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The Red Crystal emblem approved by the States party to the Geneva Conventions.

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The Red Crystal is the politically and religiously neutral emblem approved by the states party to the Geneva Conventions. This emblem clears a hurdle for the Israeli humanitarian society, the Magen David Adom, to join the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The treaty known as Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the adoption of an additional distinctive emblem (Protocol III) was adopted on 8 December 2005 and authorizes the use of the Red Crystal by national societies. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... It has been suggested that Red Crystal (symbol) be merged into this article or section. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Red_Crystal. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Red_Crystal. ... Image File history File links En-redcrystalflag. ... Image File history File links Sound-icon. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Sound-icon. ... Development of the Geneva Conventions from 1864 to 1949 The Geneva Conventions consist of four treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland that set the standards for international law for humanitarian concerns. ... The Magen David Adom emblem The Magen David Adom is Israels national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. ... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the worlds largest group of humanitarian non-governmental organisations. ...

Rationale

Photo of a flag with the new emblem at the conference that approved it

Because of the controversy over the Magen David Adom (and a number of other disputes), for a number of years the introduction of an additional neutral protection symbol had been under discussion, with the Red Crystal being the most popular choice. Other proposals for additional emblems included those made by Sri Lanka in 1957 and India in 1977, which tried to establish a Red Swastika, and by the national societies of Kazakhstan and Eritrea which involved a combination of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent similar to the combination of both symbols [1] used by the national society of the USSR until its demise. Image File history File links Red-crystal-pic. ... Image File history File links Red-crystal-pic. ... The Magen David Adom emblem The Magen David Adom is Israels national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. ... A right-facing Swastika in decorative Hindu form For the town in Ontario, see Swastika, Ontario. ...

The problem was that adding a new protection symbol alongside those authorized under the Geneva Conventions required the convening of a diplomatic conference of all 192 signatory states. The Swiss government, in its capacity as depositary of the Conventions, organized such a conference, which took place from 5 December to 8 December 2005 and adopted the Red Crystal as an additional emblem having equal status with the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The emblem was voted in on 8 December 2005, with the vote count being 98 in favor, 27 opposed, and 10 abstentions—57 States were absent at the vote. Other than Cuba, North Korea and China, most of the dissent against the use of the Red Crystal symbol came from Arab and Muslim states, which had issues with the entry of the Israeli society [2]. The icon was designated as a "symbol of all nations," and thus one without any specific religious, cultural, or ethnic relevance that could prove divisive.
Development of the Geneva Conventions from 1864 to 1949 The Geneva Conventions consist of four treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland that set the standards for international law for humanitarian concerns. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ) are a large and heterogeneous ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish:Müslüman, Persian:مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ...

Usage

The emblem's official name is the "third Protocol emblem". The rules for the use of this symbol, set out in Protocol III additional to the Geneva Conventions, are the following:

• Within its own national territory, a national society may use any one of the recognized symbols alone, or incorporate any of these symbols or a combination of them into the Red Crystal. Furthermore, a national society may choose to display a previously and effectively used symbol, after officially communicating this symbol to the states party to the Geneva Conventions through Switzerland as the depositary state prior to the adoption of Protocol III.

• For indicative use on foreign territory, a national society which does not use one of the recognized symbols as its emblem must incorporate its unique symbol into the Red Crystal (known in vexillological terms as "defacing the flag"), based on the previously mentioned condition about communicating its unique symbol to the states party to the Geneva Conventions.

• For protective use, only the symbols recognized by the Geneva Conventions may be used. Specifically, those national societies which do not use one of the recognized symbols as their emblem must use the Red Crystal without incorporation of any additional symbol.

Flag of the Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques. ... Defacement is a term used in heraldry and vexillology to refer to the addition of a symbol to a background. ...

Red Crystal emblem variants

The Red Crystal emblem with the Magen David Adom inset Image File history File links Red-magen-david. ... The Magen David Adom emblem The Magen David Adom is Israels national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. ...

The Red Crystal emblem with the Red Lion and Sun inset — still official but might not be used in the future Image File history File links Red-lion-crystal. ... The flag of the Red lion and Sun society The Red Lion and Sun Society was established by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran. ...

The Red Crystal emblem with the Red Crescent inset Image File history File links Red-crescent-crystal. ...

The Red Crystal emblem with the Red Cross inset Image File history File links Red-cross-crystal. ...