A new symbol for the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement
Today, after nearly fifty years of pressure and five years of negotiation, a Third Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions was agreed. The protocol adds fourth—and final, dammit— symbol to denote non-combatant aid workers under the Geneva Conventions. The official description is a white background with an open red square on edge: the Red Crystal.
To date, various national societies that make up the Red Cross-ish Movement have had the choice of being represented by either the Red Cross (white background with a red Swiss cross), the Red Crescent (white background with a red Islamic crescent), or the Red Lion and Sun (white background with a stylised lion and sun in red). The latter has not been used since the Iranian Revolution, and was really exclusively Persian. The official images can be seen here.
The problem is that not every nation identifies itself as being Christian or Muslim, obviously; and the only nation that could identify itself as Persian prefers not to any more. America, while it's never had a direct objection to using the Red Cross, is not Constitutionally Christian, for example. But the real sticking point comes from organisations like Magen David Adom1, the Israeli equivalent organisation, which adheres to a charter that's fully compatible with the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, but cannot formally become a part of that movement as long as they persist in using religious symbols it finds objectionable. To date, the MDA has used a red Magen David—that is, a Red Jewish Star— on a white field, but of course, this isn't universally recognised.
The Movement has been very conservative about allowing a proliferation of additional symbols. While they're largely sympathetic with the MDA's stance on the matter, they fear that if they allowed every national organsation to come up with its own symbol based on its own values, the purpose of having a single (the original ideal) or at least a small set (since World War I) of recognisable symbols that mean "Don't Shoot Me!" would be lost. However, just about everyone —including, now, the Palestinian Red Crescent—except the rabid anti-Semites, agree that not having the Magen David Society directly participating in the Movement is a farce.
Contributing to the issue is the fact that the American Red Cross has, in solidarity with the MDA, withheld its ICRC dues for the last 50 years, to the tune of 35 megadollars US.
And so, a compromise was reached. Diplomats from signatory contries agreed to add a completely neutral symbol to the pantheon, and allow national societies to chose it or not depending on their needs and politics. Initially, only the MDA is actually expected to do so, but several other nations have expressed interest in using it, possibly displaying a Red Cross or Crescent inside the voided lozenge of the Red Crystal.
The story is not yet over. The next step is a conference that will bring together the ICRC, the various national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and diplomats from the Geneva signatories. That conference will be aimed at amending the charter of the so-called Movement to formally include the new emblem and recognise universality as being an official goal. It is still at least theoretically possible that this stage will get scuttled by remaining arch-conservatives, thus delaying the entry of the MDA into the Movement yet further. But this seems unlikely.
1That's really the site for the US 'boosters' of the MDA. The MDA's own site is in Hebrew, which most of my readership doesn't know how to read!
