Red Cross officials call for emblem protection
CAMBODI A N Red Cross (CRC) and Internationa l Committee of t he Red Cross (ICRC) off icia ls on Tuesday appealed to people not to use t he Red Cross na me or emblem wit hout t he orga nisation’s approval.
One official said doing so would “have wider consequences for the nation and society” and affect humanitarian efforts, with legal action brought against those who harmed the organisation.
The appea l was made by t he CRC’s Fi rst Deput y Secret a r yGeneral Men Near y Sophak and t he ICRC’s Head of Mission i n Cambodia Roman Paramonov at a meet i ng on i nt e r n a t i on a l humanitarian law. It was attended by nea rly 100 jou r na l ist s i n Phnom Penh.
Nea r y Sopha k sa id i ncor rect appropr iat ion of t he Red Cross name and emblem harmed t he orga nisat ion, hav ing a negat ive i mpact on t hei r nat iona l a nd i nt e r n a t i o n a l hu ma n i t a r i a n missions.
“If someone takes the Red Cross na me a nd emblem, say to use when transporting weapons or in d r ug t r a f f ick i ng, it w i l l c ause problems. It wil l a f fect t he Red Cross as an institution and have wider consequences for the nation and societ y,” she said.
Near y Sophak said those who incorrectly used the organisation’s emblems should be punished in accordance with the Royal Decree on the Use and Protection of the Re d Cros s or Re d Cre s c ent Emblem, which was signed into law by the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk in May 2002.
The decree orders that the Cambodia n aut horit ies sha l l ensure strict implementation of rules on the management and use of the Red Cross emblem a nd na me, proh ibit i ng a ny u naut hor i sed use.
Article 11 of t he decree states t hat v iolators “will be punished
in accordance with the law”, with Article 14 stipulating that the courts “shall have jurisdiction to order the seizure of objects and any material marked in violation of the present royal decree”.
The Red Cross emblem, an inversion of the Swiss flag, was designed by the organisation’s co-founder Henri Dunant in 1863 and was adopted as an international symbol of humanitarian and medical personnel at the first Geneva Convention in 1864.
The Red Crescent emblem, more commonly associated with Muslim countries, came into usage in 1876 after Ottoman Empire soldiers felt the cross was reminiscent of the Christian crusaders in the Middle Ages.
Paramonov, also speaking at the event, said the Red Cross emblem was created to protect humanity.
“The emblems of the Red Cross and Red Crescent enjoy full respect under international law in states that are party to the 4th Geneva Convention 1949,” he said.
During peacetime, he said, only certain institutions are permitted to use the emblem, including military medical staff, Red Cross and Red Crescent national associations, the ICRC and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
“Any wrong use of the emblem shall be punished as it decreases the value of its protection and negatively impacts the effectiveness of humanitarian aid,” Paramonov said.