Chapter

Jean Pictet and the National Societies

Henrik Beer

Etudes et essais sur le droit international humanitaire et sur les principes de la Croix-Rouge : en l'honneur de Jean Pictet = Studies and essays on international humanitarian law and Red Cross principles : in honour of Jean Pictet

Genève : CICR ; La Haye : Nijhoff, 1984

p. 855-859

English

Focusing on Jean Pictet the man rather than on his significant influence on International Humanitarian Law (IHL), the author paints a portrait of an individual embodying the ideals of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Beginning with Pictet’s involvement in the development of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the author picks out Pictet’s ability to translate high-minded concepts into intelligible plans of action for the National Societies of the Red Cross, making this translation effort a major focus of the ICRC moving forward. While providing the reader with charming anecdotes of Pictet throughout his career with the ICRC – laughing at the oversized white cowboy hat he received at the 1952 Red Cross Conference in Toronto, for instance – the author argues that the ICRC’s focus must remain on the IHL principle of humanity, attempting to prevent and diminish the consequences of suffering as a result of armed conflict. To stray from that goal, in the author’s mind, would be to defeat Pictet’s legacy. [Summary by students at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (IHRP)]

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• Etudes et essais sur le droit international humanitaire et sur les principes de la Croix-Rouge : en l'honneur de Jean Pictet = Studies and essays on international humanitarian law and Red Cross principles : in honour of Jean Pictet / Christophe Swina