Red Cross Red Crescent - Origin of the fundamental principles

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Principles and values

Origin of the Fundamental Principles
In the early years of the Movement's existence, unity of thought was essentially maintained by the unity of common endeavour. Without being set out in any written agreement, specific humanitarian values rapidly came to light as constituent elements of the Movement.

As early as 1875, Gustave Moynier, then President of the ICRC, wrote that the Red Cross should observe four basic working principles:

foresight, which means that preparations should be made in advance, in peacetime, to provide assistance should war break out;
solidarity, whereby the Societies undertake to establish mutual ties and to help each other;
centralization, which implies that there is only one Society in each country, but whose activities extend throughout the entire national territory; and
mutuality, in the sense that care is given to all the wounded and the sick irrespective of their nationality.

In 1921, the revised Statutes of the ICRC were modified and incorporated four Fundamental Principles - impartiality, political, religious and economic independence, the universality of the Movement and the equality of its members.

In 1946, the Board of Governors of the League (as the International Federation was previously known adopted a declaration confirming the four 1921 principles, supplemented by another 13 principles and six rules of application. Those Principles are known as the "Oxford Principles", because the session of the Board took place in Oxford (United Kingdom). In 1952, the 18th International Conference of the Red Cross reaffirmed the Oxford principles.

Those principles were not, however, analysed in a systematic matter until 1955, when Jean Pictet, in his book on the Red Cross Principles, defined and analysed all the values which guide the work of the Movement. He thus listed seventeen principles divided into two categories: on the one hand, the Fundamental Principles, which express the very reason for the Movement's existence and inspire and influence all it does; and on the other hand, the organic principles, which concern the Movement's structure and how it works.

On the basis of this in-depth study, the Movement's seven Fundamental Principles as they stand today were unanimously adopted in 1965 by the 20th International Conference of the Red Cross, which also decided that they should be solemnly read out at the opening of every International Conference.

In 1986, the 25th International Conference of the Red Cross reaffirmed the importance of the Principles by including them in the Preamble to the Movement's Statutes; their drafting was slightly amended, and forms the text of the principles as can be read on this web site.

Binding character of the Fundamental Principles
The Statutes of the Movement underscore the obligation of all the components of the Movement to act at all times in compliance with the Fundamental Principles. In addition, the Statutes of the Movement recall the role of the ICRC to maintain and disseminate the Fundamental Principles, and the role of the Federation to assist the ICRC in this respect. These tasks are also mentioned by the Statutes of the ICRC, the Constitution of the Federation and the Seville Agreement. The latter also recalls that National Societies have a key role to play in upholding and disseminating the Fundamental Principles within their own country.

Although States are not required to respect the Fundamental Principles of the Movement, apart from in the context of the International Conference, the Statutes of the Movement have the obligation to respect at all times the adherence by all the components of the Movement to the Fundamental Principles.

A violation of the Fundamental Principles by a component of the Movement may lead the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent to deal with the issue. If this violation is committed by a National Society, the question of its integrity may be raised.

Links between the Fundamental Principles and policies
The Fundamental Principles are the pivotal point of all Red Cross and Red Crescent thinking and policies. Many policies of the Federation and the Movement derive from or complete the Fundamental Principles. For instance, the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief is largely the concrete expression in the field of relief of the Fundamental Principles; so is the Movement's Policy on Advocacy in another field.

In a number of cases, Fundamental Principles can and should be used to decide which action should be taken by a component of the Movement, at any level. This is the very purpose of principles: to give directions for action when no specific policy or decision applies.

	Fundamental Principles Introduction
	Origin of the principles

	Humanity
	Impartiality
	Neutrality
	Independence
	Voluntary service
	Unity
	Universality

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