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98-656: Nets are distributed through partnerships with the International Red Cross , the Malaria Consortium , and others, with partners responsible for the costs of distribution. Distributions include malaria education for the local population, and they are documented through reports, photos, and video. Post-distribution check-ups are conducted by independent survey partners to assess net usage and conditions, typically after 9, 18 and 27 months. AMF has eight trustees and an advisory committee drawn from malaria experts around

196-659: A Sub-committee charged with the preparation of a Memorandum on these matters for submission to the Welfare Congress to be held in Berlin in September 1863. The members of this Sub-committee, aside from Dunant himself, were Gustave Moynier , lawyer and chairman of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare; physician Louis Appia , who had significant experience working as a field surgeon; Appia's friend and colleague Théodore Maunoir , from

294-549: A better legacy after his death. The obituary stated, Le marchand de la mort est mort ("The merchant of death is dead"), and went on to say, "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday." However, it has been questioned whether or not the obituary in question actually existed. It is also unclear why Nobel wished the Peace Prize to be administered in Norway, which

392-458: A committee consisting of amiable but somewhat ineffective Geneva gentlemen. That which calls itself "international" has grown rather provincial… New blood, new methods, a new and more comprehensive outlook, these things are necessary. The League was established in 1919 with Davison as its chairman. However, "Swiss aloofness or unilateralism was hard to overcome", and the relationship between the ICRC and

490-474: A faulty definition of what constitutes work for peace. The awards given to Mikhail Gorbachev , Yitzhak Rabin , Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat , Lê Đức Thọ , Henry Kissinger , Jimmy Carter , Barack Obama , Abiy Ahmed , and the European Union have all been the subject of controversy. The 1973 award to Henry Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ may have been the most controversial, with two members of

588-716: A lack of respect for the rules of the Geneva Conventions and their protection symbols. Among the slain delegates were: In 2011, ICRC launched the Health Care In Danger campaign to highlight risks to humanitarian healthcare workers. The original motto of the International Committee of the Red Cross was Inter Arma Caritas ("Amidst War, Charity"). It has preserved this motto while other Red Cross organizations have adopted others. Due to Geneva's location in

686-463: A mandate from the Geneva Conventions, the ICRC tried to ameliorate the suffering of civil populations. In territories that were officially designated as "occupied territories," the ICRC could assist the civilian population on the basis of the Hague Convention 's "Laws and Customs of War on Land" of 1907. This convention was also the legal basis for the ICRC's work for prisoners of war. In addition to

784-663: A mark in the history of the committee as its longest-serving President ever. In 1906, the 1864 Geneva Convention was revised for the first time. One year later, the Hague Convention X , adopted at the Second International Peace Conference in The Hague , extended the scope of the Geneva Convention to naval warfare. Shortly before the beginning of the First World War in 1914, 50 years after the foundation of

882-506: A milestone of fundraising $ 500 million, coming from 919,371 donations from 185,318 people. International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross ( ICRC ) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva , Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and promoting humanitarian norms . State parties (signatories) to

980-581: A national relief society by the International Committee: Directly following the establishment of the Geneva Convention, the first national societies were founded in Belgium, Denmark, France, Oldenburg , Prussia, Spain, and Württemberg. Also in 1864, Louis Appia and Charles van de Velde , a captain of the Dutch Army , became the first independent and neutral delegates to work under the symbol of

1078-551: A new Convention "relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War," was established. Also, the additional protocols of 8 June 1977 were intended to make the conventions apply to internal conflicts such as civil wars. Today, the four conventions and their added protocols contain more than 600 articles, a remarkable expansion when compared to the mere 10 articles in the first 1864 convention. In celebration of its centennial in 1963,

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1176-527: A peace activist and later recipient of the prize, profoundly influenced his decision to include peace as a category. Some Nobel scholars suggest it was Nobel's way to compensate for developing destructive forces. His inventions included dynamite and ballistite , both of which were used violently during his lifetime. Ballistite was used in war and the Irish Republican Brotherhood , an Irish nationalist organization, carried out dynamite attacks in

1274-469: A rather short period of time, the Red Cross gained huge momentum as an internationally respected movement, and the national societies became increasingly popular as a venue for volunteer work. When the first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1901, the Norwegian Nobel Committee opted to give it jointly to Henry Dunant and Frédéric Passy , a leading international pacifist. More significant than

1372-598: A record 205 nominations were received, but the record was broken again in 2010 with 237 nominations; in 2011, the record was broken once again with 241 nominations. The statutes of the Nobel Foundation do not allow information about nominations, considerations, or investigations relating to awarding the prize to be made public for at least 50 years after a prize has been awarded. Over time, many individuals have become known as "Nobel Peace Prize Nominees", but this designation has no official standing, and means only that one of

1470-455: A shortlist of candidates for further review is created. This shortlist is then considered by permanent advisers to the Nobel institute, which consists of the institute's Director and Research Director, and a small number of Norwegian academics with expertise in subject areas relating to the prize. Advisers usually have some months to complete reports, which are then considered by the committee to select

1568-492: A single day, about 40,000 soldiers on both sides died or were left wounded on the field. Henry Dunant was shocked by the terrible aftermath of the battle, the suffering of the wounded soldiers, and the near-total lack of medical attendance and basic care. He completely abandoned the original intent of his trip and for several days he devoted himself to helping with the treatment and care for the wounded. He succeeded in organizing an overwhelming level of relief assistance by motivating

1666-456: A world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again". According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who in the preceding year "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". Alfred Nobel's will further specified that

1764-477: Is Norwegian; in addition to Norwegian the committee has traditionally received nominations in French, German, and English, but today most nominations are submitted in either Norwegian or English. Nominations must usually be submitted to the committee by the beginning of February in the award year. Nominations by committee members can be submitted up to the date of the first Committee meeting after this deadline. In 2009,

1862-461: Is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance." It also conducts and coordinates international relief and works to promote and strengthen international humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. The core tasks of the committee, which are derived from the Geneva Conventions and its own statutes are: The ICRC drew up seven fundamental principles in 1965 that were adopted by

1960-652: The 1907 Hague Convention X . The 1929 Geneva convention "relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" may have been the second Geneva Convention from a historical point of view (because it was actually formulated in Geneva), but after 1949 it came to be called the third Convention because it came later chronologically than the Hague Convention. Reacting to the experience of World War II, the Fourth Geneva Convention ,

2058-465: The Geneva Convention of 1949 and its Additional Protocols of 1977 ( Protocol I , Protocol II ) and 2005 have given the ICRC a mandate to protect victims of international and internal armed conflicts . Such victims include war wounded persons, prisoners , refugees , civilians , and other non-combatants . The ICRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement , along with

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2156-517: The Geneva Hygiene and Health Commission ; and Guillaume-Henri Dufour , a Swiss Army general of great renown. Eight days later, on 17 February 1863, the five men held the first meeting of the Sub-committee and decided the Sub-committee should declare itself constituted a "Permanent International Committee", which would thus continue to exist as an "International Committee for Relief of Wounded in

2254-592: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and 191 National Societies . It is the oldest and most honoured organization within the movement and one of the most widely recognized organizations in the world, having won three Nobel Peace Prizes (in 1917, 1944, and 1963). Up until the middle of the 19th century , there were no organized and well-established army nursing systems for casualties and no safe and protected institutions to accommodate and treat those who were wounded on

2352-552: The King of Norway and the Norwegian royal family on 10 December each year (the anniversary of Nobel's death). The Peace Prize is the only Nobel Prize not presented in Stockholm . The Nobel laureate receives a diploma, a medal, and a document confirming the prize amount. The money awarded varies over time, depending on the profitability of the Nobel bequest's investments and the exchange rate to

2450-631: The League of Red Cross Societies was founded on 15 May 1919, by the societies of Great Britain , France , Japan , Italy , and the United States . Davison, wanted the League of Red Cross Societies to supersede the ICRC in controlling the Red Cross action in international affairs. He argued that: It should be in reality, and not merely in name an International Committee, a Committee on which there will be representatives from all countries, instead of, as at present,

2548-612: The Norwegian Nobel Committee , which selects the Nobel Peace Prize laureate . Each year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee specifically invites qualified people to submit nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. The statutes of the Nobel Foundation specify categories of individuals who are eligible to make nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. These nominators are: The working language of the Norwegian Nobel Committee

2646-685: The Parliament of Norway . The prize award ceremony is held in Oslo City Hall since 1990, previously in the assembly hall of the University of Oslo (1947–1989), Norwegian Nobel Institute (1905–1946), and the Parliament (1901–1904). Due to its political nature, the Nobel Peace Prize has, for most of its history, been the subject of numerous controversies . The 2024 prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo from Japan, an organisation formed by survivor groups of atomic bomb victims "for its efforts to achieve

2744-642: The Red Crystal . The Red Crescent was adopted by the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish war and the Red Crystal by the governments in 2005, as an additional emblem devoid of any national, political or religious connotation. The official mission statement says that: "The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral, and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission

2842-429: The 1880s. Nobel was also instrumental in turning Bofors from an iron and steel producer into an armaments company. There is a well known, but possibly apocryphal, story that in 1888, after the death of his brother Ludvig, several newspapers published obituaries of Alfred by mistake. One French newspaper condemned him for his invention of military explosives and this is said to have brought about his decision to leave

2940-449: The 1990s. It broke its customary media silence when it denounced the Rwandan genocide in 1994. It struggled to prevent the crimes that happened in and around Srebrenica in 1995 but admitted, "We must acknowledge that despite our efforts to help thousands of civilians forcibly expelled from the town and despite the dedication of our colleagues on the spot, the ICRC's impact on the unfolding of

3038-616: The Agency accumulated about 7 million records from 1914 to 1923, each card representing an individual prisoner or missing person. The card index led to the identification of about 2 million POWs and the ability to contact their families, as part of the Restoring Family Links effort of the organization. The complete index is on loan today from the ICRC to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in Geneva. The right to access

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3136-716: The Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field". Representatives of 12 states and kingdoms signed the convention: The convention contained ten articles, establishing for the first time legally binding rules guaranteeing neutrality and protection for wounded soldiers, field medical personnel, and specific humanitarian institutions in an armed conflict. Furthermore, the convention defined two specific requirements for recognition of

3234-560: The Committee published a report reviewing its war-era activities from 1 September 1939 to 30 June 1947. Since January 1996, the ICRC archive for this period has been open to academic and public research. In December 1948 the ICRC was invited, along with the IFRC and AFSC , by the United Nations to take part in a $ 32 million emergency relief programme working with Palestinian refugees. The ICRC

3332-784: The Congo , Ghana , Guinea , Malawi , Papua New Guinea , Togo , Uganda , and Zambia . Each net typically costs around US$ 5 to buy and distribute. AMF is supported by more than 100 corporations. AMF's founding partners are PwC , Citigroup , Speedo , Microsoft , Allen & Overy , Attenda , Vestergaard Frandsen , and Sumitomo Chemical . Speedo also partnered with AMF's precursor organization, World Swim Against Malaria, and continues to raise money for bednets through swimming events. AMF has also received more than 50 million US dollars from Open Philanthropy . AMF's works with partners such as Concern Universal , IMA World Health , and Episcopal Relief & Development . In March 2023, AMF reported

3430-524: The French-speaking part of Switzerland, the ICRC is also known under its initial French name Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR). However, the ICRC has three official languages (English, French and Spanish). The official symbol of the ICRC is the Red Cross on white background (the inverse of the Swiss flag ) with the words "COMITE INTERNATIONAL GENEVE" circling the cross. Under the Geneva Convention,

3528-505: The Geneva statutes including blatant violations such as the deportation of Jews from Germany and the mass murders conducted in the concentration camps run by the German government. Moreover, two other main parties to the conflict, the Soviet Union and Japan , were not party to the 1929 Geneva Conventions and were not legally required to follow the rules of the conventions. During the war,

3626-600: The ICRC observer status for its assembly sessions and sub-committee meetings, the first observer status given to a private organization. The resolution was jointly proposed by 138 member states and introduced by the Italian ambassador, Vieri Traxler , in memory of the organization's origins in the Battle of Solferino. An agreement with the Swiss government signed on 19 March 1993, affirmed the already long-standing policy of full independence of

3724-470: The ICRC and the adoption of the first Geneva Convention, there were already 45 national relief societies throughout the world. The movement had extended itself beyond Europe and North America to Central and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Uruguay, Venezuela), Asia (the Republic of China, Japan, Korea, Siam ), and Africa (South Africa). With the outbreak of World War I ,

3822-573: The ICRC because they were deemed as acting unduly on his own authority and risking the ICRC's neutrality. Only in 1990 was his reputation finally rehabilitated by ICRC President Cornelio Sommaruga . In 1944, the ICRC received its second Nobel Peace Prize. As in World War I, it received the only Peace Prize awarded during the main period of war, 1939 to 1945. At the end of the war, the ICRC worked with national Red Cross societies to organize relief assistance to those countries most severely affected. In 1948,

3920-423: The ICRC failed to obtain an agreement with Nazi Germany about the treatment of detainees in concentration camps, and it eventually abandoned applying pressure to avoid disrupting its work with POWs. There was no public condemnation of treatment in concentration camps, and a proposed 1942 appeal on the conduct of hostilities was abandoned. In addition, the ICRC failed to develop a response to reliable information about

4018-615: The ICRC found itself confronted with enormous challenges which it could only handle by working closely with the national Red Cross societies. Red Cross nurses from around the world, including the United States and Japan, came to support the medical services of the armed forces of the European countries involved in the war. On 15 October 1914, immediately after the start of the war, the ICRC set up its International Prisoners-of-War ( POW ) Agency, which had about 1,200 mostly volunteer staff members by

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4116-521: The ICRC was to provide the families of the prisoners with some hope and solace and to alleviate their uncertainties about the fate of their loved ones. After the end of the war, the ICRC organized the return of about 420,000 prisoners to their home countries. In 1920, the task of repatriation was handed over to the newly founded League of Nations , which appointed the Norwegian diplomat and scientist Fridtjof Nansen as its "High Commissioner for Repatriation of

4214-467: The ICRC, together with the League of Red Cross Societies , received its third Nobel Peace Prize. Since 1993, non-Swiss individuals have been allowed to serve as Committee delegates abroad, a task which was previously restricted to Swiss citizens. Indeed, since then, the share of staff without Swiss citizenship has increased to about 35%. On 16 October 1990, the UN General Assembly decided to grant

4312-425: The League became, and remained, a problem for years to come. The untimely death of Davison in 1922 after an operation will undoubtedly have had an adverse impact on the league’s ability to counter what he saw as Swiss intransigence. In 1923, the Committee adopted a change in its policy regarding the selection of new members. Until then, only citizens from the city of Geneva could serve in the committee. This limitation

4410-468: The Nazis. For the rest of the war, the Red Cross took its cues from Switzerland in avoiding acts of opposition or confrontation with the Nazis. On 12 March 1945, ICRC President Jacob Burckhardt received a message from SS General Ernst Kaltenbrunner accepting the ICRC's demand to allow delegates to visit the concentration camps. This agreement was bound by the condition that these delegates would have to stay in

4508-530: The Nobel Committee. The committee has confirmed that Gandhi was nominated in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, and, finally, a few days before his assassination in January 1948. The omission has been publicly regretted by later members of the Nobel Committee. Geir Lundestad , Secretary of Norwegian Nobel Committee in 2006 said, "The greatest omission in our 106-year history is undoubtedly that Mahatma Gandhi never received

4606-425: The Nobel Peace Prize "a huge bore and a fraud" in his memoir Hitch-22 . Military cemeteries in every corner of the world are silent testimony to the failure of national leaders to sanctify human life. Nobel Peace Prize controversies often reach beyond the academic community. Criticisms that have been levelled against some of the awards include allegations that they were politically motivated, premature, or guided by

4704-439: The Nobel Peace Prize has become increasingly politicized, in which people are awarded for aspirations rather than accomplishments, which has allowed for the prize to be used for political effect but can cause perverse consequences due to the neglect of existing power politics, including the breakdown of fragile peace processes. In 2011, a feature story in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten contended that major criticisms of

4802-614: The Nobel Peace Prize, more than for any other Nobel Prize. Only two recipients have won multiple Prizes: the International Committee of the Red Cross has won three times (1917, 1944, and 1963) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has won twice (1954 and 1981). Lê Đức Thọ is both the only person who refused to accept the Nobel Peace Prize and as of 2024, the only Vietnamese who has won

4900-514: The Nobel Peace Prize. Gandhi could do without the Nobel Peace prize, whether Nobel committee can do without Gandhi is the question." In 1948, following Gandhi's death, the Nobel Committee declined to award a prize on the ground that "there was no suitable living candidate" that year. Later, when the Dalai Lama was awarded the Peace Prize in 1989, the chairman of the committee said that it was "in part

4998-605: The Red Cross in an armed conflict. Three years later in 1867, the first International Conference of National Aid Societies for the Nursing of the War Wounded was convened. Also in 1867, Henry Dunant was forced to declare bankruptcy due to business failures in Algeria, partly because he had neglected his business interests during his tireless activities for the International Committee. The controversy surrounding Dunant's business dealings and

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5096-504: The War Prisoners". His legal mandate was later extended to support and care for war refugees and displaced persons when his office became that of the League of Nations " High Commissioner for Refugees ". Nansen, who invented the Nansen passport for stateless refugees and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922, appointed two delegates from the ICRC as his deputies. A year before the end of

5194-443: The award were that the Norwegian Nobel Committee ought to recruit members from professional and international backgrounds, rather than retired members of parliament; that there is too little openness about the criteria that the committee uses when they choose a recipient of the prize; and that the adherence to Nobel's will should be more strict. In the article, Norwegian historian Øivind Stenersen argues that Norway has been able to use

5292-551: The battlefield. In June 1859, the Swiss businessman Henry Dunant travelled to Italy to meet French emperor Napoléon III with the intention of discussing difficulties in conducting business in Algeria, at that time occupied by France. When he arrived in the small Italian town of Solferino on the evening of 24 June, he witnessed the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino , an engagement in the Second Italian War of Independence . In

5390-411: The camps until the end of the war. Ten delegates, among them Louis Haefliger ( Mauthausen Camp ), Paul Dunant ( Theresienstadt Camp ) and Victor Maurer ( Dachau Camp ), accepted the assignment and visited the camps. Louis Haefliger prevented the forceful eviction or blasting of Mauthausen-Gusen by alerting American troops, thereby saving the lives of about 60,000 inmates. His actions were condemned by

5488-519: The case of war. In addition, he called for the development of international treaties to guarantee the neutrality and protection of those wounded on the battlefield as well as medics and field hospitals. On 9 February 1863, the Geneva Society for Public Welfare held a meeting where it was decided to give serious consideration to the suggestions made in Dunant's book and appointed five of its members to form

5586-590: The ceremony took place at the Norwegian Nobel Institute . From 1901 to 1904, the ceremony took place in the Storting (Parliament). The medal for the Peace Prize was designed by the Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland in 1901. Vigeland's profile sculpture of Alfred Nobel differs from Erik Lindberg 's profile of Nobel on the chemistry, literature, physics, and physiology or medicine medals. The dies for Vigeland's peace medal were made by Lindberg as Vigeland

5684-594: The committee from any possible interference by Switzerland. The agreement protects the full sanctity of all ICRC property in Switzerland including its headquarters and archive, grants members and staff legal immunity, exempts the ICRC from all taxes and fees, guarantees the protected and duty-free transfer of goods, services, and money, provides the ICRC with secure communication privileges at the same level as foreign embassies, and simplifies Committee travel in and out of Switzerland. The ICRC continued its activities throughout

5782-400: The concentration camps and delivered about 1.1 million parcels, primarily to the camps Dachau , Buchenwald , Ravensbrück , and Sachsenhausen . Swiss historian Jean-Claude Favez, who conducted an 8-year review of the Red Cross records, says that even though the Red Cross knew by November 1942 about the Nazi's annihilation plans for the Jews – and even discussed it with U.S. officials –

5880-401: The conditions of the detainees. The most reliable primary source on the role of the Red Cross during World War II are the three volumes of the "Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross on its activities during the second world war (September 1, 1939 – June 30, 1947)" written by the International Committee of the Red Cross itself. The report can be read online. The legal basis of

5978-413: The courageous acts of individual ICRC delegates at the time. On 4 October 2023 the committee issued a set of rules for civilian hackers to abide by . At the end of the Cold War , the ICRC's work actually became more dangerous. In the 1990s, more delegates lost their lives than at any point in its history, especially when working in local and internal armed conflicts. These incidents often demonstrated

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6076-447: The end of 1914. By the end of the war, the Agency had transferred about 20 million letters and messages, 1.9 million parcels, and about 18 million Swiss francs in monetary donations to POWs of all affected countries. Furthermore, due to the intervention of the Agency, about 200,000 prisoners were exchanged between the warring parties, released from captivity and returned to their home country. The organizational card index of

6174-433: The end of the war, 179 delegates had conducted 12,750 visits to POW camps in 41 countries. The Central Information Agency on Prisoners-of-War ( Zentralauskunftsstelle für Kriegsgefangene ) had a staff of 3,000, the card index tracking prisoners contained 45 million cards, and 120 million messages were exchanged by the Agency. One major obstacle was that the Nazi -controlled German Red Cross refused to cooperate with

6272-402: The entire Red Cross Movement. They are humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, volunteerism, unity, and universality. Nobel Peace Prize "We who have fought against you, the Palestinians, we say to you today, in a loud and a clear voice; Enough of blood and tears. Enough!" — Yitzhak Rabin , who was given the award in 1994, said on behalf of the Israeli people after

6370-482: The event of War" after its mandate from the Geneva Society for Public Welfare had expired. Among other activities, the Committee organized an international conference in Geneva in October (26–29) 1863 to develop possible measures to improve medical services on the battlefield. The conference was attended by 36 individuals: eighteen official delegates from national governments, six delegates from other non-governmental organizations, seven non-official foreign delegates, and

6468-428: The extermination camps and the mass killing of European Jews. This is still considered the greatest failure of the ICRC in its history. After November 1943, the ICRC achieved permission to send parcels to concentration camp detainees with known names and locations. Because the notices of receipt for these parcels were often signed by other inmates, the ICRC managed to register the identities of about 105,000 detainees in

6566-459: The five members of the committee. The states and kingdoms represented by official delegates were Grand Duchy of Baden , Kingdom of Bavaria , Second French Empire , United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , Kingdom of Hanover , Grand Duchy of Hesse , Kingdom of Italy , Kingdom of the Netherlands , Austrian Empire , Kingdom of Prussia , Russian Empire , Kingdom of Saxony , United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway , and Spanish Empire . Among

6664-429: The group did nothing to inform the public, maintaining silence even in the face of pleas by Jewish groups. Because the Red Cross was based in Geneva and largely funded by the Swiss government, it was very sensitive to Swiss wartime attitudes and policies. In October 1942, the Swiss government and the Red Cross' board of members vetoed a proposal by several Red Cross board members to condemn the persecution of civilians by

6762-484: The historical handshake with Yasser Arafat . The Nobel Peace Prize ( Swedish and Norwegian : Nobels fredspris ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel , along with the prizes in Chemistry , Physics , Physiology or Medicine , and Literature . Since March 1901, it has been awarded annually (with some exceptions) to people who have "done

6860-402: The honour of the prize itself, the official congratulation from the International Committee of the Red Cross marked the overdue rehabilitation of Henry Dunant and represented a tribute to his key role in the formation of the Red Cross. Dunant died nine years later in the small Swiss health resort of Heiden . Only two months earlier his long-standing adversary Gustave Moynier had also died, leaving

6958-402: The index is still strictly restricted to the ICRC. During the entire war, the ICRC monitored warring parties' compliance with the Geneva Conventions of the 1907 revision and forwarded complaints about violations to the respective country. When chemical weapons were used in this war for the first time in history, the ICRC vigorously protested against this new type of warfare. Even without having

7056-407: The laureate. The Committee seeks to achieve a unanimous decision, but it is not always possible. The Nobel Committee typically comes to a conclusion in mid-September, but occasionally the final decision has not been made until the last meeting before the official announcement at the beginning of October. The Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee presents the Nobel Peace Prize in the presence of

7154-528: The local population to aid without discrimination. Back in his home in Geneva , he decided to write a book titled A Memory of Solferino which he published with his own money in 1862. He sent copies of the book to leading political and military figures throughout Europe. In addition to penning a vivid description of his experiences in Solferino in 1859, he explicitly advocated the formation of national voluntary relief organizations to help nurse wounded soldiers in

7252-415: The most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses ." The Oxford Dictionary of Contemporary History describes it as "the most prestigious prize in the world." In accordance with Alfred Nobel's will, the recipient is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee , a five-member committee appointed by

7350-400: The organization has learned from the failure: In an official statement made on 27 January 2005, the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the ICRC stated: Auschwitz also represents the greatest failure in the history of the ICRC, aggravated by its lack of decisiveness in taking steps to aid the victims of Nazi persecution. This failure will remain part of the ICRC's memory, as will

7448-419: The prize as an instrument for nation-building and furthering Norway's foreign policy and economic interests. In another 2011 Aftenposten opinion article, the grandson of one of Nobel's two brothers, Michael Nobel, also criticised what he believed to be the politicisation of the award, claiming that the Nobel Committee has not always acted in accordance with Nobel's will. Author Christopher Hitchens called

7546-494: The prize be awarded by a committee of five people chosen by the Norwegian Parliament. Nobel died in 1896 and he did not leave an explanation for choosing peace as a prize category. As he was a trained chemical engineer, the categories for chemistry and physics were obvious choices. The reasoning behind the peace prize is less clear. According to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, his friendship with Bertha von Suttner ,

7644-486: The prize. Some commentators have suggested that the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded in politically motivated ways for more recent or immediate achievements, or with the intention of encouraging future achievements. Some commentators have suggested that to award a peace prize on the basis of unquantifiable contemporary opinion is unjust or possibly erroneous, especially as many of the judges cannot themselves be said to be impartial observers. Further criticism holds that

7742-432: The proposals written in the final resolutions of the conference, adopted on 29 October 1863, were: Only one year later, the Swiss government invited the governments of all European countries, as well as the United States, Brazil, and Mexico, to attend an official diplomatic conference. Sixteen countries sent a total of twenty-six delegates to Geneva. On 22 August 1864, the conference adopted the first Geneva Convention "for

7840-505: The recipient's local currency. Around 2020, typical awards were on the order of roughly 10 million SEK , which translated to roughly 1 million USD. Since 1990, the ceremony has taken place at Oslo City Hall . From 1947 to 1989, the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony was held in the Atrium of the University of Oslo Faculty of Law , a few hundred meters from Oslo City Hall. Between 1905 and 1946,

7938-458: The red cross, red crescent and red crystal emblems provide protection for military medical services and relief workers in armed conflicts and is to be placed on humanitarian and medical vehicles and buildings. The original emblem that has a red cross on a white background is the exact reverse of the flag of neutral Switzerland. It was later supplemented by two others which are the Red Crescent , and

8036-547: The respective activities of the ICRC significantly increased the reputation and authority of the Committee among the international community and led to an extension of its competencies. As early as in 1934, a draft proposal for an additional convention for the protection of the civil population during an armed conflict was adopted by the International Red Cross Conference. Unfortunately, most governments had little interest in implementing this convention, and it

8134-530: The resulting negative public opinion, combined with an ongoing conflict with Gustave Moynier, led to Dunant's expulsion from his position as a member and secretary. He was charged with fraudulent bankruptcy and a warrant for his arrest was issued. Thus, he was forced to leave Geneva and never returned to his home city. In the following years, national societies were founded in nearly every country in Europe. The project resonated well with patriotic sentiments that were on

8232-539: The rise in the late-nineteenth-century, and national societies were often encouraged as signifiers of national moral superiority. In 1876, the committee adopted the name "International Committee of the Red Cross" (ICRC), which is still its official designation today. Five years later, the American Red Cross was founded through the efforts of Clara Barton . More and more countries signed the Geneva Convention and began to respect it in practice during armed conflicts. In

8330-427: The selection committee resigning in protest and widespread derision in the press. Foreign Policy has listed Corazon Aquino , Mahatma Gandhi , Eleanor Roosevelt , U Thant , Václav Havel , Ken Saro-Wiwa , and Fazle Hasan Abed as people who "never won the prize, but should have." The omission of Mahatma Gandhi has been particularly widely discussed, including in public statements by various members of

8428-452: The thousands of eligible nominators suggested the person's name for consideration. Indeed, in 1939, Adolf Hitler received a satirical nomination from a member of the Swedish parliament, mocking the (serious but unsuccessful) nomination of Neville Chamberlain . Nominations from 1901 to 1971 have been released in a database. Nominations are considered by the Nobel Committee at a meeting where

8526-512: The tragedy was extremely limited." It went public once again in 2007 to decry "major human rights abuses" by Burma's military government including forced labour, starvation, and murder of men, women, and children. By taking part in the 1995 ceremony to commemorate the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp , the President of the ICRC, Cornelio Sommaruga , sought to show that the organization

8624-491: The war, the ICRC received the 1917 Nobel Peace Prize for its outstanding wartime work. It was the only Nobel Peace Prize awarded in the period from 1914 to 1918. After the war ended, Henry Pomeroy Davison , who had been Chairman of the War Council of the American Red Cross pressed for the creation of an international organization to coordinate the work of the different national Red Cross societies. Based on his recommendation,

8722-611: The work of the ICRC during World War II was the Geneva Conventions (1929) revision, as well as the Convention relating to the International Status of Refugees , of 28 October 1933. The activities of the committee were similar to those during World War I: visiting and monitoring POW camps, organizing relief assistance for civilian populations, and administering the exchange of messages regarding prisoners and missing persons. By

8820-575: The work of the International Prisoner-of-War Agency as described above this included inspection visits to POW camps . A total of 524 camps throughout Europe were visited by 41 delegates from the ICRC until the end of the war. Between 1916 and 1918, the ICRC published a number of postcards with scenes from the POW camps. The pictures showed the prisoners in day-to-day activities such as the distribution of letters from home. The intention of

8918-502: The world. The charity is registered in the United Kingdom and governed by the laws of England and Wales . It is also registered in sixteen other countries, including the US, Germany, Canada, Japan, and South Korea . The World Swim Against Malaria was the brainchild of Rob Mather, a London-based strategy consultant. Mather had earlier organized a swim to raise money for a two-year-old girl who

9016-558: Was ruled in union with Sweden at the time of Nobel's death. The Norwegian Nobel Committee speculates that Nobel may have considered Norway better suited to awarding the prize, as it did not have the same militaristic traditions as Sweden . It also notes that at the end of the 19th century, the Norwegian parliament had become closely involved in the Inter-Parliamentary Union 's efforts to resolve conflicts through mediation and arbitration. The Norwegian Parliament appoints

9114-790: Was badly burned in a house fire. Held in December 2003, the "Swim for Terri" started as a three-person fundraiser and grew to include 10,000 swimmers in 73 countries. AMF was founded in 2004 in London. It is rated as a highly cost-effective charity by GiveWell . AMF was chosen as one of GiveWell's two highest-recommended charities (along with the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative ) in 2011 and has continued to be recommended by GiveWell since then. GiveWell estimated in 2023 that AMF's bed net program costs on average US$ 5,500 per life saved. Countries served by AMF include Democratic Republic of

9212-420: Was expanded to include Swiss citizens. As a direct consequence of World War I, an additional protocol to the Geneva Convention was adopted in 1925 which outlawed the use of suffocating or poisonous gases and biological agents as weapons. Four years later, the original Convention was revised and the second Geneva Convention "relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" was established. The events of World War I and

9310-402: Was fully aware of the gravity of The Holocaust and the need to keep the memory of it alive, so as to prevent any repetition of it. He paid tribute to all those who had suffered or lost their lives during the war and publicly regretted the past mistakes and shortcomings of the Red Cross with regard to the victims of the concentration camps. In 2002, an ICRC official outlined some of the lessons

9408-464: Was given responsibility for the areas that are now the West Bank and Israel . On 12 August 1949, further revisions to the existing two Geneva Conventions were adopted. An additional convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea", now called the second Geneva Convention, was brought under the Geneva Convention umbrella as a successor to

9506-434: Was not an engraver. The reverse of the medal features three men in a 'fraternal bond' and the inscription " Pro pace et fraternitate gentium " ("For the peace and brotherhood of men"). The edge of the medal is inscribed with the year of its awarding, with the name of its recipient and "Prix Nobel de la Paix". As of October 2023 , the Peace Prize has been awarded to 111 individuals and 27 organizations; 19 women have won

9604-542: Was thus prevented from entering into force before the beginning of World War II. In the Interwar period , Bolivia and Paraguay were disputing possession of the Gran Chaco - a desert region between the two countries. The dispute escalated into a full-scale conflict in 1932. During the war the ICRC visited 18,000 Bolivian prisoners of war and 2,500 Paraguayan detainees. With the help of the ICRC both countries made improvements to

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