Dispatches from the Field: Tour of the “Humanitarian Trail” in Geneva and Briefing by the Central Tracing Agency of the ICRC
At Switzerland’s invitation, members of the Security Council visited Geneva on 25 and 26 August to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. (For background information, see our 25 August What’s in Blue story.)
The informal visit of Security Council members began on 25 August with a guided tour of the humanitarian trail of the Red Cross in Geneva. The tour provided an exposition of the origins of modern humanitarianism, with a focus on the city’s significant historical role and the contributions of key figures to the field.
The tour started with an introduction to the work of Swiss humanitarian Henry Dunant, whose efforts were instrumental in the establishment of organised humanitarian aid. After witnessing the suffering of wounded soldiers at the Battle of Solferino in 1859, Dunant was inspired to publish a book called “A Memory of Solferino” in 1862. In it, he proposed creating national societies of trained volunteers to care for wounded soldiers during times of war and advocated for an international agreement to protect medical staff and the injured. This publication laid the foundation for the eventual creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The tour further highlighted the contributions of Guillaume Henri Dufour, a Swiss general and co-founder of the ICRC, whose military experience and advocacy for the humane treatment of combatants and civilians during armed conflict played a critical role in shaping the early ethos and operational principles of the organisation.
The group then passed by the Musée Rath (Rath Museum), which was the site of the International Prisoners-of-War Agency during World War I. The guide explained that thousands of volunteers, most of whom were women, established a registry that included seven million index cards tracking the status of prisoners of war. The agency facilitated the exchange of 20 million messages and the distribution of two million parcels, seeking to ensure that prisoners were accounted for and that their families were kept informed.
On the final segment of the tour, Council members visited the Alabama Room in the Geneva Town Hall. The room, named after the Alabama Claims—a series of demands for reparations made by the US against Great Britain following the American Civil War—was the site of the 1872 arbitration meetings, an early and successful example of international arbitration and peaceful conflict resolution. Additionally, the Alabama Room holds significance as the location where the First Geneva Convention was adopted in 1864. The Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field established a legal framework for the protection of wounded soldiers and medical personnel during armed conflicts.
After the tour, Council members attended a briefing in the Alabama Room led by Florence Anselmo, Head of the Central Tracing Agency (CTA) of the ICRC. The CTA’s mission is to prevent disappearances, reconnect and maintain contact between individuals and their families, search for missing persons, uphold the dignity of the deceased, and address the needs of affected families.
The briefing started with a historical overview, during which Anselmo noted that the ICRC established its first tracing agency in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War. Known as the Basel Agency, it functioned as an information and relief bureau for prisoners of war, facilitating the exchange of letters, tracking their status, and providing care for the injured.
The briefing included country-specific examples to illustrate the diverse challenges of addressing missing persons in different contexts. Anselmo referenced Security Council resolution 2474 of 11 June 2019—which focuses on persons reported missing in armed conflict—as a valuable resource for humanitarians. She urged Council members to consistently include provisions on missing persons in relevant resolutions.
Council members expressed their appreciation for the briefing, noting that the discussion was both human and tangible. They asked questions about the impact of technology on the agency’s work, the challenges posed by non-traditional conflicts—such as those involving terrorism—and referenced specific situations, including Gaza. The briefing also covered the increasing issue of disappearances linked to climate change and migration, as well as the financial constraints that hinder the agency’s ability to address these expanding needs.
The second day of the informal visit included a panel discussion titled “75 Years of Geneva Conventions: A Renewed Commitment to Upholding International Humanitarian Law” and sessions addressing ways that science and technology can contribute to conflict prevention. An overview of the second day will also be published in What’s in Blue.
