Feelings
of happiness, gratitude and pride flowed strongly among those
present at the award ceremony for the presentation of the Henry
Dunant medals, the Movement’s highest distinction, given
in recognition of outstanding humanitarian service. This high
moment of emotion concluded the first day of the Council of
Delegates last night.
The Medal, named after the founder of the Movement, is awarded
every two years to individuals to acknowledge and reward outstanding
service and acts of great devotion to the Red Cross and Red
Crescent cause. The Henry Dunant medal is a red cross embossed
with the profile of the Movement’s founder, attached to
a green ribbon.
The ceremony opened with a vibrant rendition, by six male singers
from the National Korea Opera Company, of two songs, the well-known
Italian aria ‘O Sole Mio’, and a Korean song, ‘Heemangui
Nalaro’ (Towards a Nation of Hope). Janet Davidson, Vice-Chair
of the Standing Commission read the tributes, while the President
of the Standing Commission, Dr. Mohammed Al-Hadid presented
the awards. Eight Henry Dunant medals were awarded this year.
The first to receive his medal was Colonel Dr. Mekonnen Muluneh,
of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society. He has been an active member
of the Ethiopian Red Cross for many years, founding several
branches, recruiting thousands of members and volunteers, raising
funds, and establishing a blood bank as well as health and youth
centres. A medical doctor, he treated war victims as a Red Cross
volunteer and helped train two thousand first aid workers in
his country’s war-affected areas. In 1977, he translated
the Fundamental Principles into the Amharic language, facilitating
their dissemination to the general public and to the military.
In a short thank you address, Colonel Muluneh said that he accepted
the award with a profound sense of humility. “This honour
belongs to all the survivors of the war and their children,
with whose destiny I have always been identified. It is there
and then that I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever
human beings endure sufferings and humiliation. (…) What
all these victims need to know above all is that they are not
alone, that we are not forgetting them.” He then paid
tribute to the youth volunteers “the cornerstone of the
Movement’s ideals and objectives. Their effective work
has made me the winner of the Henry Dunant medal, and I share
it with them.”
The next medal was received by Linda Paulsen, Vice-President
of the Norwegian Red Cross, on behalf of General Björn
Egge, who could not be present at the ceremony. “It is
my pleasure to convey the sincere thanks and appreciation of
Bjorn Egge. He is deeply moved and honoured,” she said.
General Egge is a former President of the Norwegian Red Cross.
A retired army general, he has devoted his life to peace building
and the dissemination of International Humanitarian Law. General
Egge’s bond with the Movement began in 1945 when the Red
Cross helped to liberate him from the gruesome ordeal of a concentration
camp. He has since dedicated much of his personal time and energy
to Red Cross activities.
The next recipient was Mrs. Christina Magnuson, former President
of the Swedish Red Cross and member of the Standing Commission
of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Mrs. Magnuson has dedicated
herself to the Swedish Red Cross and the Movement for the past
30 years, starting out as a volunteer. She also served as a
member of the Standing Commission which appointed her its special
representative on the emblem. Born the Princess of Sweden, she
only used this privilege when it served the cause of the Movement.
Her unselfish commitment to the Movement’s work has won
the esteem of everyone.
She had also sent her regrets and Bengt Westerbergh, President
of the Swedish Red Cross, received the medal on her behalf.
“She has asked me to convey her heartfelt thanks,”
he said, and read the short speech she had prepared. “When
you engage yourself in the work of the Red Cross Red Crescent,
there are as many reasons as there are people. (…) The
reward you get from your involvement is very personal, and (…)
now that this great honour is bestowed on me, my heart goes
out to all the volunteers in the hundreds of National Societies
all over the world. They are the Red Cross and the Red Crescent!”
The next Henry Dunant medal was awarded, posthumously, to Dr.
Jean Pictet, considered as the main architect of the Geneva
Conventions of 1949 and former Vice-President of the International
Committee of the Red Cross. A remarkable jurist, Jean Pictet
served with the ICRC for 47 years, joining the organization
in 1937, as legal secretary. He rose through the ranks to the
position of director in 1946 and director-general in 1966. When
he retired in 1984, he held the post of vice-president. He died
on 30 March 2002. Dr. Pictet proposed the Movement’s seven
Fundamental Principles, which were adopted at the International
Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Vienna in 1965.
These are the principles that today still guide the action of
all Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as well as of the International
Federation and the ICRC.
Yves Sandoz, Director of Humanitarian Law at the ICRC, a close
collaborator of Dr. Pictet, accepted the medal and will forward
it to the Pictet family in Geneva. “I am extremely proud
and very moved to accept this medal. Mr. Pictet is an important
personality of our Movement, a generous man, a man of great
principles, almost the incarnation of our Movement, and of what
our Movement should be. He was full of compassion for those
who suffer. All those who knew Mr. Pictet not only admired him
but also felt great affection for him,” he told the assembly.
The final four medals were awarded to volunteers and staff of
the Red Cross Societies of the four countries most severely
affected by the devastating tsunami of 26 December 2004: India,
Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The representative from India
was not present. The medals, awarded symbolically to one member
of each of these National Societies, recognize the courageous
and untiring dedication of volunteers and staff who were immediately
mobilized to help victims of the deadly tsunami that devastated
coastal areas of countries bordering the Indian Ocean. For weeks,
these workers assisted the injured and other survivors, collected
bodies and supported families in their mourning, even while
many of them had themselves lost loved ones in the disaster.
Ranjith Wijesooriaya, of the Sri Lanka Red Cross spoke on behalf
of all recipients and thanked the selection committee for “this
most prestigious medal for renderirng selfless services. I also
should mention,” he added, “that this was made possible
because of the support from the ICRC, the International Federation,
the National Societies and, most importantly, from fellow volunteers
within the Movement.”
The ceremony concluded with a short video illustrating relief
activies for tsunami survivors.
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Award
recipients celebrate with Federation President and President
of the Standing Commission.
From left to right: Ranjith Wijesooriaya, Sri Lanka Red
Cross; Mohammed Al-Hadid, President of the Standing Commission;
Tasana Meteeviboon, Thailand Red Cross; Juan Manual Suárez
Del Toro, International Federation President; Bunaiya
Putra, Indonesia Red Cross; Colonel Dr. Mekonnen Muluneh,
Ethiopia Red Cross. (p13469)
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Colonel
Dr. Muluneh, active member of Ethiopian Red Cross. (p13472)
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Linda
Paulsen,Vice President of the Norwegian Red Cross, accepting
on behalf of General Björn Egge. (p13471)
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Yves
Sandoz, former Director of Humanitarian Law at ICRC, accepting
on behalf of Jean Pictet. (p13474)
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National
Korea Opera Company singers opening the Henry Dunant award
ceremony. (p13470)
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