International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
Humanitarian movement founded to alleviate suffering and protect human life.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a global humanitarian network, counting around 16 million volunteers, members, and staff. Its mission is to safeguard human life and health, uphold respect for all people, and stop or lessen suffering wherever it occurs.
The movement began with Swiss businessman Jean-Henri Dunant. In June 1859, he traveled to Italy to discuss business troubles in French-occupied Algeria with Emperor Napoleon III. Instead, he arrived in Solferino on the evening of June 24, just after a bloody battle of the Austro-Sardinian War. Around 40,000 soldiers lay dead or wounded. Shocked by the lack of medical care, Dunant abandoned his original plan and spent days organizing local villagers to help the wounded without favor.
Back in Geneva, he wrote *A Memory of Solferino* at his own expense in 1862, sending copies to European leaders. The book described the battlefield horror and called for voluntary national relief groups to nurse wounded soldiers, inspired by Christian social responsibility. He also urged an international treaty to protect medics and field hospitals.
In 1863, Geneva lawyer Gustave Moynier brought the book to the Geneva Society for Public Welfare. The society formed a commission—later called the "Committee of the Five"—including Dunant, Moynier, surgeon Louis Appia, health official Théodore Maunoir, and General Guillaume-Henri Dufour. Eight days later, they renamed themselves the "International Committee for Relief to the Wounded."
From October 26 to 29, 1863, they held an international conference in Geneva. Thirty-six people attended: 18 official government delegates, 6 from non-governmental groups, 7 foreign non-official delegates, and the five committee members. Represented states included the Swiss Confederation, Austria, Baden, Bavaria, France, Hanover, Italy, the Netherlands, Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Württemberg, Sweden-Norway, and the United Kingdom. The conference’s final resolutions called for national relief societies, neutrality for wounded soldiers, volunteer relief forces, further conferences, and a common protective symbol—a white armband with a red cross.
A year later, the Swiss government invited European countries, the United States, Brazil, and Mexico to a diplomatic conference. Sixteen nations sent 26 delegates to Geneva. On August 22, 1864, they adopted the First Geneva Convention, si
- founded
- 1863 (International Committee for Relief to the Wounded)
- founder
- Jean-Henri Dunant
- field
- Humanitarian aid
- headquarters
- Geneva, Switzerland
- known_for
- Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems, Geneva Conventions, neutral humanitarian relief in armed conflicts
- volunteers
- Approximately 16 million
Lore & Background
The first national societies were founded in 1863–1864, with early examples including Württemberg and others; the eight named in the entry—Belgium, Denmark, France, Oldenburg, Italy, Prussia, Spain, and Württemberg—were among the earliest, but not all founded in 1864. The Turkish Red Crescent was founded in the Ottoman Empire in 1868, partly due to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, not the Crimean War. In 1876, the committee adopted the name 'International Committee of the Red Cross' (ICRC). Dunant was forced to leave Geneva after bankruptcy and conflict with Moynier, but was later jointly awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 with Frédéric Passy. The movement expanded globally, with the American Red Cross founded in 1881 through Clara Barton's efforts.
Reader's Guide
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is significant as the first organized international humanitarian effort to provide neutral medical aid in armed conflicts. Its founding led to the Geneva Conventions, which established legally binding rules for the protection of wounded soldiers, medical personnel, and humanitarian institutions. The movement's emblem—the red cross on a white background—became a universal symbol of protection. The movement's principles of neutrality and impartiality, inspired by Dunant's experience at Solferino, have guided humanitarian action for over 150 years. The movement's network of national societies, with millions of volunteers, continues to respond to disasters and conflicts worldwide. The inclusion of the Red Crescent symbol, first used by the Ottoman Empire, reflects the movement's adaptation to diverse cultural contexts. The movement's legacy includes the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to its founder and the ongoing development of international humanitarian law.
Did You Know?
- The movement was inspired by Jean-Henri Dunant's experience after the Battle of Solferino in 1859, where about 40,000 soldiers died or were wounded in a single day.
- The first Geneva Convention was signed in 1864 by 12 states, establishing neutrality and protection for wounded soldiers and medical personnel.
- The Turkish Red Crescent was founded in the Ottoman Empire in 1868, partly in response to the Crimean War, and was the first Red Crescent society.
- Jean-Henri Dunant was jointly awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 with Frédéric Passy.
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