Happy Birthday, Humanitarianism!

[Extract]This week saw the 65th anniversary of the ratification of the Geneva Conventions on 12 August 1949. The following day was the 100th birthday of the Australian Red Cross, founded on 13 August 1914. The Geneva Conventions and the Red Cross movement both stand as important reminders of the doctrine of humanitarianism, according to which all humans deserve to be treated with dignity, even in wartime.University of Queensland law professor Jonathan Crowe University of Queensland law professor Jonathan Crowe The International Committee of the Red Cross is given a broad mandate under the Geneva Conventions to promote humanitarianism in armed conflict. International humanitarian law protects everyone affected by war, regardless of their status. This body of law centres on the four Geneva Conventions, which have been ratified by all recognised states, and their two Additional Protocols of 1977.