The XXIIIrd International Conference of the Red Cross,

recognizing the great significance for the Red Cross of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Protocols additional to these Conventions,

stressing the attachment of the Red Cross to the fundamental principles adopted by the XXth International Conference of the Red Cross (Vienna 1965),

1. confirms the dedication of the Red Cross movement to its fundamental mission of preventing and alleviating human suffering wherever it may be found; protecting life and health and ensuring respect for the human being; and affording impartially, without discrimination as to race, nationality, religious beliefs or political opinions, protection and assistance to those who need it, in the event of armed conflicts and other disasters,

2. emphasizes the extreme importance of the work carried out by National Societies within their medico-social programmes for the prevention of disease and the promotion of health, and in the encouragement of social responsibility and voluntary service among their members,

3. considers that the Red Cross, in respecting its principles and in developing its manifold activities, should play an essential part in disseminating to the population, and especially to youth, the spirit of mutual understanding and friendship among all peoples, and thus promoting lasting peace.