Date: 1999-10-26
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. In 1949. the Geneva Conventions were formally adopted which set the rules for safeguarding members of the armed forces who are wounded. sick. shipwrecked. prisoners of war .and civilian workers of the military. At the same time. the dream of Henry Dunant was realized. Henry was the founder of the Red Cross movement. and in 1859 he originally proposed the establishment of a civilian volunteer relief corps to care for the wounded. It wasin 1949. nearly 100 years later. that the Geneva Conventions were formally ratified. In the old days. they did not take prisoners. They killed them. As it evolved through the years. beginning in 1859 when Henry Dunant started the program. we began to be more humane in our treatment of war. So in 1949. nearly 100 years later. the Geneva Conventions were formally ratified. and the Red Cross was recognized as the worlds humanitarian organization. Through his vision and determination. an organization was built that has educated. protected. given hope. provided comfort and relief to millions of people all over the world. Today virtually every country in the world is part of the Geneva Conventions. It was because of Mr. Dunant and these conventions that I and my family had hope during my 7 years of captivity as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. After I was shot down over Vietnam. a Vietnamese officer came up to me with a Red- Cross on his lapel and said I could write a letter. Seeing the cross. I assumed he was working for the Red Cross and was visiting me to ensure that I would be treated humanely as the Geneva Conventions dictated. As Members know. our wars with both Korea and Vietnam. those two countries did not formally adopt the Geneva Conventions. They signed them but they did not adhere to them. After we spoke. he asked me if I wanted to write a letter. I wrote the letter and later learned it wasnever sent. I found out later that in Communist countries. there are not many left nowadays. the military runs the Red Cross and they do it the way they want to and not the way a humanitarian Red Cross that we know our Red Cross in America by and in other nations. the international one. does. They are not -volunteers with humanitarian goals in mind. Later on during my captivity. a real Red Cross representative finally visited me and some of my letters made it home. through the Red Cross. and my family was able to send some that way as well. Thoseletters were some of the only comfort my family and friends here in America received during my nearly 7 years in captivity. and they were possible because the American Red Cross was there to make sure that the Geneva Conventions were followed. I tell that story simply to illustrate the power and respect that the symbol of the -Red Cross holds throughout the world. The Red. Cross and its affiliates are the organizations that are there in time of need. whether it be to ensure the human rights of political prisoners or to help reconstruct the homes and lives of victims of national disasters. The Red Cross is always there. In my case they were there to uphold the most powerful of human rights treaties. the: Geneva Conventions. That is why. today I congratulate and say "thank.you" to the Red Cross. the American Red Cross and the International Red Cross on the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. I know that my family and I are very grateful to the Red Cross. to the volunteers who selflessly continue to serve so that human dignity is not compromised and human suffering is eliminated. I congratulate the Red Cross and the international movement. and again commemorate the anniversary of these important international treaties.