Falklands : Falklands Red Cross recognises Henry Dunant
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 12.12.2010 (Article Archived on 26.12.2010)
The sign of the “Red Cross” is probably the most widely recognized symbol in the world, acts as protection for wounded military personnel;
Falklands Red Cross recognises Henry Dunantt
The sign of the “Red Cross” is probably the most widely recognized symbol in the world, acts as protection for wounded military personnel; an indication that aid in civil disasters is at hand; and is the badge of the defenders of the Geneva Conventions: The International Committee of the Red Cross.
The origins of the Red Cross movement stem from the horrors observed by Henry Dunant, a young Swiss businessman, during the Battle of Solferino, fought in Italy between Austria and the alliance of France and Sardinia, in 1859. He was so appalled by the suffering of the wounded and dying on both sides that he organized local people into tending the wounded, regardless of nationality.
Subsequently, mainly through the work of Henry Dunant, the first Geneva Convention was signed and ratified in 1864, which gave rise eventually to formation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1875. The role of the ICRC was further defined in the Geneva Convention of 1949, and subsequent Protocols, regulating the conduct of war and the treatment of wounded.
Henry Dunant’s work was recognized by the award of the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.
2010 is the centenary of the death of Henry Dunant. To mark this anniversary the Pobjoy Mint Ltd have issued on behalf of the Falkland Islands Government, a gold commemorative coin. Pobjoy Mint have kindly agreed to donate 50p from the sale of each coin to the Falkland Islands Branch of the British Red Cross and recently a cheque in the sum of £1,841.50 was presented to Mr Keith Biles, the Chairman of Falkland Islands Red Cross by Mr Keith Padgett, the Financial Secretary of the Falkland Islands Government.
Keith Biles 27.11.10
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