International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

The Red Cross and the Red Crescent are symbols which are used by organizations which are part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, namely the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS), and more than 180 national Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies. In addition to that, these symbols have a special meaning derived from the Geneva Conventions. An additional symbol, the Red Lion and Sun, was used from 1924 to 1980 by Iran. The national society of Israel, Magen David Adom, uses an own symbol, the Red Star of David, which is not recognized as a protection symbol by the Geneva Conventions. An additional symbol, the Red Crystal, was introduced by adoption of a third additional protocol on December 7, 2005.

Symbols[edit]

Official emblems and symbols[edit]

The official emblem of the International Committee
The official emblem of the International Federation
The Red Cross symbol
The Red Crescent symbol
The Red Crystal symbol
The Red Lion with Sun symbol
The Palestine Red Crescent Society
The Iraqi Red Crescent Society
The Red Crescent Society of Islamic Republic of Iran
The Thai Red Cross Society
The Macau Red Cross
The Indonesian Red Cross
The American Red Cross
The Philippine Red Cross
The Cambodian Red Cross
The North Korean Red Cross
The Logo of the Belgian Red Cross in Dutch, French and German
The Japanese Red Cross Society
The Nigerian Red Cross Society
The Albania Red Cross

Use of the Red Crystal[edit]

For indicative purposes only, the above symbols or combinations of them can be incorporated inside of the new Red Crystal emblem. For example, a combination of the Red Crystal with the Red Star of David will likely be used by the Israel society Magen David Adom (MDA) for humanitarian missions abroad. Similarly, the national societies of Eritrea and Kazakhstan will probably use a combination of the Red Cross and Red Crescent inside of the Red Crystal as their emblem. For protective use, the Red Crystal can only be used without any additional symbol inside. In principle, the Red Lion with Sun (alone or in combination with the other symbols) could be used inside the Red Crystal as well. As the Red Lion with Sun is not in use since 1980, such combination is very unlikely to be used in the future. For that reason, it is not depicted here.

The Red Crystal without additional emblem inside
The Red Crystal with the Red Cross inside
The Red Crystal with the Red Crescent inside
The Red Crystal with the Red Cross and Red Crescent inside
The Red Crystal with the Red Star of David (MDA) inside

Military use of the symbols[edit]

The following pictures are examples of the above symbols being used in the context of the military. Such application for members, vehicles or buildings of armed forces and similar situations is governed by the Geneva Conventions. This is called protective use and does not indicate affiliation of the respective persons or facilities with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Under the rules of the Geneva Conventions, the symbols are therefore used without any textual designation.

Hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) of the United States Navy
Protected ambulance Mowag DURO III of the Swiss Army
Iveco ambulance car of the Italian Military Red Cross
Unimog ambulance car of the German Armed Forces
Unimog ambulance car of the German Armed Forces
ATF-Dingo ambulance car of the German Armed Forces
G-Wagon ambulance car of the Australian Defence Force
Land Rover ambulance car of the Australian Defence Force
Ambulance car of the United States Armed Forces
Ambulance of the Afghan National Army
The Force Protection Cougar Ambulance of the United States Armed Forces
The Mobile Trauma Bay of the United States Armed Forces
Stryker medical evacuation vehicle of the United States Armed Forces

History[edit]

Historical map of the Battle of Solferino, 1859
Contemporary illustration showing the five founding members of the ICRC, around 1863
Original document of the first Geneva Convention, 1864
Other images: signatures
"The Red Cross of the Geneva Convention. What It Is" by Clara Barton, 1878
French Red Cross train with sick and wounded soldiers, around 1917
The Church of Aubigny (France), converted into an emergency hospital, around 1917
Headquarters of the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C., around 1922
A Magen David Adom paramedic in the Tel Aviv civil defense, 1939
Red Cross message from WW2, Poland, 1940
A US army medic taking care of a German soldier in Normandy, around 1944
Procession of German POW's captured with the fall of Aachen, 1944
Peace Nobel Prize ceremony, December 10, 1963
Development of the Geneva Conventions from 1864 to 1949
A Magen David Adom ambulance in June 1948, Israel

Persons[edit]

Founders of the ICRC[edit]

Henry Dunant
(1828-1910)
Other images: 1
Gustave Moynier
(1826-1910)
Category: Gustave Moynier
Guillaume-Henri Dufour
(1787-1875)
Other images: 1
Louis Appia
(1818-1898)
Theodore Maunoir
(1806-1869)

Presidents of the ICRC[edit]

Guillaume-Henri Dufour
(1787-1875)
President 1863-1864
Other images: 1
Gustave Moynier
(1826-1910)
President 1864-1910)
Category: Gustave Moynier
Gustave Ador
(1845-1928)
President 1910-1928
Other images: 1
Max Huber
(1874-1960)
President 1928-1944
Carl Burckhardt
(1891-1974)
President 1944-1948
Paul Ruegger
(1897-1988)
President 1948-1955
Leopold Boissier
(1893-1968)
President 1955-1964
Samuel Gonard
(1896-1975)
President 1964-1969
Marcel Naville
(born 1919)
President 1969-1973
Eric Martin
(1900-1980)
President 1973-1976
Alexandre Hay
(1919-1991)
President 1976-1987
Cornelio Sommaruga
(born 1932)
President 1987-1999
Jakob Kellenberger
(born 1944)
President since 2000

Chairmen/ Presidents of the League and the Federation[edit]

Henry Davison
(1867-1922)
Founder of the League of Red Cross Societies
Chairman 1919-1922
John Barton Payne
(1855-1935)
Chairman 1922-1935
Cary Travers Grayson
(1878-1938)
Chairman 1935-1938
Norman Davis
(1878-1944)
Chairman 1938-1944
Johannes von Muralt
(1877-1947)
Chairman 1944-1945
Basil O'Connor
(1892-1972)
Chairman 1945-1950
Emil Sandström
(1886-1962)
Chairman 1950-1959
John Alexander MacAulay
1895-1978
Chairman 1959-1965
José Barroso Chávez
(1925-2008)
Chairman 1965-1977
Joseph Adetunji Adefarasin
(1920-1989)
President 1977-1981
Enrique de la Mata
(1933-1987)
President 1981-1987
Mario Villaroel Lander
(born 1947)
President 1987-1997
Astrid Nøklebye Heiberg
(born 1936)
President 1997-2001

Other persons[edit]

Clara Barton
(1821-1912)
Founder of the American Red Cross
Image Gallery: Clara_Barton
Count Folke Bernadotte
(1895-1948)
Swedish diplomat
Other images: Monument, with POWs
Marcel Junod
(1904-1961)
ICRC delegate/ member
in 1952
Other images: 1, 2, 3, 4

Places of Interest[edit]

Ossario di Solferino (Ossuary Chapel) in Solferino, Italy
Other images: Inside
The city of Solferino, Italy
The Red Cross Memorial in Solferino, Italy
Other images: Henry Dunant statue, 2
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in Geneva, Switzerland
Other images: Entrance, Room, Room Humanitarium
American National Red Cross Building
The American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps Station in Jacksonville Beach (Florida)
Gravesite of Henry Dunant at the cemetery Category:Sihlfeld in Zurich, Switzerland
Bust of Henry Dunant (1828-1910) in Geneva the main co-founder of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
Bust of Gustave Moynier (1826-1910) in Geneva, one of the co-founders of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
Statue of General Guillaume Henri (1787-1875) in Geneva, one of the co-founders of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
Red Cross Memorial at Dybbøl, Denmark
Headquarters of the ICRC in Geneva, Switzerland
Monument to Henry Dunant in Geneva, Switzerland
Monument to Canadian Aid Workers in Ottawa, Canada

Other[edit]

Cars, vehicles and other devices[edit]

Volkswagen T6 of the Red Cross in Austria
Volkswagen T6, rapid response vehicle of the Red Cross in Austria
Rapid response vehicle of the Red Cross in Austria
Rapid response vehicle of the Red Cross in Austria
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter of the German Red Cross
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter of the German Red Cross
Volkswagen Transporter of the German Red Cross
Emergency Physician ("Notarzt") Rapid Response Vehicle of the German Red Cross
BMW R 1200 RT of the German Red Cross
Rettungswagen Mercedes-Benz Sprinter of the German Red Cross
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter of Beijing Red Cross
Magen David Adom
Magen David Adom
Renault Master III emergency response unit of the British Red Cross
Toyota HiMedic ambulance of the Macau Red Cross
Liechtenstein red cross ambulance vehicle
Liechtenstein red cross ambulance vehicle
A first responder ambucycle of Magen David Adom
The "J. Henry Dunant III", a Dutch Red Cross vacation ship for sick and handicapped people
Red Cross tent in Japan
Philippine Red Cross Bloodletting
Ambulance car with Red Crescent emblem in Baku, Azerbaijan
An American Red Cross vehicle distributing food to Grand Forks, North Dakota victims of the 1997 Red River flood
Two ambulances from the Belgian Red Cross during a parade in Brussels, Belgium.
Two First Intervention Team vehicles from the Belgian Red Cross during a parade in Brussels, Belgium.

People[edit]

Junior Red Cross group in School
Tunisian Red Crescent volunteer Salut the Tunisian Flag
Members of the Phil Red Cross conducts thermal scanning to commuters
A Turkish Red Crescent staff conducting activities for children
March of Red Cross volunteer nurses at Army Parade in Rome, June 2, 2006 (commemorating the 60th anniversary of the birth of the Italian Republic)
Other images: Close look
A lifeguard from the Spanish Red Cross on duty

Stamps[edit]

Stamp, International Red Cross Centenary, U.S., 1963
Stamp, USSR, 1965
Stamp, USSR, 1988
Stamp, Turkey, 1928
Stamp "The Faroese Red cross 75 Years", Faroe Islands, 2001
Stamp "The Faroese Red cross 75 Years", Faroe Islands, 2001
German stamp for 125 year of birth of Henri Dunant, 1953
German stamp for 100 years of Red Cross, 1963
Stamp of Manchukuo for 5 years of national Red Cross Society, 1943
Australian stamp, 1954
Stamp Intern. RC-Conference 1934, Tokio

Artwork[edit]

Postcard, France, 1915
"The Red Cross" from Montgomery's "The Beginner's American History", page 252, 1904
Good Samaritan, by Gabriel Nicolet, 1914-1915

Flags, insignia, charts[edit]

The symbols at the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in Geneva, Switzerland
A Red Cross flag
Medal of the lifeguard group (Wasserwacht) of the German Red Cross
Organisation chart of the national Red Cross society of Switzerland
Übersicht aller vollwertiger ERU-Einheiten nach Ländern