Since life began on earth, creatures have struggled against creatures. Through all ages, man has groaned under the sword and the yoke. The pages of history are stained with blood. Everywhere we see only slaughter, torture, oppression. Why?

The famous physicist, Albert Einstein, haunted by the spectre of war, asked this question of Sigmund Freud, the famous psychologist, another man of genius.

The term “humanitarian law” applies to those rules of international law which aim to protect persons suffering from the evils of armed conflicts as well as, by extension, objects not directly serving military purposes.

There is therefore an essential difference between humanitarian law and “human rights”, for the latter do not apply only in time of armed conflict.

When one examines the origins and development of the Red Cross, one cannot fail to be struck by the contrast between the modest circumstances surrounding its creation, in 1863, by five men of good will, members of the Société genevoise d'utilité publique, and the worldwide dimension it has since then acquired. Today, the Red Cross is represented in 130 countries, and there are few people who have not at one time or another availed themselves of its services, either perhaps under dramatic circumstances during a conflict or a natural disaster, or simply in the more familiar areas of social welfare and blood collection.

I am glad to have the opportunity to address such a gathering of eminent personalities concerned with the increasingly grave humanitarian problems of our time.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has, for the last 120 years, served the cause of humanity in a world torn by conflicts.

In 1864, a year after the ICRC was founded, the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field, the first multilateral humanitarian law treaty, established a legal basis for ICRC activities and brought about the recognition of the Red Cross movement by the States.

In compliance with Decision I of the Council of Delegates in October 1983, the Second World Red Cross and Red Crescent Conference on Peace met at Aaland, Finland, and Stockholm, Sweden, from 2 to 7 September 1984 at the invitation of the National Red Cross Societies of Finland and Sweden, in extraordinary session of the Council of Delegates.

Can the Red Cross help to maintain peace and should it not, alongside its humanitarian role, also fulfil a mission of peace? This is far from being a new consideration, raised by recent developments in the peace movement and by demonstrations in favour of peace.

Whether the Red Cross, by its very nature, is a factor for peace; whether its humanitarian work should finally result in eliminating war, are questions as old as the idea of the Red Cross itself. Very early on, Henry Dunant declared that it was not enough to relieve the suffering of victims of war but that war itself should be banned.

As we get down to the work of this Conference, I would like to say how grateful the International Committee of the Red Cross is for the opportunity of sharing with the whole Red Cross and Red Crescent movement a few general thoughts on the theme of peace and more particularly on the contribution to peace which may be expected of the ICRC.

On 5 July 1984 Mr. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Secretary-General of the United Nations Organization, presented the United Nations Peace Medal to Mr. Alexandre Hay, President of the ICRC.

This high distinction is a mark of esteem and reflects honour on the ICRC and on the Red Red Cross as a whole.

Readers may recall that the U.N.O. awarded its Human Rights Prize to the ICRC in 1978.

At a time when so many tragic events are taking place in so many parts of the world, I do not think that your Commission would be satisfied with a technical account on the nature and conditions of humanitarian assistance. It would seem pointless because it would be outside the context of tragic reality. Let us think of what is happening in Lebanon, the large-scale fighting that could start up again at any time on the Planalto in Angola, the fate of the Afghan and Khmer people—to cite only those few examples.

The legal protection of children was introduced into international humanitarian law after the Second World War. Experience during that conflict had, in fact, pointed to the urgent need to draw up an instrument of public international law for protecting civilian population in wartime. The results of the ICRC's efforts in this field led to the adoption of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war. From that time on, children, as members of the civilian population, were entitled to benefit from the application of that Convention. Moreover, the first international humanitarian law regulations concerning armed conflicts not of an international character, contained in article 3, common to the four 1949 Geneva Conventions, were drawn up at the 1949 Diplomatic Conference. Here again, children were protected, in the same way as all “persons taking no active part in the hostilities”.

In a rich and abundant literature on the subject of international humanitarian law, two trends in the interpretation of the term “humanitarian law” stand out: one takes it in its broad meaning, the other in a narrow sense. According to the definition by Jean S. Pictet, humanitarian law, in the broad interpretation, is constituted by all the international legal provisions, whether written or customary, ensuring respect for the individual and the development of his life. Humanitarian law includes two branches: the law of war and human rights. The law of war, still following Professor Pictet's definition, can be subdivided into two sections, that of The Hague, or the law of war, in the strict sense, and that of Geneva, or humanitarian law, in the narrow sense. It is often difficult to distinguish clearly between these branches of law, and especially between the law of The Hague and the law of Geneva, because of the reciprocal influence each has had on the development of the other, to the extent that some well-known experts considered the traditional difference between them out-of-date and superfluous.

In the course of its meeting on 7 and 8 December 1983 the ICRC General Assembly decided to step up its efforts to promote the respect and development of international humanitarian law and of humanitarian principles.

The reasons for that decision and the projects intended to give it effect are outlined below.

At its meeting on 16 February 1984, the Assembly of the Internationaf Committee of the Red Cross elected Mr. Pierre Keller as a member ol the Committee.

The four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 for the protection of war victims and the two 1977 Additional Protocols are the written sources of modern international humanitarian law. This monumental work of some 600 articles represents an impressive investment of intellect, arduous political negotiation, financial resources and goodwill. Modern written international humanitarian law is the result of one of the greatest efforts of successive legal codifications we know of. And, of course, customary law supplements the written rules to a substantial extent.

Since its inception and by its very existence our Movement has striven to contribute to peace in the world.

For over 120 years, it has sincerely attempted to limit by its action and through the provisions of humanitarian law, the horrors of war, from which it was created. In fact, what it does, in time of peace as in time of war, helps—directly or indirectly—to defuse the causes of conflicts and thereby contributes to the dynamic process that leads to true peace.

The Assembly of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in its meeting of 27 and 28 June, re-elected Mr. Alexandre Hay to the Presidency of the ICRC for a third term of four years beginning on 1 January 1985.

The first Geneva Convention was signed in 1864. It dealt with the protection of the military sick and the wounded on the battlefield.

In 1899, thanks to The Hague Conventions, protection was extended to military wounded, sick and shipwrecked persons during maritime warfare.

On 10 July 1984, Mr. Fikre Selassie Wogderess, Secretary General of the Ethiopian Provisional Military Administrative Council and Vice-Chairman of the Council of Ministers, accompanied by Dr. Dawit Zawde, Chairman of the Ethiopian Red Cross, was received at ICRC headquarters by Mr. Maurice Aubert, Vice-President, and Mr. Jean-Pierre Hocké, Director for Operational Activities. The joint ICRC/Ethiopian Red Cross assistance action for displaced persons, under way since 1980, and ICRC protection activities for Somali prisoners of war in Ethiopia were discussed during the meeting.

The President of the ICRC, Mr. Alexandre Hay, went on a brief visit to Budapest, from 6 to 8 March 1984, at the invitation of the President of the Executive Committee of the Hungarian Red Cross and Vice-Chairman of the Standing Commission of the International Red Cross, Mr. János Hantos. The ICRC President was accompanied by Mr. Jacques Moreillon, member of the ICRC Directorate and Director for General Affairs, and by Mr. Thierry Germond, regional delegate for Europe.