The armed conflicts which are causing bloodshed in a number of regions of the world have led special emphasis to be laid on one of the fundamental problems of humanitarian action in times of war: how to ensure respect for emblems providing protection for the victims of violence and for those who come to their assistance.

These Regulations (hereinafter “the Regulations”) stipulate the various ways the emblem of the red cross or the red crescent on a white ground may be used by the National Societies, in keeping with the provisions of international humanitarian law and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (hereinafter “the Movement”).

A few hours before leaving for Sarajevo last May, Frédéric Maurice let us have the final pages of an article for the Review. He wanted to mull over his text and polish it, but fate decided otherwise, since he lost his life in tragic circumstances on 19 May 1992, on the outskirts of Sarajevo.

To crown the feature on humanitarian assistance published in the May-June 1992 issue of the Review, we now present the text of a lecture given by ICRC President Cornelio Sommaruga in several European cities in recent months, among them Freiburg im Breisgau, Como, Oslo and Paris.

Following the postponement of the 26th International Conference, the Council of Delegates, meeting in Budapest in November 1991, adopted the amended version of the Regulations for the Florence Nightingale Medal.

The amended text redefines the criteria for the award of the medal and does away with the adverse distinction drawn between men and women exercising the same profession. Indeed, until the Regulations were amended, the medal could be awarded exclusively to women.

In the second half of May 1992, ICRC President Cornelio Sommaruga went to The Hague to attend the IVth Regional Conference of European National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (18-22 May), which took as its theme “The New Europe needs The New Red Cross” (see pp. 391-393). While in The Hague, Mr. Sommaruga had talks with the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Cooperation Development on various current ICRC operations and on financial matters. The President thanked the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for its substantial support for the ICRC in the past and for its commitment to providing financial help in the future. During a working meeting at the Foreign Ministry with officials dealing with various geographical regions and with multilateral cooperation, the prospects for reconvening the 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent were reviewed. The President also had the opportunity, at a lunch given by the Swiss Ambassador to the Netherlands, to talk to the President of the Second Chamber of the Netherlands Parliament and to the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about humanitarian needs around the world and the degree of respect shown for international humanitarian law. Mr. Sommaruga was accompanied by Mr. Maurice Aubert, a member of the ICRC, Mr. Yves Sandoz, Director, and Mr. Michel Convers, Deputy Director.

The magnitude of the refugee problem in the former Yugoslavia, unprecedented in Europe since the Second World War, prompted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to convene an international meeting in Geneva on 29 July 1992 aimed at mobilizing support for some 2,300,000 people who have fled the fighting since the beginning of the Yugoslav crisis in 1991.