Red Cross Blogs

Shape the future of the Geneva Conventions

By Katrina Crew
July 10, 2009 at 9:14 am

This August the Geneva Conventions – those international treaties that protect certain groups of people during wars – turn 60. The world has changed a lot since 1949, and so has the way wars are fought and reported on.

For example, journalists are much more likely to travel with the military these days, meaning those of us watching TV can get a more realistic view of conflict but also meaning journalists are in greater danger. How can we make sure that journalists are protected?

How can we make sure that other people – like civilians and medical personnel – are kept safe in chaotic war zones? And when the laws of war are violated, what kinds of justice should victims expect?

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Red Cross have just launched a website – Geneva Conventions at 60 – where you can explore some of the complexities of protecting people during war. More importantly, you can help shape how the UK supports the Geneva Conventions in the future.

Together, the two organisations are marking the sixtieth anniversary by making a declaration on how they’ll support and strengthen the conventions over the next 60 years. The comments you leave on the Geneva Conventions at 60 website will help form the basis for the declaration. So jump in and give your views on how to make sure people stay as safe as possible during wars!

Image © ICRC

---

Comment (0) »

---

Tags: conflict, Geneva Conventions

The Red Cross values comments both complimentary and critical. However, we will not tolerate the following: aggressive or personal criticism of the blogger, breach of copyright, obscene, defamatory, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive or likewise objectionable comments.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 9:14 am and is filed under Emergencies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

---