­bition of nuclear weapons leaves out of account all the other devices, new or old, which, used in certain ways, may cause considerable losses to civilians. Furthermore, attem pts to achieve total prohibition under effective safeguards have for a long time been under discussion in the United Nations. Now, the Red Cross is not a political institution ; it has no competence in the art of war and still less in nuclear science. I t does not have to concern itself either with the manufacture of arma­

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ments or with the elaboration of strategy. Its only anxiety is, and should remain, the protection of non-combatants and the giving of relief.

The ICRC therefore considered that a solution should not be sought in drawing up a catalogue of authorised or prohibited means of warfare, but rather in making out a list of principles ensuring the safety of those who must, by general consent, be protected from attack. Now, these principles have long existed. Though they are often forgotten and are stated in the ancient rules of the law of nations in a form which may appear out of date in this age of aviation and atomic energy, innumer­able manifestations of public opinion and even the opinion of States— such as the signature of the Geneva Conventions of 1949—show that they are still living in the public conscience. We therefore considered that it was both necessary and sufficient to reaffirm these rules in a form which takes into account the developments of modem science. Indeed, there can be found in our Draft Rules nothing but :

a reaffirmation of the principle that the civilian population must be left outside the sphere of armed attacks ;

the consequent obligation on the parties to the conflict to take every precaution to ensure that attacks on military objectives do not harm the civilian population which is to be removed from the vicinity of threatened objectives ;

the consequent obligation to abstain from the use of methods of destruction, the effects of which may escape from the control of the person using them, thus endangering the civilian population.

It is not the selection of a particular weapon which may make it lawful to destroy human life. We are, therefore, very desirous of the principles stated in the Draft being valid in all circumstances, whatever the weapon used and whether it is already known or yet to be invented.

Peace and war are a m atter for governments. The ICRC knows that in a conflict the preservation of a country’s safety may face it with harsh necessities. I t is not the Committee's role to discuss this point. On the other hand, its mission and the mission of the Red Cross in general is to proclaim and ceaselessly reaffirm the fact that humanity also has its necessities. Our Draft Rules have no other purpose.

. . . Only Governments and their specialists can draw up interna­tional conventions in their final form. This is a Red Cross meeting and not a Conference of Experts. Moreover, in the very short time available it would not be possible to reconcile differences of opinion on the wording of each article without running the risk of distorting the text of the Draft with harmful results for its future.

Votes on particular provisions of the Draft Rules do not m atter at present. The various opinions expressed on the subject, and any remarks and suggestions you may make concerning possible amendments, will be carefully noted with a view to the setting up, later on, of the regula­

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tions which we all wish to see established. W hat matters now, and what we are proposing is that this X lX th International Red Cross Conference should give the opportunity for all the delegates present to unite in stating their unanimous approval of the basic principle of the Draft Rules for the protection of the civilian population in the event of an armed conflict.

The compilers of the Draft Rules have never at any time considered them to be an alternative solution. They merely represent the last attem pt of the Red Cross—if, unhappily, recourse should once more be had to force—to save what can and should be saved. But all those who have taken part in the establishment of the Draft Rules as well as those who have studied them, will certainly be the first to stress repeatedly the idea which appears at the beginning of the Preamble that “ all nations are firmly convinced that war should be banned as a means of settling disputes between man and man

The discussions then s ta rted and lasted two days ; m atters of procedure and substance were bo th considered.

The first question of procedure was to decide w hether the D raft Rules were, as had been suggested, to be exam ined article by article (for instance by a W orking P arty ), am ended and the actual tex t vo ted upon, or if the Commission should m erely subm it to Governm ents for consideration a m atte r judged to be too complex for a R ed Cross meeting. A middle course was finally adopted.

W ith regard to m atters of substance, a num ber of delegations proposed th a t Article 14 of the D raft Rules should be am ended to prohibit purely and sim ply the use of nuclear energy for warlike purposes. O ther delegations criticised certain provisions of the D raft Rules and proposed am endm ents which were duly noted.

Finally, the following resolution was adopted unanim ously :

The X lX th In ternational Conference of the Red Cross,

convinced th a t it is in terpreting the general feeling throughout the world which dem ands th a t effective measures be taken to rid the peoples from the nightm are of the th rea t of war,

having taken cognizance of the “ D raft Rules for the L im itation of the Dangers incurred by the Civilian Population in Time of W ar ” , draw n up by the In ternational Com mittee of the Red Cross, following a request by the Board of Governors of the League m eeting a t Oslo in 1954,

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considers th a t a set of rules revising and extending those previously accepted is highly desirable as a m easure of protection for the civilian population, if a conflict should unfortunate ly break out,

deems th a t the objectives of the D raft Rules subm itted are in conform ity w ith Red Cross ideals and the requirem ents of hum anity ,

urges the In ternational Com mittee of the R ed Cross to continue its efforts for the protection of the civilian population against the evils of war, and and

requests the In ternational Com mittee of the R ed Cross, acting on behalf of the X lX th In ternational Conference, to tran sm it the D raft Rules, the record of its discussions, the tex t of the proposals, and the subm itted am endm ents, to the G overnm ents for their consideration.

A lthough different in form, the m eaning of the tex t is close to th a t subm itted by the ICRC itself ; having been drafted by the Conference, however, the resolution has the advantage of being a d irect issue of its discussions.

As it stands, the resolution voted is no doubt the m ost which, in present circum stances, could have been expected from the in ternational com m unity. W ithout entering into discussions which, in view of the political positions taken up by the various States, would have led to no solution, the recom m endation contains an approval, in principle, of the efforts of the ICRC and enables it to continue its work. I t is on th is basis th a t the ICRC was requested to send to all G overnm ents in 1958 the com plete record of the proposals subm itted in this connection a t the New Delhi Conference.

The second item on the Agenda concerned the " Role of N ational R ed Cross Societies in the sphere of civilian protection ” . There was no question here of drafting rules concerning the conduct of warfare b u t to find practical measures which could be tak en by N ational Societies in the various countries. The im portance of such work and the urgent need of it were strongly emphasised. Moreover, the ICRC had subm itted to the Conference a num ber of suggestions for the use of N ational Societies. The suggestions were approved.

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A part from the questions ju st m entioned, b u t in connection w ith the protection of the civilian population, the Japanese R ed Cross had requested the addition to the Agenda of an item on nuclear weapon tests, in view of the danger suffered by hum an beings and their descendants through such tests. The Japanese R ed Cross proposed th a t an appeal to all S tates should be launched, asking for these tests to be given up or a t least discontinued un til the tim e when scientists could m ake a definite sta tem ent as to the actual risks involved. The ICRC was requested to convene a m eeting of experts, although a m eeting of th a t description is now being held under the auspices of the U nited Nations. The Japanese R ed Cross gave a very striking report on the m atter, and produced some very relevant docum ents. A num ber of delegations supported its proposal and some of them were even in favour of the prohibition of all nuclear weapons.

Nevertheless, on the whole the Commission considered it advisable not to en ter into details of a m a tte r which is now the object of negotiations between S tates and discussions w ithin the U nited Nations ; finally, on the suggestion of the Indian R ed Cross, a resolution of a general natu re m et w ith the approval of all con­cerned and was adopted. The resolution appeals to all countries of the world to give up recourse to w ar which “ is no solution to any problem ” and to adopt measures which will a t all times “ effectively protect hum anity from the terrible consequences of the use of incendiary, chemical, bacteriological, radioactive or o ther such agents ” .

" The ratification, dissem ination and application of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 ” is a trad itional subject of discussion a t In ternational Red Cross Conferences ; the ICRC had subm itted a detailed report on the m atter.

W hen the previous Red Cross Conference was held in Toronto in 1952, the new Conventions had been ratified by 18 S tates only. B y the end of 1957, they had been ratified by 69 S ta te s 1, including all the great Powers. This is, undoubtedly, a g reat v icto ry for hum anitarian ideals. The representative of the

1 See p. 65.

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ICRC m ade an a p p e a l1, in th is connection, to the countries (now few in num ber) which have no t yet ratified the Con­ventions.

The a tten tio n of N ational Societies and G overnm ents was draw n to the im perative need to undertake or to intensify the dissemi­nation of knowledge of the Geneva Conventions. I t would seem, in fact, th a t their very efficiency depends upon their dissem ination, no t only in official circles bu t also am ong the masses. The ICRC m entioned, in this connection, its special publications and, in particu lar, the illustra ted pam phlet in nine languages recently published.

On the same subject, the representative of the W orld Medical Association, Dr. J . M aystre, gave a report of the jo in t work of the Association w ith the In ternational Com mittee of M ilitary Medicine and Pharm acy and the In ternational Com mittee of the Red Cross, w ith a view to developing “ in ternational m edical law ” . New regulations concerning m edical ethics in tim e of w ar have already been established, while rules are now being drafted to ensure assistance to and care of the wounded and sick in all cir­cum stances. One of the m ost outstanding results of this work was the creation of a new m edical emblem for m em bers of the profes­sion who are no t entitled to m ake use of the red cross.

W ith regard to “ legal assistance to aliens ”, which is always a topical subject, the IC R C . and the League subm itted a report which was approved. Their representatives sta ted th a t the two in ternational R ed Cross institu tions in tended to partic ipate in the creation of an In ternational Centre for Legal Assistance, w ith the support of the non-governm ental organisations in terested in m igration, which seems likely to give im petus to the developm ent of this assistance and encourage the form ation of national branches, on the lines of w hat has been done in I ta ly and Greece.

Two questions arose in the course of the discussions and gave rise to resolutions of the In ternational H um anitarian Law Com­mission, and la te r of the Conference itself.

One concerned the “ protection of victim s of in ternal d istu rb ­ances " and was the subject of two resolutions. The first, pu t

1 Mr. J . S. P ic te t.

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forw ard by the Syrian Red Crescent, recom m ended th a t doctors, like wounded, shall in no w ay be hindered in their duties, th a t medical professional secrecy (i.e. the fact th a t doctors m ay not give inform ation concerning the wounded or sick) shall be respected and th a t no restrictions shall be placed on the free circulation of m edicam ents. The second resolution (proposed by the Argentine R ed Cross) emphasises th a t, in the event of in ternal disturbances, relief supplies m ust be d istribu ted equitably am ong the victim s ; i t also requests th a t the N ational R ed Cross Society and the ICRC shall always be allowed to d istribu te relief supplies.

These two resolutions are im portan t ; th ey are in full conform ity w ith hum anitarian principles and, in fact, fulfil the aim pursued in the establishm ent of “ in ternational medical law ” to which reference is m ade above. They also sanction the pioneer work undertaken by the ICRC since the Second W orld W ar in connec­tion w ith assistance to the victim s of in ternal disturbances and conflicts.

The second and last question concerned the reunion of dispersed families, following proposals pu t forward by the Red Cross Societies of H ungary, Jap an and the Republic of Korea, whose countries sought the re tu rn from other lands of some of their nationals. I t was evident, a t an early stage, th a t it would be difficult to reach a general agreem ent on tex ts which concerned specific situations. The Canadian Red Cross then subm itted a tex t of a more flexible natu re which set forth once more the basic principle of R ed Cross assistance in the re-uniting of families, i.e. to conform to the wishes of those concerned and, in the case of children, those of the head of the family no m a tte r where domiciled. This tex t received alm ost unanim ous support.1

** *

The second Commission (Medico-Social Commission) was presided over by Dr. D om anska (Poland). I t gave special conside­ra tion to the p art played by N ational Societies in the m edical and social field (first aid, hospitals, blood transfusion, m other and child welfare, health education of the general public, nu trition , etc.)

1 See pp . 42 to 44.

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and also w ith regard to nursing (recruitm ent and train ing of m edical personnel, etc.). The Commission also discussed the organisation of the Jun io r R ed Cross.

** *

The th ird Commission (General Commission) was presided over by General H artó la (Finland). I t took note of the reports by the various bodies and com m ittees of the In ternational R ed Cross. I t set forth the principles which should govern co-ordination of relief action and the experience gained from the recent Red Cross acti­vities in H ungary and the N ear East.

All the resolutions approved by the th ird Commission came before the p lenary session for final acceptance.

I t was decided to hold the X X th In ternational Conference of the R ed Cross in Geneva in 1963, to m ark the centenary of the R ed Cross. The USSR delegation w ithdrew its proposal to hold the Conference in Moscow, so th a t the centenary celebrations could be held in the city where the Red Cross was born.

Lastly , the members of the S tanding Commission were a p p o in te d 1, and the Conference concluded its agenda w ith a discussion on “ The R ed Cross as a factor of peace ” .

** *

Despite the sharp discussion between certain governm ental delegations, the Conference m ay be considered to have a tta ined its objectives.

The President of the In ternational Com mittee has m ade the following assessm ent of these im portan t discussions :

" In our day, w ith the world weighed down by anxiety, too m uch should not be expected of an in ternational conference. If it passes over in silence the problem s dividing the world, its results will bear the im prin t of a false optimism . If, by accident or design, it is used as an arena for w ordy political strife, the sterile polemics of the speeches will doom to failure all a ttem p ts to achieve under­standing and unity .

1 See p. 93 an d 94.

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Certainly the New Delhi Conference did not entirely escape th is dilemma. The vote on the proposal to invite the governm ent established in Form osa to a tten d the Conference under its official title of the “ Republic of China ” caused a very sharp incident during the closing session. D istressing though it was, this incident nevertheless gave a m ost useful object lesson to all, by proving th a t the un ity , v ita lity and work of the Red Cross was not affected and th a t this affair, which m ade such a great stir, was foreign to the real natu re of the Red Cross m ovem ent, which is a reality , based on lasting feelings and aspirations, unaffected by the diplo­m atic ebb and flow.

This could be felt a t New Delhi, where all the delegates united in constructive activ ity . The success of th is activ ity was due to the valuable contacts m ade a t Conference meetings, a t the innum erable receptions and during the fine excursions so well organised by our Indian hosts. The universality of the R ed Cross was shown not only by the presence of eighty-one N ational Societies and as m any Governm ents, b u t also by the discovery by each delegate th a t all his colleagues were anim ated by the same ideals and convictions as himself. This was a stim ulating and promising discovery and was perhaps the best result of the Conference.

The discussions reflected this universality of m oral outlook. They were m oderate and im bued w ith a desire to achieve unanim ity. The In ternational Committee finds nothing bu t m atte r for congra­tu la tion in the spirit of understanding which reigned during the consideration of the item s which it had placed on the agenda. I t was no t entirely unapprehensive concerning the fate th a t m ight befall some of its proposals, which raise difficult problems. There exist antagonism s and feelings of m istrust which m ight have found therein a p re tex t for unbridled expression. However, in fact a vo lun tary discipline enabled discussions to proceed in an atm o­sphere of calm, and tex ts of far-reaching im portance were the result. The acceptance of the resolution on the D raft Rules for the L im itation of the Dangers incurred by the Civilian Population in Time of W ar was one of the high points of the Conference. The same applies to the resolution concerning medical care and the one on relief in the case of in ternal disturbances.

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The tex ts adopted a t New Delhi are filled w ith a spirit which only the Red Cross could im part to them , som ething deeply hum an ; a t grips w ith suffering, m en resemble each other, and the great organisation which has set itself the task of helping them is faced in every country w ith m uch the same problems. These problems were dealt w ith by the Conference in full consciousness of its du ty and responsibilities ; it convinced those taking p art of the use­fulness of its work, which will be carried out by the Red Cross m ovem ent w ith renewed zeal.

In short, the New Delhi Conference was a great success.”

R E L A T IO N S W IT H T H E N A T IO N A L R E D CROSS S O C IE T IE S A N D W IT H G O V E R N M E N T S

In addition to its practical work in various countries, the principal features of which have been m entioned in the preceding section of this report, the ICRC m aintains close contact w ith all the N ational R ed Cross Societies and Governm ents. These contacts have to be renewed constan tly ; although the institu tions rem ain, those who direct them m ay change frequently. The In ternational Com mittee m aintains liaison, either by sending special represen­tatives from Geneva or through the good offices of its resident delegates in various capitals 1, m ost of whom w ork for the Red Cross in a vo lun tary capacity.

** *

The dom inant event in 1957 was the X lX th In ternational Conference. The ICRC took th is opportun ity to strengthen its links w ith the N ational R ed Cross Societies of Asia and A ustral­asia, ju st as it had visited countries in the New W orld during the T oronto Conference, in 1952.

As p art of this program m e, the P resident of the ICRC, Mr. Leopold Boissier, visited Lebanon and Syria, Mr. M artin Bodmer, V ice-President, accom panied by Mrs. Bodmer, travelled to Nepal, Thailand, New Zealand and A ustralia ; Mr. Frederic Siordet, Vice-President and Mr. Melchior Borsinger carried out

1 F o r th e list of these delegates, see p. 120

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an extensive tou r in the course of which th ey w ent to Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China, the USSR and Poland. Mr. W illiam Michel visited the Federation of Malaya, Indonesia, Cambodia, B urm a and Goa ; lastly, Mr. Claude Pilloud, together w ith the D irector of the Medico-Social B ureau of the League of Red Cross Societies 1 paid a visit to the Ceylon Red Cross.

** *

D uring the session of the Executive Com mittee of the League, which took place a t Geneva in April, representatives of over forty N ational Societies visited the ICRC headquarters. They included the President and Vice-Presidents of the R ed Cross Societies of : Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Germ an Dem ocratic Republic, Germ an Federal Republic, India, Ireland, Norway, R um ania, Sweden, Switzerland, USSR, U nited Kingdom , U nited S tates and Venezuela. An im portan t inform ation m eeting was held, a t which certain problems of topical in terest including the question of the protection of the civilian population in the event of war, were considered.

In the course of the year num erous officials of N ational Red Cross Societies visited the ICRC headquarters : Mr. Paulino Garcia, P resident of the Philippine N ational Red Cross, General A. G ruenther Executive P resident of the American Red Cross ; H .E . Djemil Mardem Bey, President of the Syrian Red Crescent ; Mr. M arshal Stearns, Chairm an of the Executive Com mittee of the Canadian Red Cross ; Judge U Aung Khine, P resident of the B urm a R ed Cross ; Dr. Rafael Cabrera, P resident of the R ed Cross of N icaragua ; Dr. Belea, P resident of the Red Cross of the People’s Republic of R um ania ; Dr. Castagnino, President of the Argentine R ed Cross ; Dr. A. Inostrosa, President of the Chilean R ed Cross, H .E . Mr. Kolarov, P resident of the Bulgarian R ed Cross ; Mr. G. M achado Morales, President of the Venezuelan Red Cross ; Dr. G. Fernandez-D avila, Secretary-General of the Peruvian Red Cross and Mr. J . R. P errotto , Secretary-General of the Argentien R ed Cross.

1 D r. Z. H an tchef.

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In the course of the year, members of a num ber of N ational Red Cross Societies had the opportun ity to acquaint them selves w ith the work of the various ICRC sections. Mr. Rom bach was sent to Geneva by the N etherlands Red Cross, and Mrs. Fereira was assigned by the Brazilian R ed Cross ; Mrs. Mac Vicar, of the B ritish R ed Cross, came to the ICRC in order to obtain inform ation before leaving for the F a r E ast, to act as adviser to the M alayan Red Cross Society which was recently established.

O F F IC IA L R E C O G N IT IO N O F N A T IO N A L S O C IE T IE S

U nder its S ta tu tes, the In ternational Com mittee of the Red Cross is instructed “ to recognise ” N ational R ed Cross and Red Crescent Societies which fulfil the required conditions. Once they have been recognised, these Societies are members of the R ed Cross fam ily,and m ay request admission to the League of R ed Cross Socie­ties and take p a rt in the activities of the In ternational R ed Cross.

In 1957, the In ternational Com mittee had the pleasure of g ran t­ing recognition to five N ational Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

On May 23, it announced the recognition of the Red Cross of the Kingdom of Laos and also of the Red Cross of the R epublic of Viet Nam. In Septem ber, recognition was accorded to the Tunisian R ed Crescent, which was founded on O ctober 7, 1956 ; lastly, on Novem ber 1, the ICRC recognised the Sudanese R ed Crescent which had been founded the preceding year, and the R ed Cross of the D em ocratic Republic of Viet Nam.

Thus the to ta l num ber of Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Lion and Sun Societies which are officially recognised by the ICRC had reached 80 as on December 31, 1957.

From year to year the universality and the v ita lity of this hum anitarian m ovem ent, which was founded in Geneva in 1863, continues to develop.

R E L A T IO N S W IT H T H E L E A G U E O F R E D CROSS S O C IE T IE S

The In ternational Com mittee has m aintained, as always, close contact w ith the League of R ed Cross Societies.

In addition to the m onthly meetings required under the S ta­tu tes of the In ternational Red Cross, a num ber of jo in t meetings

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were held to discuss special m atters (H ungary, Algerian refugees, etc.). The m embers of the two Secretariats also m aintain good relations through frequent meetings.

The ICRC and the League hold regular consultations concerning arrangem ents for visits by leading officials of N ational Red Cross, Red Crescent or Red Lion and Sun Societies, who pass through Geneva.

The two institu tions also co-operate in the arrangem ents for s tu d y visits of members of N ational Societies who come to Geneva to stu d y the work of the Red Cross.

D uring the session of the Executive Committee of the League, as well as o ther meetings held by th a t organisation, the League S ecretariat was good enough to arrange, as custom ary each year, a m eeting a t which the In ternational Com mittee was able to inform the representatives of N ational Societies of its present activities.

ST A N D IN G COM M ISSION O F T H E IN T E R N A T IO N A L R E D CROSS

The S tanding Commission of the In ternational Red Cross is composed of nine members : five 1 elected in a personal capacity by the In ternational Conference of the R ed Cross, two represen­tatives of the ICRC 2 and two representatives of the League of Red Cross Societies.3

The Standing Commission establishes the agenda and the pro­visional program m e for the In ternational Conferences of the Red Cross, and m akes arrangem ents for the Conference in co-operation w ith the N ational Society acting as host.

D uring the in terval between sessions of the Conference, the S tanding Commission ensures the co-ordination and harm ony of the efforts of the ICRC and the League. I t also settles any questions which m ay be subm itted to it by either, if differences should arise between them . The independence of the ICRC and of the League

1 H . E . Mr. A. F ranço is-Poncet, C hairm an, R a jk u m ari A m rit K aur, V ice-C hairm an, Mr. T . W . Sloper, D ep u ty to th e P residen t, G eneral A. G ruen ther, Professor D r. G. M iterev (elected b y th e X lX th In te rn a tio n a l Conference).

2 Mr. L. Boissier, P residen t, Mr. F . S iordet, V ice-President.3 Mr. E . Sandstroem , C hairm an of th e B oard of G overnors of th e League

of R ed Cross Societies, th e C ountess of L im erick, V ice-C hairm an.

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in their respective spheres continues, however, to be stric tly safe­guarded.

The S tanding Commission m et in p lenary session in April a t Geneva and in October and N ovem ber a t New Delhi. I t considered m ainly questions connected w ith the X lX th In ternational Confer­ence of the Red Cross, as well as a d ra ft resolution subm itted by the Japanese R ed Cross concerning nuclear tests. A t the second of these sessions, it drew up the final agenda of the X lX th Confer­ence, and dealt w ith various m atters in connection w ith arrange­m ents for the Conference.

A t its m eeting on N ovem ber 7, the Commission appointed its mem bers : H .E . Mr. A. F rançois-Poncet was again elected Chair­m an and R ajkum ari A m rit K aur, Vice-Chairman, while Mr. T. W. Sloper was re-appointed as D eputy to the Chairman.

D IS T R IB U T IO N O F IN C O M E FR O M T H E S H Ô K E N F U N D

The Jo in t Commission en trusted w ith the d istribution of the income from the Em press Shôken Fund, m et a t Geneva in February. In view of the small num ber of requests for grants, the Commission decided to allocate a to ta l am ount of Swiss F r. 7,500 only and to carry forw ard the balance to the following year. The g ran ts were allocated as follows :

League of R ed Cross as a contribution tow ards the pur-Societies : Sw. Fr. 5,000.— chase of a van for the transport of

relief consignments, in particular, between warehouse and airport.

Syrian Red Crescent : for the developm ent of its F irst AidSw. F r. 2,500.— Service for accidents and disasters.

FL O R E N C E N IG H T IN G A L E M E D A L

E very two years the In ternational Com mittee honours profes­sional nurses and vo luntary aids who have distinguished them ­selves exceptionally in caring for the sick o r wounded in tim e of peace or w ar b y the aw ard of the Florence N ightingale Medal.

In 1957, for the six teenth d istribution of the Medal, the award was m ade to the following nurses and vo lun tary aids :

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1. Miss Joan A b b o t t , Professional Nurse and Midwife (A ustra lia ).2 . Señorita Ana Maria C e r m a k , Professional Nurse (Bolivia).3 . Miss Helen G. M c A r t h u r , Professional Nurse (Canada).4 . Señorita Maria Luisa T o r r e s d e l a C r u z , V oluntary Aid

( Chile ) .

5. Sister E va L y n g b y , Professional Nurse (D enm ark).Miss Zelna M o l l e r u p , Professional Nurse (D enm ark).

7. Miss Sigrid Eleonora L a r s s o n , Professional Nurse and H ealthVisitor (F inland).

8. Mademoiselle Anne V a l e t t e , Professional Nurse (France).9 . Mademoiselle Jeanne L e Ca m u s , Professional Nurse (France).

10. F rau Oberin Regine K o h l e r , Professional Nurse (GermanFederal Republic).

11. F rau Oberin Clare P o r t , Professional Nurse (German FederalRepublic ).

12. Miss Sigridur B a c h m a n n , Professional Nurse (Iceland).13. Miss Tehm ina K. A d r a n v a l a , Professional Nurse and Mid­

wife (In d ia ).14. Miss Ellen L u n d , Professional Nurse (In d ia ).15. Miss R osetta S h e r i d a n , Professional Nurse and Midwife

(In d ia ).16 . Signorina Mimy R igat M a c c h i , V oluntary Aid (I ta ly ) .17. Signorina Bice E n r i q u e s , Professional Nurse (Ita ly ).18. Miss Hisako N a g a s h i m a , Professional Nurse (Japan).19. Miss Chiyo M ik am i, Professional Nurse (Japan).20. Miss N abiha Salameh W ir r , Professional Nurse and Midwife

( Jordan).21. Sister K uk Sin-bok, Professional Nurse (Korea (N orth )).2 2 . Sister Li M y o n g - o o , Professional Nurse (Korea (N orth )).2 3 . Mrs. Hyo C h u n g L e e , Professional Nurse and Midwife (Korea

(South) ).

24. Mrs. Marcelle H o ch ar , Professional Nurse (Lebanon).25. Mrs. E va Hélou S e r h a l , Professional Nurse (Lebanon).

26. Mrs. Catherine L ynette W e l l s , Professional Nurse (NewZealand).

27. Sister M artha P a l m , Professional Nurse (N orw ay).28. Miss Gladys Maure H o d g s o n , Professional Nurse and Midwife

( Pakistan ).2 9 . Dam e E lizabeth C o c k a y n e , Professional Nurse and Midwife

(U nited K ingdom ).30. Mrs. E lizabeth K. P o r t e r , Professional Nurse (U nited States).31. Miss Marion W. S h e a h a n , Professional Nurse (U nited States).

96

IX. CONTRIBUTION OF THE ICRC TO THE WORK OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

As well as m aintaining constant liaison w ith the League of Red Cross Societies, the ICRC keeps in touch w ith the num erous in ter­national governm ental or p rivate organisations.

I t follows the developm ent of hum anitarian law in the world and the work done in this held by in ternational or p rivate organi­sations.

In ternational organisations of m any kinds tu rn to the In te r­national Committee m ainly because of its action in behalf of victim s of conflicts ; in re turn , the ICRC frequently needs the assistance of in ternational agencies in order to bring relief to certain categories of victim s who spontaneously appeal to it.

Liaison is m aintained through the exchange of periodicals and reports, discussions and conversation, official visits, and by the attendance of observers a t in ternational conferences and assem­blies, etc.

U N IT E D N A TIO N S

On Ju ly 10, 1957, the Secretary General of the U nited Nations, Mr. Dag H am m arskjoeld, visited the ICRC. This visit confirmed the high esteem for the Red Cross which he expressed in the follow­ing message :

“ Ten years ago a unanim ous resolution of the U nited N ations General Assembly paid a worldwide trib u te to the work of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies by drawing the atten tion of

97

M ember S tates to the im portance of assisting the establishm ent of those vo lun tary national agencies, and of co-operating w ith them .

T hey have continued to win the g ra titude of un told millions by great and dedicated work to m eet hum an needs during times of emergency.

In this ten th annual message on W orld R ed Cross D ay, May 8, I note w ith pleasure th a t in recent m onths the U nited N ations and the R ed Cross have been directly associated in certain hum anitarian work. The In ternational Com mittee of the R ed Cross, by agree­m ent, became the channel in H ungary for d istribu ting the supplies obtained through the U nited Nations contributions for relief to the H ungarian people. The League of Red Cross Societies, in the course of its welfare work for refugees from H ungary, came into closer contact in th a t field w ith the Office of the U nited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. W hen, in the Middle E ast this year, the U nited N ations arranged and carried out the transfer of prisoners of war, the In ternational Com mittee of the Red Cross lent valued assistance.

On the basis of recent experience I would first like to take the opportun ity to express g ra titude to the R ed Cross for the skill and devotion of its m any workers during our work together.

To these examples of direct co-operation between the U nited Nations and the Red Cross can be added countless o ther Red Cross actions serving the needs of peoples in tim e of emergency, and in m any parts of the world. I would, therefore, like to pay a sincere and full trib u te to the Red Cross not only for w hat it has done in conjunction w ith the U nited N ations b u t also for its m uch wider trad itional service to m ankind which is universally recognised on W orld Red Cross D ay.”

In the course of the year, the U nited Nations worked in co­operation w ith the ICRC for relief action in H u n g a ry 1. I t was agreed th a t the ICRC should be responsible for d istributing relief supplies received by the U nited N ations from its members. The tex t of this agreem ent was published in the R eport on the ICRC Relief Action in H ungary, to which reference has already been made. The necessary contacts were established with the U nited

1 See p. 13 to 18.

98

N ations Secretariat in New York through the European Office of the U nited N ations in Geneva. The U nited Nations Children’s F und (UNICEF) and the Food and A griculture Organisation FAO) also co-operated in this ac tiv ity directed by the IC R C 1.

The In ternational Committee kept in close contact w ith the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees. I t was represented a t two sessions of the Executive Com mittee of U N R E F and took p art in m any discussions on the subject of H ungarian children who had left their country following the events in the au tum n of 1956 2, and Algerian refugees in T u n is ia3.

The ICRC was represented by observers a t the tw enty-fourth session of the Economic and Social Council, held in Geneva in Ju ly 1957, and also a t the ten th W orld H ealth Assembly.

O T H E R O R G A N ISA TIO N S

As in previous years, the ICRC kept in touch w ith the In te r­governm ental Committee for European M igration (ICEM), p a r ti­cularly during the events in E gypt 4, as well as w ith the In te r­national Committee of M ilitary Medicine and Pharm acy, the W orld Medical Association and the Conference of non-governm ental Organisations concerned w ith m igration problems.

The ICRC also m aintained its contacts w ith m any other gov­ernm ental or non-governm ental institu tions, including : the Anti- Slavery Society, the Arab Le age, the Com mittee for Medical N eutrality , the European Association for the S tudy of the Refugee Problem , the European B roadcasting Union, the Friends Society (Quakers), the Inform ation Centre of In ternational Catholic Organisations, the In ternational Com mittee for the " Lieux de Genève ” 5, the In ternational Council of Nurses, the In ternational D ental Federation, the In ternational Federation for the W elfare of Populations, the In ternational H ospital Federation, the In te r­national In s titu te for Peace, the In ternational Social Service, the

1 See pp. 18.2 See pp. 42 to 44.3 See pp . 27 to 33.4 See pp. 21 to 26.5 Now called the In te rn a tio n a l O rganisation for th e P ro tec tion of Civi­

lians.

99

In terna tional Society for the W elfare of Cripples, the In ternational Union for Child W elfare, the Jew ish Agency for Palestine, the R o tary In ternational, the Sovereign Order of Malta, the Universal Alliance of Young People’s C hristian Unions, the W orld Council of Churches, the W orld Peace Council, the W orld V eterans Fede­ration, etc.

100

X. FINANCIAL POSITION

As is custom ary, the ICRC subm itted its annual accounts to a firm of official auditors accredited by the Swiss Federal Council and the Commission fédérale des Banques.

Reproduced in the following pages are the report on the audit by th is firm, the Balance Sheet as on December 31, 1957 for the ICRC funds and for the special funds en trusted to it, as well as the E xpenditure and Receipts Accounts for 1957. The o ther tables annexed include a list of contributions to the ICRC, from Govern­m ents and N ational R ed Cross Societies in 1957, a Sum m ary of General Account and a Sum m ary estim ate of E xpenditure and Receipts for 1958.

Once again the ICRC wishes to record its thanks to all those who, by m aking generous donations year after year, enable it to continue to perform its task in the world.

R E P O R T ON T H E A U D IT O F T H E A N N U A L ACCOUNTS AS ON D E C E M B E R 31, 1957.

Mr. President,Gentlemen,

In execution of the task entrusted to us, we have verified the annual accounts for 1957, as on December 31, 1957, of the International Com­mittee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva.

This auditing has been done in accordance with the regulations and principles governing the verification of accounts. Both during the year and after the books were closed, we have carried out numerous checks

101

on the figures entered in the books for 1957, assuring ourselves, in particular, that the expenditure was proven by the relevant documents.

We have also checked the figures of the general balance of accounts as on December 31, 1957, annexed to this report (Table I) and we have ascertained the existence of the assets, in particular available and realisable assets.

In Table II we give the General Account of Ordinary Expenditure and Receipts for 1957, which, after the establishment of a provision of Fr. 200,000.— for special expenses, shows a deficit of Fr. 239,966.90, written off by withdrawal from " Reserve for General Risks ”.

As in previous years, extraordinary commitments and expenditure, as well as sundry receipts and refunds, have been placed directly to the “ Reserve for General Risks ”, A summary of this account is given in Table III, showing a total of Fr. 1,819,175.94 as on December 31, 1957, after carrying over the deficit for 1957 (Fr. 239,966.90) resulting from the General Account of Ordinary Expenditure and Receipts.

Table IV gives a summary of the General Account for Relief Actions in 1957, of which the total as on December 31, 1957 (Fr. 2,682,391.33) is divided as follows :

Funds not yet a s s ig n e d .......................................... Fr. 933,131,70Funds e a rm a rk e d ...................................................... Fr. 353,566.87Funds for current relief ac tio n s........................... Fr. 1,395,692.76

T o ta l ........................ Fr. 2,682,391.33

As a result of our audit, we are in a position to declare that theannual accounts of the ICRC, as on December 31, 1957, are in accord­ance with the books subm itted for our inspection.

All documents and information necessary for our work were made available and were found to be entirely satisfactory.

We have also verified the annual accounts for 1957 of the various special funds entrusted to the ICRC, i.e. :

— Fund for the ICRC Foundation— Augusta Fund— Empress Shôken Fund— Florence Nightingale Medal Fund

The existence of assets constituting the capital of these funds was proved, and on February 4, 1958, we certified that the balance sheet and accounts as on December 31, 1957 were correct for each Fund concerned.

Geneva, June 7, 1958.

S o c i é t é F i d u c i a i r e R o m a n d e OFOR S. A.

102

BALANCE S H E E T

AND

GENERAL ACCOUNTS

BALANCE S H E E T AS ON

A S S E T SFr. Fr.

A v a il a b l e a n d R e a l is a b l e

C ash in h a n d ........................................................................................P o s ta l Cheque A c c o u n t .....................................................................B alance a t B anks :

— Swiss f r a n c s ...............................................................................— Foreign cu rrency h o ld i n g s ...................................................

P ub lic Securities an d o th e r d e p o s i t s ..........................................

19,741.86131,986.82

3,413,063.87526,485.75

10,935,005.60 15,026,283.90

F u n d s E a r m a r k e d

A dvanced to IC R C D elegations a n d D elegates ab ro ad . . N a tio n a l R ed Cross Societies, G overnm ents an d official

o r g a n i s a t io n s ...................................................................................S un d ry deb tors, advances an d repayab le costs, tem p o ­

ra ry asse ts ........................................................................................C om m odities an d relief supplies :

— cu rren t s t o c k s ..........................................................................— reserve stocks ..........................................................................

362,307.77

673,992.65

332,552.56

15,256.—220,451.26 1,604,560.24

O t h e r A s s e t s (n o m in a l)

C ap ita l share in th e " F o u n d a tio n for th e O rgan isa tion ofR ed Cross T ran sp o rts ” ............................................................

F u rn itu re an d e q u ip m e n t .................................................................1.—1.— 2.—

T r u s t F u n d

F u n d s received in connection w ith th e Peace T re a ty w ith J a p a n (assets in foreign c u r r e n c y ) ..................................... 21,580,100.91

M e m o -A c c o u n t

A llocation to IC R C Personnel P ro v id en t F u n d ...................D eb to r for s e c u r i t y ..........................................................................

953,483.34400,000.— 1,353,483.34

39,564,430.39

104

TABLE I

D ECEM BER 31, 1957

L I A B I L I T I E SFr. Fr.

Com m itm ents

F u nd s for relief actionsF u n d s n o t y e t assigned ............................................................F u n d s e a r m a r k e d ..........................................................................F u n d s for c u rre n t relief a c t i o n s ..............................................

933,131.70353,566.87

1,395,692.76 2,682,391.33

Cred it o r s

IC R C D elegations an d D e l e g a t e s ..............................................N a tio n a l R ed Cross Societies, G overnm ents a n d official

o r g a n i s a t io n s ...................................................................................S u n d ry cred ito rs an d tem p o ra ry l i a b i l i t i e s ............................Swiss C onfederation L oan ............................................................

23,760.90

200,214.12484,852.59

3,000,000.— 3,708,827.61

R e se r v e s a n d P r o v isio n s

6,391,218.94

G u aran tee F u n d ...................................................................................R eserve for ac tion in case of c o n f l i c t .....................................R eserve fo r G eneral R i s k s ............................................................P rov ision for am o rtiza tio n of reserve s t o c k s .......................P rov ision for special e x p e n d i t u r e ..............................................

3.000.000.—5.000.000.— 1,819,175.95

220,451.26200,000.— 10,239,627.20

T r u st F u n d

F u n d s in connection w ith th e Peace T re a ty w ith J a p a n . 21,580,100.91

Mem o -A cco unt

A llocations to IC R C Personnel P ro v id en t F u n d (to be refunded b y annua l a llocations to th e R eserve for G eneralR i s k s ) .................................................................................................

G uaran tee in favou r of th e " F o u n d a tio n for th e O rganisa­tion of R ed Cross T ran sp o rts ” ..........................................

953,483.34

400,000.— 1,353,483.3439,564,430.39

105

G E N E R A L ACCOUNT O F O R D IN A R Y

Fr. Fr.

E X P E N D I T U R E

O v e r h e a d E x p e n s e s a t G e n e v a H e a d q u a r t e r s

A llow ances, salaries a n d w a g e s ...................................................F am ily allow ances, in surance an d o th e r social chargesPostage, telegram s, te l e p h o n e ........................................................E qu ip m en t, m ain tenance an d general s u p p l i e s ...................U pkeep of cars an d l o r r i e s ............................................................R ecep tion of v isito rs an d trave lling expenses in Sw itzerland Sund ry e x p e n d i t u r e ..........................................................................

1,524,883.55412,987.45

65,481.83180,048.30

11,319.—17,853.2553,920.51 2,266,493.89

S p e c ia l E x p e n s e s

Pub lica tion , in fo rm ation an d d o c u m e n t a t i o n .......................A llow ances for expenses, M em bers of th e P res id en tia l CounailR ed Cross Conferences an d M eetings .....................................Missions from G e n e v a ......................................................................

195,402.9941,400.—43,069.6064,273.57 344,146.16

D e l e g a t io n s A b r o a d

D elegates’ salaries, allow ances and in s u r a n c e .......................D elegates’ trave lling expenses an d m ain tenance , overhead

expenses of d e l e g a t i o n s ............................................................P rov ision for special e x p e n d i t u r e ...............................................

123,685.95

153,551.67 277,237.62200,000.—

3,087,877.67

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TABLE II

E X P E N D IT U R E AND R EC EIPTS FO R 1957

Fr. Fr.

R E C E I P T S

C o n t r ib u t io n s a n d G i f t s T o w a r d st h e F i n a n c in g o f t h e G e n e r a l W o r k

C ontribu tions b y G o v e r n m e n t s ...................................................C on tribu tions by N atio n a l R ed Cross S o c i e t i e s ...................S und ry d o n a t i o n s ...............................................................................

1,205,240.07 1 365,460.31 1 336,764.96 1,907,465.34

I n c o m e f r o m I n v e s t m e n t s

Incom e from Public Securities an d B an k In te re s t . . . Incom e from ICRC F o u n d a t i o n ...................................................

179,425.7331,130.30 210,556.03

S u m s R e c o v e r e d a n d S u n d r y R e c e ip t s

Sum s r e c o v e r e d ...................................................................................S un d ry r e c e i p t s ...................................................................................

361,778.64368,110.76 729,889.40

Total Receipts 2,847,910.77

D e f i c i t f o r 1957

w ritten off by w ithd raw al from R eserve for G eneral R isks 239,966.90

3,087,877.67

1 For detailed list see Table A.

107

TABLE I I I

SU M M A RY O F T H E R E S E R V E F O R G E N E R A L R IS K S ACCOUNT IN 1957

Fr. Fr.

B alance as on D ecem ber 31, 1956 .............................................. 701,307.09

plusReceipts and refunds in 1957

R em ittan ce from th e G overnm en t of th e G erm an Federal R epublic for th e refund of costs incu rred b y th e ICRC du ring th e la s t w orld conflict on behalf of G erm an n a tio ­nals, i.e. :

— balance of yearly p a y m e n t for 1956 ............................— on accoun t of yearly p ay m en t for 1957 .......................

633,842.58635,000.— 1,268,842.58

C ontribu tions received for prev ious years from G overnm ents and N ationa l R ed Cross S o c i e t i e s ..................................... 488,143.37

Special g ift from th e B anque N ationale Suisse on th e occa­sion of its 50th A n n iv e r s a ry ................................................... 250,000.—

S ix th an n u a l am o rtiza tio n of funds a llocated to th e ICRC Personnel P ro v id en t F u n d (included in th e ex p en d itu re accoun t for 1957 u nder th e head ing “ Social Charges ”) 68,100.—

S um m ary am o u n ts r e c o v e r e d ........................................................ 10,046.40

G ain on e x c h a n g e ............................................................................... 2,265.25

lessExpenditure and commitments in 1957

2,788,704.69

R em ittan ce to th e “ R e n te n a n s ta lt ” Z urich an d th e in su r­ance com pany “ L a Genevoise-Vie ” (add itional prem ium for read ju s tm en t of in su rance co n trib u tio n s on behalf of th e ICRC staff in connection w ith its Personnel P ro v id en t F und) ................................................................................................. 412,942.80

C om pensation for te rm in a tio n of em p loym en t p a id to ICRC personnel ........................................................................................ 48,310.—

A llocations for ex tra -b u d g e ta ry e x p e n d i t u r e ....................... 47,850.—

S undry allocations and am o rtiza tio n of irrecoverab le d eb ts 15,257.95

E stim a ted decrease in value of securities a t th e end of 1957 204,161.—

Loss on foreign c u r r e n c y ................................................................. 1,040.10

T ak ing over of deficit from th e G eneral A ccount of O rd inary R eceip ts an d E x p en d itu re (T able I I ) .................................

729,561.85

239,966.90 969,528.75

Total as on December 31, 1957 . . . 1,819,175.94

108

TABLE IV

SUMMARY OF G EN ER A L ACCOUNT FO R R E L IE F ACTIONS IN 1957

Fr. F r.

B a l a n c e C a r r i e d F o r w a r d a s f r o m D e c e m b e r 31, 1956 .................................................................................................... 2,987,977.56

i.e.

F u n d s n o t y e t assigned .................................................................F u n d s e a r m a r k e d ...............................................................................F u n d s for c u rre n t relief a c t i o n s ...................................................

828,945.38384,631.42

1,774,400.76T o ta l as above . . . 2,987,977.56

R e c e ip t s i n 1957F u n d s received b y th e ICRC or placed a t i ts disposal for

relief ac tions of various descrip tions :(a ) D onations n o t a llocated for specific purposes :

— N e t p ro d u c t of th e collection in Sw itzerland (1957)— O ther g ifts and r e f u n d s ...................................................

558,529.5113,191.30

571,720.81

(b) F u n d s received b y th e ICRC from various donors (com­m unities o r individuals) for specific a c t i o n s ................... 8,386,303.09 8,958,523.90

E x p e n d i t u r e in 195711,946,501.46

E x p en d itu re incurred in 1957 for relief a c t i o n s ................... 9,264,110.132,682,391.33

T o t a l a s o n D e c e m b e r 31, 1957(B alance of funds fo r relief actions) appo rtioned as follows :F u n d s n o t y e t assigned .................................................................F u n d s e a r m a r k e d ...............................................................................F u n d s for c u rre n t relief a c t i o n s ...................................................

933,131.70353,566.87

1,395,692.76T o ta l as above . . . 2,682,391.33

N ote: See sum m ary table of relief supples, pp. 17 and 18.

109

TABLES A AND B

SPECIA L FUNDS

TABLE A

C O N T R IB U T IO N S TO T H E IC R C FR O M G O V E R N M E N T S A ND N A T IO N A L R E D CROSS S O C IE T IE S IN 1957

Countries Governments Red Cross Societies

Fr. Fr.A f g h a n i s t a n ................................ 3,000.—A u s t r a l ia .......................................... 48,853.45 38,788.—A u s t r i a .......................................... 10,080.— 2,100.—B e l g i u m .......................................... 10,000.— 2,500.—B r a z i l .............................................. 6,588.65B u l g a r i a .......................................... 2,000.—B u r m a .............................................. 6,400.—C anada .......................................... 65,700.— 33,262.50C e y lo n .............................................. 3,057.50Chile .............................................. 2,251.10C h i n a .............................................. 10,000.—C o lo m b ia .......................................... 14,830.—C uba .............................................. 2,141.25C z e c h o s lo v a k ia ............................ 2,000.—D e n m a rk .......................................... 10,000.— 2,000.—D om inican R e p u b l ic ................... 600.—E c u a d o r .......................................... 4,241.25 700.—E g y p t .............................................. 30,000.—E t h i o p i a .......................................... 1,080.—F i n l a n d .......................................... 5,000.— 3,480.—F rance .............................................. 32,950.—G erm an D em ocratic R epub lic . 3,000.—G erm an F edera l R epublic . . 13,000.—G r e e c e .............................................. 10,000.— 2,280.—G u a te m a la ..................................... 600.—Iceland ......................................... 500.—I n d i a .............................................. 68,529.75 1,374.38Indonesia ..................................... 15,000.—I r a n ................................................... 20,000.— 2,000.—I r a q ................................................... 8,000.— 2,160.—Ire lan d .......................................... 5,500.— 1,560.—Israel .............................................. 5,000.—Ita ly .............................................. 60,000.—Ja p a n .............................................. 10,000.—J o r d a n .............................................. 3,660.—J u g o s l a v i a ..................................... 7,000.—K orea D em ocratic R epublic . . 2,000.—1 .e b a n o n .......................................... 4,947.55 840.—L ie c h te n s te in ................................ 2,500.—L u x e m b u rg ..................................... 2,000.—M e x ic o .............................................. 17,130.—N e t h e r l a n d s ................................ 10,000.— 20,000.—New Z e a la n d ................................ 24,438.90 6,054.35

c/f . . . 514,407.05 168,371.58

112

Countries G overnm ents Red Cross Societies

b/fN o rth e rn R hodesia . .N o r w a y ............................P a k i s t a n ............................P h i l ip p in e s .......................P o l a n d ................................P o r t u g a l ............................R u m a n ia ............................San S a lv a d o r ...................S ou th A f r i c a ...................S ou thern R hodesia . .S p a i n ................................Sw eden ............................S w itz e r la n d .......................T h a i l a n d ............................T u rk ey ............................U n ited K ingdom . . . U n ited S ta tes . . . . U S S R ................................

Fr.

514,407.052,138.50

10,000 .—

2,140.—15,000.—

8 ,0 0 0 .—

49,040.—3,062.50

25,188.92500,000.—

12 ,0 0 0 .—15,463.1048,800.—

Fr.

168,371.58

3.000.— 903,75

3,840.—6 .0 0 0 .—

5,000.—132.—

14.616.—

2,500.—

1,649.4811,880.—24,472.50

107,125.—16,070.—

1,205,240.07 365,460.31

Moreover in 1957 the ICRC received, in connection w ith previous years, the following supplem entary am ounts (total F r . 488,143.37) which were placed to the Reserve for General Risks Account :

Fr. Fr.

B e l g i u m .......................................... 2,500.—C uba .............................................. 2,142.—E g y p t .............................................. 29,763.53G r e e c e .............................................. 10,000.—I r a n ................................................... 40,000.—Israel .............................................. 5,000.—Ita ly .............................................. 361,400.—

(for 1951/56)S w e d e n .......................................... 25,337.84T h a i l a n d .......................................... 12,000.—

113

SUMMARY ESTIM ATE OF O RD INA RY E X P E N D IT U R E

E s t im a t e d E x p e n d it u r e

for 1958 Fr.

O v e r h e a d E x p e n s e s

Allow ances, salaries an d w a g e s .....................................F am ily allow ances, social c h a r g e s .................................Postage, telegram s, t e l e p h o n e ..........................................E qu ip m en t, m ain tenance and general supplies . .U pkeep of cars an d l o r r i e s ..............................................R ecep tion of v is ito rs an d trave lling expenses in Sw it­

zerland ...................................................................................Sund ry e x p e n s e s .....................................................................

1,683,600.—383,300.—

64.000.— 135,500.—

13.000.—

15.000.— 46,500.—

O t h e r e x p e n s e s

Publica tions, i n f o r m a t i o n ...................................................A llow ance for expenses, M em bers of th e P res iden tia l

C o u n c i l ...................................................................................R ed Cross Conferences and M e e t in g s ............................E x p e rts Com m issions an d C o n s u l t a t i o n s ...................Missions from G eneva ........................................................D elegations a b r o a d .................................................................S tudy-v isits , t r a n s l a t i o n s ...................................................

181,000.—

41,400.—33.000.—10.000.—

100,000.— 279,800.—

17,000.—

3,003,100.—

N ote : The estim ates of expenditure have been draw n up and studied with the most careful a ttention. They do not include any margin for extraordinary expenditure which international circumstances might make it necessary for the I.C.R.C. to assume during the budgetary period and would, in th a t case, be subject to appropriate revision.

114

TABLE B

AND R EC EIPTS FOR 1958

for 1958

E s t i m a t e d R e c e i p t s

Fr.

R e c e i p t s c o n c e r n i n g t h e c u r r e n t y e a r

C ontribu tions from G o v e rn m e n ts .....................................C on tribu tions from N a tio n a l R ed Cross SocietiesS und ry donations .................................................................Incom e from invested f u n d s ..............................................S und ry refunds and receip ts ..........................................

960,600.— *349,200.— *350.000.—249.000.— 349,900.—

T otal 2,258,700.—

R e c e i p t s c o n c e r n i n g p r e v i o u s y e a r s

C ontribu tions from G o v e rn m e n ts .....................................C on tribu tions from N atio n a l R ed Cross Societies Sund ry refunds and receip ts ..........................................

283,000.—11,700.—12,000.—

T otal 306,700.—

G rand T o ta l 2,565,400.—

T he deficit w ould th u s am o u n t t o ................................ 437,700.—

3,003,100.—

* Contributions from Governments and N ational Red Cross Societies for 1958 have been estimated, in principle, a t Fr. 1,604,500.

Experience has shown, however, tha t certain contributions are received by the I.C.R.C. in the course of the following year.

In order to take these delays in receipt in to account, the estim ated am ount has been reduced to Fr. 1,309,800 for 1958.

115

1. FOUNDATION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS

B A LA N C E S H E E T AS

A S S E T S Sw. Fr.

Pub lic securities :C red it en te red in th e Swiss

C oniedera tion N ationa l D eb t R eg ister (nom inal value F r. 875,000.— ) . . 851,510.—

P ublic securities deposited a t th e Swiss N ational B an k (nom inal value F r. 238,500.— ) ................... 220,060.—

D eposit a t th e Swiss N a tio ­nal B a n k ............................

1,071,570.—

50,445.371,122,015.37

O N D E C E M B E R 31, 1957

L I A B I L I T I E S Sw . Fr.

Inalienab le C apita l . . . . S ta tu to ry an d inalienab le

r e s e r v e ................................

1,028,252.52

62,570.55T o ta l 1,090,823.07

In te rn a tio n a l C om m ittee of th e R ed Cross :

F unds in cu rren t accoun t . 31,192.30

1,122,015.37

R E C E IP T S A ND E X P E N D IT U R E ACCOUNT F O R 1957

E X P E N D I T U R E Sw . Fr. R E C E I P T S Sw. Fr.

D eposit fees for safe cu stody of securities, au d itin g ofaccoun ts ............................

S ta tu to ry allocation to R e­serve F u n d : 15 % of the n e t revenue in 1957 (A rt. 8 of th e s ta tu te s) . . . .

A llocation to th e IC R C of balance of n e t revenue for 1957 (A rt. 7 of th e s ta ­tu tes) .....................................

296.50

5,493.60

31,130.30

R evenue from securities in 1957 ..................................... 36,920.40

36,920.40 36,920.40

116

2. AUGUSTA FUND

BA LA N C E S H E E T AS ON D E C E M B E R 31, 1957

A S S E T S Sw. Fr. L I A B I L I T I E S Sw. Fr.

Swiss G overnm ent securities Inalienab le cap ita l . . . . 100,000.—(nom inal value

F r. 134,000.— ) ................... 127,120.— R eserve for fluc tuation in v a l u e ..................................... 11,163.65

F u n d s in th e Swiss N ationa l B a n k ..................................... 10,015.80 C r e d i t o r s .................................

F u n d s availab le as on D e­cem ber 31, 1957 . . . .

6,000.—

19,972.15137,135.80 137.135,80

R E C E IP T S AhTD E X P E N D I T U R E ACCOUNT F O R 1957

E X P E N D I T U R E Sw . Fr. R E C E I P T S Sw. Fr.

D eposit fees for safe cu stody B alance on D ecem ber 31,of securities, au d itin g of 1956, carried forw ard . . 16,268.40accoun ts ............................ 129.50

Incom e from securities inB alance availab le as on D e­ 1957 ..................................... 3,833.25

cem ber 31, 1957 . . . . 19,972.1520,101.65 20,101.65

117

3. EMPRESS SHÔKEN FUND

B A L A N C E S H E E T AS O N D E C E M B E R 31, 1957

A S S E T S Sw . Fr. L I A B I L I T I E S Sw . Fr.

Swiss public securities (no­ Inalienab le cap ita l . . . . 346,250.—m inal va lue Sw. F r. R eserve fo r flu c tua tion in458,000.— ) ....................... 436,240.— v a l u e ..................................... 90,672.80

C redit balance a t th e Swiss F u n d s availab le as on D e­N atio n a l B a n k ................... 18,959.85 cem ber 31, 1957 . . . . 18,277.05

455,199.85 455,199.85

R E C E IP T S A ND E X P E N D IT U R E ACCOUNT F O R 1957

E X P E N D I T U R E Sw . Fr. R E C E I P T S Sw . Fr.

Cost of p rin tin g circular, b a n k charges for cu stody of securities, cost of au ­d itin g accoun ts an d te le ­gram s .....................................

36 th d is trib u tio n of incom e to R ed Cross Societies, in accordance w ith th e Jo in t C om m ission's decision of F eb ru a ry 26, 1957 . . .

C red it balance as on D ecem ­b er 31, 1957 .......................

686.35

7,500.—

18,277.05

C redit ba lance on D ecem ­ber 31, 1956, carried fo r­w ard .....................................

Incom e received from secu­rities in 1957 ..................

13,185.40

13,278.—

26,463.40 26,463.40

118

4. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE MEDAL

B A LA N C E S H E E T AS ON D E C E M B E R 31, 1957

A S S E T S Sw. Fr. L I A B I L I T I E S Sw. Fr.

Swiss G overnm ent securities (nom inal value F r. 32,000)

F u n d s in th e Swiss N ationa l B a n k .....................................

29,120.—

2,091.19

Inalienab le c ap ita l . . . . . F u n d s availab le as on D e­

cem ber 31, 1957 . . . .

25,000.—

6,211.19

31,211.19 31,211.19

R E C E IP T S A ND E X P E N D IT U R E ACCOUNT F O R 1957

E X P E N D I T U R E Sw . Fr. R E C E I P T S Sw . Fr.

E n g rav in g of 31 silver m edals and purchase of 48 m edal-cases .....................................

P r in tin g costs, c ircu lar No.4 1 4 ..........................................

D eposit fees fo r safe cu stody of securities, au d itin g of accounts, e tc ........................

1,034.50

203.—

138,25

B alance on D ecem ber 31,1956 .....................................

Incom e from securities in1957 .....................................

V a r i o u s .....................................

8,547.19

912,—47.75

E stim a te d loss on securities as on D ecem ber 31, 1957 1,920.—

B alance availab le as on D e­cem ber 31, 1957 . . . . 6,211.19

9,506.94 9,506.94

119

XI. RESIDENT DELEGATES AND CORRESPONDENTS OF THE ICRC AS ON

DECEMBER 31, 1957 1

H. A n g s t JapanE. A r b e n z SpainA. B e h n MexicoL. B i a g g i d e B l a s y s ItalyL. B o s s a r d New ZealandN. B u r c k h a r d t Germany 2P. B u r k h a r d ItalyP. C a l d e r a r a Hong KongL. D E C h a m b r i e r Argentine RepublicA . D E COCATRIX Germany 2E. D i c k e n m a n n ThailandP. G a c o n BoliviaE. H a e g l e r BrazilG. H o f f m a n n Germany 2G. J o u b e r t AustriaH. J u n o d South AfricaA. L e u e n b e r g e r Viet Nam (Republic of)W. M i c h e l FranceJ . M i t t n e r PhilippinesJ . d e H o r s i e r FranceE. M u l l e r EgyptH. P f r u n d e r MalayaW. R o e t h l i s b e r g e r ColombiaW. S a l z m a n n ThailandA. S a u d a n TangierH. S c h w e i z e r AustraliaG. S e n n British Central AfricaD. d e T r a z Lebanon and Near EastH. J . T s c h o p p IsraelC. V a u t i e r MoroccoR. V u s t Algeria

1 T he m a jo rity of these delegates were recru ited locally am ong th e Swiss com m unities, ab road , and give th e ir services v o lu n ta rily to th e ICRC.

2 In te rn a tio n a l T racing Service, Arolsen.

120

XII. STATISTICAL FIGURES

S T A F F - ICRC A ND C E N T R A L P R IS O N E R S O F W A R A G EN C Y

In Sw itzerland Abroad Total

31.12.1956 Salaried staff . . . 152 18 170V oluntary workers . 20 30 50

31.12.1957 Salaried staff . . . 175 12 187V oluntary workers . 12 31 43

M A IL R E C E IV E D A N D D E S P A T C H E D B Y T H E ICRC

Mail received Mail despatched T o ta l

1955 .................................................. 100,611 119,626 220,2371956 .................................................. 173,598 174,462 348,0601957 .................................................. 467,555 296,723 764,278

121

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

M em bers of th e I n te r n a t io n a l C o m m itte e of th e R e d C rossa n d th e D i r e c t o r a t e ................................................................................ 4

P r e f a c e ........................ 5

I . P r a c t ic a l A c t iv it ie s o f t h e I C R C ............................. 7

A m e r i c a ............................................................................................... 8

A sia .................................................................................................... 8

E u r o p e ............................................................................................... 12

N e a r E a s t .......................................................................................... 20

N o r th A f r i c a ..................................................................................... 27

I I . A s s is t a n c e t o V ic t im s o f I n t e r n a l D is t u r b a n c e s 34

A l g e r i a ............................................................................................... 35

C y p r u s ............................................................................................... 37

G e rm a n D e m o c ra tic R e p u b l i c ............................................. 37

G e rm a n F e d e ra l R e p u b l i c ....................................................... 38

G o a ........................................................................................................ 38

G r e e c e ................................................................................................... 39

K e n y a ................................................................................................... 39

V ie t N a m (R ep u b lic o f ) ............................................................ 40

I I I . S u m m a ry T a b le of R e lie f A c t i o n s .................................. 41

I I I . R e -u n it in g o f F a m il ie s ........................................................... 42

H u n g a r ia n c h i l d r e n ...................................................................... 42

G re ek r e f u g e e s ................................................................................ 45

P e rso n s of G e rm a n o r i g i n ....................................................... 45

123

Page

IV . Ce n t r a l P r is o n e r s o f W a r A g e n c y a n d I n t e r ­

n a t io n a l T r a c in g S e r v i c e .................................................. 47

V. V o l u n t a r y M e d ic a l P e r s o n n e l .................................. 55

V I. P r a c t ic a l A p p l ic a t io n a n d D e v e l o p m e n t o f

H u m a n it a r ia n L a w ................................................................. 59

Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949 :

Ratifications and accessio n s........................................ 60Studies concerning the Geneva Conventions . . . 61In ternational Medical L a w ........................................ 62D raft R u le s ....................................................................... 63Legal Aid to A l ie n s ...................................................... 63List of S tates p a rty to the Geneva Conventions . . 65

V II . I n f o r m a t io n — P r e s s — P u b l i c a t i o n s ................... 66

V III. R e l a t io n s w it h R e d Cr o ss I n s t it u t io n s . . . . 78

X lX th In ternational Conference of the R ed Cross 78

Relations w ith the N ational R ed Cross Societiesand w ith G o v e rn m en ts ............................................. 90

Standing Commission of the In ternational RedC ro ss ................................................................................ 93

Shôken F u n d ................................................................... 94Florence Nightingale M e d a l ........................................ 94

IX . Co n t r ib u t io n o f t h e ICRC to t h e W o r k o f I n t e r ­n a t io n a l O r g a n i s a t i o n s ....................................................... 97

X. F in a n c ia l P o s i t i o n ..................................................................101

Annexes :

Table I — Balance Sheet as on December 31,

124

Table I I — General Account of O rdinary Expen­diture and Receipts for 1957. . 106-107

Table I I I — Sum m ary of the Reserve for GeneralRisks Account in 1957 ................... 108

Table IV — Sum m ary of General Account forRelief Actions in 1957 ................... 109

Table A — Contributions to the ICRC from G overnm ents and N ational Red Cross Societies in 1957 ................... 112

Table B — Sum m ary E stim ate of O rdinaryE xpenditure and Receipts for 1958 114

Special F u n d s .....................................................116-119

X I. R e s i d e n t D e l e g a t e s a n d C o r r e s p o n d e n t s o f t h e

ICRC a s o n D e c e m b e r 31, 1957 ...................... 120

X II. S t a t i s t i c a l F i g u r e s ............................................................... 121

125

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