The International Civil Defence Organization (ICDO) is an intergovernmental organization with the objective to contribute to the development by States of structures ensuring the protection and assistance of population and safeguarding property and the environment from natural or man-made disasters.[2][3][4]
These structures are generally known as civil protection, civil defence, civil safety, civil defense corps and are all concerned with the management of emergency situations. The ICDO federates the national structures established by States for this purpose with the aim of favoring cooperation and mutual solidarity between them.[5]
The creation of the Association “Les Lieux de Genève”
In 1931, retired Surgeon General Dr. Georges Saint-Paul founded the Association “Les Lieux de Genève” in Paris. It was an association dedicated to the protection of civilians and historic monuments in armed conflict situations.[6] It was a revolutionary idea. Until that time, no one had thought about the collateral damage caused to civilians in armed conflicts. Focusing on the protection of the civilian population was an avant-garde idea. Over time, war would increasingly impact civilian life. Indeed, the International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that as many as 97% of the victims of any armed conflict are civilians.
Frightened by the prospect of future wars and aware of what doctors owe to peace, he campaigned for the Red Cross to cover not only ambulances and hospitals in the future, but also for certain places, demarcated in advance, declared and marked on maps where children, the elderly and women could take refuge from the bombing and gas. Today, these areas are called human corridors.
George Saint-Paul was a French military doctor and researcher. General practitioner, he is the author of a work that is both literary and scientific
Surgeon-General Georges Saint-Paul who by his generous initiative acquired the right to the title of "benefactor of humanity", unfortunately succumbed on 7 April 1937 to angina pectoris at his château de Rassay in Genillé in Indre-et-Loire France. Despite the death of General Saint-Paul, his friends and loyal collaborators continued to fight for his ideas.[7]
In 1946, the mayor of St. Gallen, Mr. Anderegg, a member of the Swiss Federal Parliament, presented a postulate based on the humanitarian work of Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross, and on the actions undertaken at the instigation of the “Les Lieux de Genève”. He asked the Swiss government to examine the problem of the neutralization of cities, areas and regions in the event of war. This was followed by the convening of the Geneva Diplomatic Conference in 1949, where delegates and experts from over 60 countries drew up the new conventions known as the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949.[8]
General Saint-Paul’s idea found some international legal realization in the Convention relating to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the so-called Fourth Geneva Convention.[9]
In 1949, after the signing of the four diplomatic Geneva Conventions, the Lieux de Genève turned their attention to the practical implementation of refuge areas for the protection of non-combatants. It was during this jubilee year, 1951, that Milan Bodi, Deputy Secretary General, was called to succeed Henri George, who died on 6 May 1951, after a short illness, at the age of 77. Mr. Bodi was Secretary General of ICDO from 1951 to 1986. The new Secretary General took over the leadership of the Association in the middle of the Korean War, a war which, just a few months later, highlighted the limits of the implementation of the International Agreements. And this marks the beginning of the second phase of the activity of the «Lieux de Genève» Association. The aim was to study the practical implementation of the evacuation and the advance planning of the places where the evacuees would be housed. In 1951, the Municipality of Lausanne in Switzerland welcomed this practical action and, in collaboration with the Permanent Secretariat of the “Lieux de Genève”, drew up detailed plans for the Organization and construction of a place of refuge for the population of Lausanne. In addition, the Permanent Secretariat continued its work on the Organization of local civil protection services, industrial protection and, among other things, it adapted, in French, a brochure published by the American civil protection administration on protection against atomic weapons.
To this end, an international conference was held in Berlin in 1954 on “The Problem of Protecting Civilian Populations in Time of War through the Creation and Recognition of Neutralized Zones and Open Cities”. This meeting was later to be known in the ICDO chronology as the 1st World Conference on Civil Defence. Following the resolutions adopted by the Berlin congressmen, the International Association proceeded to make many countries aware of the principle of preparing places of refuge in collaboration with national civil protection institutions.[10]
In July 1956, the “Bulletin d'information des Lieux de Genève“ was entitled PROTECTION CIVILE and its editorial heralded the transformation of the Association with the development of national civil Defence Organizations in the various countries.
Following this, the Association des Lieux de Genève profoundly modified its structure at the General Assembly of 10 January 1958, by creating a true International Committee, thus renouncing its title whose local consonance often led to confusion. In the same vein, it extended its tasks beyond the evacuation of civilians to include all protective measures and provided for the involvement of national civil protection bodies, which would be granted rights and duties.
Transition from a Non-Governmental Organization to an International Organization (1958-1972)
In 1966, in Monaco, following the 2nd International Symposium on Radiological Protection, the representatives of the ICDO Member States, meeting in a Constituent Assembly, adopted the text of the present Constitution which gives it the status of an Intergovernmental Organization under the same name. This Constitution is in fact an international Convention binding on the High Contracting Parties and subsequently on each country which, by depositing its instruments of ratification, has acceded to it as a Member State. Subsequently, the Constitution was registered in 1975 at the United Nations Secretariat in New York in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter and published in the United Nations Treaty Series.[11][12][13]
The preamble to the Constitution defines the aims of the Organization and reads as follows: “To intensify and co-ordinate worldwide the development and improvement of the Organization, methods and technical means of preventing and mitigating the consequences of natural disasters in times of peace, or of the use of weapons in times of conflict.” The Constitution effectively came into force on 1 March 1972 at the first General Assembly of its Member States. Subsequently, the ICDO Constitution was registered in 1975 at the United Nations Secretariat in New York in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter and published in the United Nations Treaty Series. Finally, the Agreement signed on 10 March 1976 between the Swiss Federal Council and the ICDO regulated the legal status of the Organization in Switzerland.[14]
In Article 52 the text stipulates that the new Constitution would enter into force when 10 States had become parties to it. So it was not until 1972, at the Organization’s first General Assembly held in Geneva from 1 to 3 March, that it entered into force with the filing of instruments of ratification or accession by the following 22 countries: Argentina, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Finland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Liberia, Monaco, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Republic, Vietnam, Yugoslavia.
In parallel with the legal and statutory development of the Organization and its contribution to the formulation of the new Humanitarian Law, its leaders worked tirelessly to promote techniques and knowledge in prevention, preparedness and response. As part of the promotion of techniques and knowledge, ICDO organized numerous conferences, exhibitions and seminars which have made it a platform for exchange where civil protection professionals from both industrialized and developing countries share knowledge and experience.
At this point, if we summarize the evolution that had taken place over the first 50 years between General Saint-Paul's "Lieux de Genève" and today's International Civil Defence Organization, we can see that the notion of protection of civilians in times of war has been extended to the protection and security of populations in general, thanks to the intensification, coordination and planning, at an international level, of the methods, means and technologies for preventing, combating and alleviating the consequences of all kinds of accidents, disasters and calamities.
International Civil Defence Organization from 1972 to today
Although the Organization has evolved since 1937 in Geneva, a Headquarters Agreement between the Swiss Federal Council and the International Civil Defence Organization, concluded on 10 March 1976 and entered into force on 16 March 1976, regulates its legal status, thus confirming its establishment in Geneva, Switzerland.
In the early years, the offices of the International Committee of the Lieux de Genève were located at 10 avenue Blanc and then moved to the Château Banquet, rue de Lausanne, when the latter was rented in 1939. It is a place with lots of history. Built in 1650, the castle was called Château Rozet. In 1712, the castle was bought by Etienne Banquet, and became Château Banquet. The Château, close to the Palais des Nations, where the LoN was based, was an ideal location for the Association, close to the diplomatic missions based in Geneva at the time. Since 1976, ICDO has established its offices in the Parc Chuit, at 10-12, Chemin de Surville in Petit-Lancy. In order to achieve its objectives, this Organization has put in place a strategy and a mechanism that is consistent on three levels, namely structural, operational and functional.[15]
The General Assembly is the supreme body; it comprises 60 Member States, 16 Observers and 23 Affiliate Members and is headed by a President. It meets at least every 2 years.
The Executive Council, the secular arm of the Organization, is currently made up of 25 members whose mandate is renewable every four years. It is overseen by a president. It meets every year in ordinary sessions and as many times as necessary in extraordinary sessions.
The Permanent Secretariat, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is the backbone of the Organization. Indeed, headed by a Secretary General, this body is responsible for the implementation of the decisions of the General Assembly and the Executive Council.
The International Civil Defence Organization (ICDO) is an intergovernmental Organization whose objective is to contribute to the development by States of structures ensuring the protection and assistance of the population and the safeguarding of property and the environment against natural or man-made disasters, protection of the critical national assets and infrastructure.
Humanitarian assistance
Strategic partners participating in ICDO activities can provide humanitarian assistance to countries in need.[16][17]
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering.
The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1949, and came into force in October 1950. While the first three conventions dealt with combatants, the Fourth Geneva Convention was the first to deal with humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone. There are currently 196 countries party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including this and the other three treaties.
A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force nor a person engaged in hostilities.
An unlawful combatant, illegal combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a person who directly engages in armed conflict in violation of the laws of war and therefore is claimed not to be protected by the Geneva Conventions. The International Committee of the Red Cross points out that the terms "unlawful combatant", "illegal combatant" or "unprivileged combatant/belligerent" are not defined in any international agreements. While the concept of an unlawful combatant is included in the Third Geneva Convention, the phrase itself does not appear in the document. Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention does describe categories under which a person may be entitled to prisoner of war status. There are other international treaties that deny lawful combatant status for mercenaries and children.
The law of war is a component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war and the conduct of hostilities. Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territories, occupation, and other critical terms of law.
The First Geneva Convention, officially the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field, held on 22 August 1864, is the first of four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It defines "the basis on which rest the rules of international law for the protection of the victims of armed conflicts."
The International School of Geneva, commonly known as Ecolint, is a private, non-profit international school based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Under the Geneva Conventions, the emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are to be worn by all medical and humanitarian personnel and also displayed on their vehicles and buildings while they are in an active warzone, and all military forces operating in an active warzone must not attack entities displaying these emblems. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement recognizes four protection emblems, three of which are in use: the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, the Red Lion and Sun, and the Red Crystal.
Human rights are largely respected in Switzerland, one of Europe's oldest democracies. Switzerland is often at or near the top in international rankings of civil liberties and political rights observance. Switzerland places human rights at the core of the nation's value system, as represented in its Federal Constitution. As described in its FDFA's Foreign Policy Strategy 2016-2019, the promotion of peace, mutual respect, equality and non-discrimination are central to the country's foreign relations.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and promoting humanitarian norms.
A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state- the protected power- in a third country where the protected power lacks its own formal diplomatic representation. It is common for protecting powers to be appointed when two countries break off diplomatic relations with each other. The protecting power is responsible for looking after the protected power's diplomatic property and citizens in the hosting state. If diplomatic relations were broken by the outbreak of war, the protecting power will also inquire into the welfare of prisoners of war and look after the interests of civilians in enemy-occupied territory.
Civil conscription is the obligation of civilians to perform mandatory labour for the government. This kind of work has to correspond with the exceptions in international agreements, otherwise it could fall under the category of unfree labour. There are two basic kinds of civil conscriptions. On the one hand, a compulsory service can be ordered on a temporary basis during wartimes and other times of emergency, like severe economic crisis or extraordinary natural events to provide basic services to the population. These include, but are not limited to, medical care, food supplies, defense industry supplies or cleanup efforts, following a severe weather or environmental disaster for the duration of the emergency. Therefore, it generally makes striking illegal for the duration of the civil mobilization. On the other hand, a revolving mandatory service may be required for a longer period of time, for example, to ensure community fire protection or to carry out infrastructure work at a local or community level.
The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term Geneva Convention colloquially denotes the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of the Second World War (1939–1945), which updated the terms of the two 1929 treaties and added two new conventions. The Geneva Conventions extensively define the basic rights of wartime prisoners, civilians and military personnel; establish protections for the wounded and sick; and provide protections for the civilians in and around a war-zone.
Michael Møller is president of the Diplomatic Forum of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator Foundation, principal advisor at Macro Advisory Partners and member of the boards of several foundations, including the Kofi Annan Foundation. He is Honorary President of the Association of Former International Civil Sevants for Development (Greycells). He is a Danish former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and the 12th director-general of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG). He was also the secretary-general of the Conference on Disarmament and the United Nations Secretary-General's personal representative to the conference. He was appointed to these roles by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in November 2013 and was reappointed by Secretary-General António Guterres in February 2017 for another year. Møller has over 40 years of experience as an international civil servant in the United Nations System, serving in different roles in New York, Iran, Mexico, Haiti and Geneva. Prior to his tenure as director-general, he was the executive director of the Kofi Annan Foundation from 2008 to 2011.
The following is a timeline of the history of the municipality of Geneva, Switzerland.
Marguerite "Meggy"Frick-Cramer, born Renée-Marguerite Cramer, was a Swiss legal scholar, historian, and humanitarian activist. She was the first woman to sit on the governing body of an international organization, when she was made a member of the board of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1918.
Civil Protection in Switzerland (CP) is a body organized into 26 cantonal divisions, whose aim is to provide assistance to the population in the event of disasters or other harmful events. It is one of the five pillars of civil protection, alongside the fire department, police, technical services, and health services. The management of these divisions is the responsibility of the cantons.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
France 
