HISTORY OF COAT OF ARMS

Red Cross emblem

Before the Symbol of the Red Cross symbol was adopted as a neutral to provide relief to the wounded soldiers on the battlefield, at the time of each military medical services have their own identification with different colors. Austria for example, using the white flag. France uses red flags and Spanish using a yellow flag. As a result, even though the army knew what a badge of their medical personnel, but usually they do not know what a badge of their opponents medical personnel.

Medical services were not regarded as a neutral party. But viewed as part of the army units, so that identification is not providing protection but also regarded as a target for opponents who do not know the soldiers what it means. 

Gradually the idea emerged that led to the importance of adopting Coat that offers a neutral status to those who helped victims of injury and also ensure the protection of those who helped on the battlefield.

These interests requires choosing only one symbol. But the problem then, is to decide the form of symbol that will be used by volunteer medical personnel on the battlefield. In a period of time, a white armband to be considered as one possibility. However, the white color has been used in armed conflict by carrying a white flag marks a truce, especially to declare surrender. The use of white can cause confusion so we have to find a possibility of another symbol.

A delegation from the International Conference in 1863 finally chose the Red Cross Symbol on a white ground, the color reverse of the Swiss national flag (white cross on a red base) as a form of respect for the State of Switzerland that facilitates ongoing International Conference at that time. Forms of the Red Cross also has technical advantages as it is considered to have a simple design that is easily recognizable and easy to manufacture. Later in the year 1863, the International Conference met in Geneva and agreed to adopt the Red Cross Symbol on a white ground as a sign of relief association identifier for wounded soldiers - who later became the National Societies of the Red Cross. In 1864, the Red Cross Symbol on a white ground was officially recognized as a badge of the armed forces medical services.

Red Crescent emblem

A delegation from the Conference in 1863 did not have the slightest intention to display a symbol of certain interests, by adopting the Red Cross on a white ground. However, in 1876 when the war-torn Balkans, a number of humanitarian workers who were captured by the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) was murdered simply because they wore armbands with the image of the Red Cross. When the Kingdom requested clarification on this matter, they stress about the sensitivity of the royal army against the cross-shaped symbol and have proposed that the National Society and the military medical services they are allowed to use a different symbol of the Red Crescent. This idea is slowly beginning to receive and obtain such approval in the form of "reservation" and at the International Conference 1929 was officially adopted as a symbol that is recognized in the Convention, together with Coat of Red Lion and Sun on a white background which was chosen by the Persians ( now Iran). In 1980, the Republic of Iran decided to stop using the symbol and chose to use the Red Crescent symbol.

Coat Trend: The Red Crystal

At the International Conference of the 29th year in 2006, an important decision that was born, namely the adoption of the Red Crystal symbol as Symbol of the Movement and the fourth has the same status as any other symbol of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. International Conference endorsed the Red Crystal symbol, adopted the Additional Protocol III of the addition of the Red Crystal symbol for the Movement, which was approved earlier in the Diplomatic Conference in 2005. The proposal makes the fourth symbol, namely the Red Crystal, is expected to be the answer, when the symbol of the Red Cross and Red Crescent can not be used and 'entry' into a regional conflict. Inevitably, we need to realize that there are still a lot of parties other than the Movement who thought that the symbol associated with the symbols of certain interests. 

Use the Red Crystal symbol itself in the end have two options, namely: can be used in full by a National Society, in the sense of replacing the Red Cross Symbol or Red Crescent which had been used before, or use the Red Crystal symbol in a certain time only when no other symbol can be acceptable in an area. That is, both National Societies, the ICRC and the Federation was able to use the Red Crystal symbol in a humanitarian operation without changing the policy change Coat completely.