Delegates to an international conference have accepted a new Red Cross emblem, paving the way for Israel to join the humanitarian movement after nearly six decades of exclusion, officials said yesterday.
The 192 signatories to the 1949 Geneva Conventions approved the new diamond-shaped "red crystal" emblem by a rare vote after last-ditch negotiations between Israel and Syria over Damascus' demands for humanitarian access to Syrian citizens in the Golan Heights broke down.
The Red Star of David of the Israeli relief agency Magen David Adom (MDA) can now be placed inside the new emblem during combat in place of the red cross or Muslim red crescent.
"I can inform you that the protocol has just been adopted," said Didier Pfirter, a Swiss diplomat who has been coordinating global efforts to muster support for the new emblem.
"It has not been possible to adopt the protocol by consensus, but it has been adopted by a clear majority," he said.
Switzerland, the depositary state for the conventions, had been pressing for a consensus, saying it was more in keeping with humanitarian activity.
But it could not overcome differences, particularly between Islamic states and other members, surrounding the running of emergency services in the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 war, along with the occupied territories.
"The most important thing is the result. Tomorrow, nobody will remember the numbers, the votes. Everybody will have the third protocol and more protection," said Noam Yifrach, president of Israel's MDA relief service.
The Swiss called the conference to approve a new protocol to the conventions to include a third emblem alongside the movement's Red Cross and the Red Crescent symbols.
The vote was 98 in favor, 27 against, with 10 abstentions.
"Unfortunately, it is the first time in the history of international human-rights law that an international convention of this importance has been put to a vote. It is a real pity," Syrian ambassador Bashar Jaafari said.
The way to an accord appeared to have been cleared late last month when the MDA and the Palestinian Red Crescent reached a deal making the Palestinians the internationally recognized emergency service within the occupied territories.
Arab states insisted the question of responsibility for the occupied territories had to be resolved before they would consider creating a new emblem custom-made for Israel.
Syria wanted similar treatment for the Golan Heights but diplomats said there was no chance of such a pact being hammered out in Geneva -- not least because Israel does not regard the Golan to be under occupation.
The decision means Israel will now have an emblem that is recognized internationally -- the one condition it could not previously meet for membership of the movement.
But it still needs the movement's various national societies to also approve the step in a conference expected next spring.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from