The Red Cross Emblem

The red cross – five, red, equal-sized squares forming a cross, resting on a white background, is among the most recognized and trusted symbols in the world. It is also, however, one of the most poorly understood. What does it really mean?

Origin of the Emblem

The International Red Cros and Red Crescent Movement was born on a battlefield in 1859, in Solferino, Italy. Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman, witnessed the aftermath of a grim battle that left 40,000 dead and wounded with few military or local medical services to help them. Horrified by what he saw, Dunant organized local villagers to care for the casualties. He ensured that victims from both sides of the conflict received water, food, and rudimentary medical attention and wrote down messages – sometimes the last words of those injured – to send to their families. The impact of this experience changed Dunant’s life and was the birth of what is today the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and its humanitarian activities.

Several years later, in 1863, Dunant and four other Swiss citizens organized an international conference which included delegates from fourteen countries. In addition to adopting resolutions providing for the establishment of relief societies in each country to support wounded soldiers – what would later be known as the National Red Cross and later, Red Crescent Societies – the Conference delegates also adopted the red cross on a white background as a distinct symbol to identify medical personnel and their facilities.

Other Emblems

The Red Crescent (adopted in 1906) and the red crystal (adopted at a Diplomatic Conference in 2005) are equivalent symbols to the Red Cross and have the same legal status and protection under international and domestic law. A National Society can use one of the three emblems to indicate their identity and association to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Purpose

Today, the  emblems continue to be internationally recognized symbols of protection and neutrality used to identify military medical or religious services as well as the people, programs and objects connected with the humanitarian activities of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is comprised of 192 National Societies of which the Tonga Red Cross Society is one, as well as The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cross Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Who Can Use the Emblems?

The 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, national laws in all countries and internal regulations of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement all reinforce that the emblems can only be used by permission, for humanitarian purposes.

Tonga is no different. The organizations authorized by law to use the Red Cross emblem in Tonga are the medical and religious services of His Majesty’s Armed Forces and the Tonga Red Cross Society.

In Tonga, the Tonga Red Cross Society (TRCS) uses the following logo on its staff/volunteer work wear, vehicles, to mark its buildings, on all productions and social media sites/website to indicate an association with the TRCS and to the broader International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Because the red cross is so unique and important, its use, even by the Tonga Red Cross Society, is strictly regulated.

Tonga has an Act of Parliament, the Tonga Red Cross ACT 1972, regulating the use of the red cross.

It states that the TRCS “shall use its distinctive logo and seal consisting of the heraldic sign of the red cross on a white background accompanied by the words ‘Tonga Red Cross Society’ or its abbreviated designation.”

The same Act confers upon TRCS the duty to help monitor and prevent misuse of the red cross and the other distinctive emblems in Tonga.

The other two components of the International Red Cross Movement use the following logos worldwide.

What is Red Cross Emblem Misuse?

Misuse includes any unauthorized appearance of a red cross on a white background, including any symbol so closely resembling a red cross that it could easily be mistaken for one.

Typical misuse includes use by hospitals, medical clinics, ambulances, pharmacies, and veterinarians. Such misuse reflects the credibility and positive associations of the brand, but it undermines the respect for the emblems of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and may cause brand confusion. In a situation of large-scale disaster response, unrest, or even armed conflict, this confusion can jeopardize those authorized to provide humanitarian services as well as those receiving assistance and protection.

As the emblems are protected by the Geneva Conventions, third parties are in fact breaking international and, most often, domestic laws by displaying them. Often, a conversation or simple letter written either by the government or the National Society to the person or business in question, bringing the matter to their attention and asking them to discontinue using the emblem, is all that is needed.

If you see what you suspect to be a misuse of the emblem, please email us the details at communications@tongaredcross.to and we will follow up.

Why is it important to protect the use of the emblem?

Every day, Red Cross personnel work in regions of armed conflict, disasters and health emergencies. Their ability to safely carry out their humanitarian missions and protect those in their care depends on universal acceptance of the emblem as a sign of red cross neutrality, impartiality and protection. Unauthorized use of the emblem contributes to confusion over what it represents and can put lives at risk.