Revulsion at the conduct of war had long encouraged attempts to establish rules which would make it less terrible. The medieval Church had sought to protect churchmen, peasants, and the helpless, and to prohibit wars during planting and harvest, with its Peace of God (998) and Truce of God (1095) as milestones. During the French Italian campaign of 1859 Jean-Henri Dunant was shocked by the suffering of the wounded. He wrote Un souvenir de Solférino, demanding the formation of voluntary relief societies in all countries. In 1863 a committee of five for ‘succouring the wounded’ was established in Geneva. Several national societies were formed soon afterwards. The first Geneva Convention of 1864 dealt chiefly with the care of the wounded, and subsequent conventions widened the scope.
The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the founding body, is an impartial, neutral, and independent body of 25 Swiss citizens which strives to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and violence. It is linked with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and with the national societies themselves, but the latter are independent, and the ICRC has no formal authority over them.
The Red Cross is not simply concerned with the protection of wounded, though the fact that military ambulances, hospital, personnel, and hospital ships bear prominent red symbols is one of its the most obvious manifestations. The red cross itself is the Swiss flag reversed, and although it is emphasized that the sign has no religious significance, in Islamic countries it is represented by a red crescent and in Israel by a red Star of David. The Red Cross organizes visits to POWs, provides them with relief supplies, arranges exchanges of sick and wounded and captured medical personnel, and helps ensure the passage of mail and information. It is now also concerned with the relief of natural disasters.
The Red Cross has helped mitigate some of war's worst effects. Even during WW II, when it had no powers of compulsion with countries that had not signed the 1929 Geneva Convention, it was often able to use considerable moral leverage.
— Richard Holmes
