[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7691-S7692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  SENATE RESOLUTION 343--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT MOVEMENT SHOULD RECOGNIZE AND 
  ADMIT TO FULL MEMBERSHIP ISRAEL'S MAGEN DAVID ADOM SOCIETY WITH ITS 
 EMBLEM, THE RED SHIELD OF DAVID; TO THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

  Mr. FITZGERALD (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Helms, and 
Mr. Lugar) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 343

       Whereas Israel's Magen David Adom Society has since 1930 
     provided emergency relief to people in many countries in 
     times of need, pain, and suffering, regardless of nationality 
     or religious affiliation;
       Whereas in the past year alone, the Magen David Adom 
     Society has provided invaluable humanitarian services in 
     Kosovo, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, as well as Greece 
     and Turkey in the wake of the earthquakes that devastated 
     these countries;
       Whereas the American Red Cross has recognized the superb 
     and invaluable work done by the Magen David Adom Society and 
     considers the exclusion of the Magen David Adom Society from 
     the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement ``an 
     injustice of the highest order'';
       Whereas the American Red Cross has repeatedly urged that 
     the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement 
     recognize the Magen David Adom Society as a full member, with 
     its emblem;
       Whereas the Magen David Adom Society utilizes the Red 
     Shield of David as its emblem, in similar fashion to the 
     utilization of the Red Cross and Red Crescent by other 
     national societies;
       Whereas the Red Cross and the Red Crescent have been 
     recognized as protective emblems under the Statutes of the 
     International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement;
       Whereas the International Committee of the Red Cross has 
     ignored previous requests from the United States Congress to 
     recognize the Magen David Adom Society;
       Whereas the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red 
     Crescent Movement state that it ``makes no discrimination as 
     to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political 
     opinions,'' and it ``may not take sides in hostilities or 
     engage at any time in controversies of a political, racial, 
     religious or ideological nature'';
       Whereas although similar national organizations of Iraq, 
     North Korea, and Afghanistan are recognized as full members 
     of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the 
     Magen David Adom Society has been denied membership since 
     1949;
       Whereas in the six fiscal years 1994 through 1999, the 
     United States Government provided a total of $631,000,000 to 
     the International Committee of the Red Cross and $82,000,000 
     to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent 
     Societies; and
       Whereas in fiscal year 1999 alone, the United States 
     Government provided $119,500,000 to the International 
     Committee of the Red Cross and $7,300,000 to the 
     International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent 
     Societies: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the International Committee on the Red Cross should 
     immediately recognize the Magen David Adom Society and the 
     Magen David Adom Society should be granted full membership in 
     the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement;
       (2) the International Federation of Red Cross and Red 
     Crescent Societies should grant full membership to the Magen 
     David Adom Society immediately following recognition by the 
     International Committee of the Red Cross of the Magen David 
     Adom Society;
       (3) the Magen David Adom Society should not be required to 
     give up or diminish its use of its emblem as a condition for 
     immediate and full membership in the International Red Cross 
     and Red Crescent Movement; and
       (4) the Red Shield of David should be accorded the same 
     recognition under international law as the Red Cross and the 
     Red Crescent.

  Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. President, today I am introducing a resolution 
expressing the sense of the Senate that the International Red Cross and 
Red Crescent Movement should recognize and admit to full membership 
Israel's Magen David Adom Society with its emblem, the Red Shield of 
David. I thank Senators Lieberman, Hagel, Helms, and Lugar for joining 
me as original cosponsors of this important resolution.
  The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest 
humanitarian network in the world. The Movement has many components, 
including the International Committee of the Red Cross (the ICRC--the 
Swiss-based founding institution of the Movement that serves as a 
neutral intermediary in armed conflict areas) and the International 
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (the Federation, 
which groups together the Movement's 176 recognized national societies 
and coordinates international disaster relief and refugee assistance in 
non-conflict areas).
  The Red Shield of David has been in use and recognized de facto since 
1930 as the distinctive emblem of the medical and first aid services of 
the Jewish population in Palestine and, after 1948, the state of 
Israel. Israel signed the Geneva Conventions in 1949. The new state of 
Israel therefore attempted to have the Red Shield of David recognized 
in the Geneva Conventions as an alternative to the red cross, the red 
crescent, and the red lion and sun. In a secret ballot, however, 
Israel's request was rejected, 22 to 21. The end result was that 
Israel's equivalent of the Red Cross, Magen David Adom (MDA), was 
relegated to non-voting observer status and thereby effectively 
excluded from the Movement.
  In rejecting the Red Shield of David, and excluding Israel's national 
society from the Movement, the 1949 diplomatic convention established 
the principle that only those already using an exceptional sign--that 
is, a non-Red Cross emblem--had the right to continue using it. All new 
national societies would have to adopt the Red Cross. However, the 
admission of 25 new Red Crescent societies since 1949 demonstrates the 
inconsistency with which this principle has been applied.
  Despite MDA's exclusion from the Movement, it has continuously played 
an active role in disaster assistance worldwide, recently helping to 
rescue trapped civilians following the 1999 earthquakes in Turkey and 
Greece. Israeli medical teams were also among the first to assist 
victims of severe flooding in Mozambique this year. ICRC officials have 
praised MDA for its ``life-saving work'' and report they have 
maintained ``excellent working relations'' with the MDA for decades.
  The existing Protocols of the Geneva Conventions provide for two 
different uses of the Movement emblem: ``protective,'' whcih is used 
for protective purposes in armed conflicts and requires the use of a 
single unique emblem, and ``indicative,'' which is used for 
identification purposes in non-conflict circumstances, and therefore 
allows for the existence of several emblems. Currently, negotiations 
are underway to add a possible third Protocol to the Geneva Conventions 
to create a new neutral emblem and allow for MDA recognition with its 
emblem. However, before these negotiations can translate into formal 
recognition, significant procedural hudles must be overcome, including 
super-majority votes of three bodies and ratification by member nations 
that could take years. Meanwhile, the American Red Cross has been 
pursuing other approaches that would allow for the recognition of MDA 
and its emblem without the introduction of a third Protocol.
  The resolution I am introducing today would help facilitate the 
negotiating process by putting the Senate on record in support of MDA 
recognition at a critical time in these negotiations. The House of 
Representatives passed a similar resolution on May 3, 2000. The Senate, 
however, last announced its support of recognition of MDA and its 
emblem over 12 years ago.
  Over the last six years, the United States Government has provided 
the ICRC and the Federation with $713 million. Once again, the United 
States Senate should urge the International Red Cross and Red Crescent 
Movement to recognize the Red Shield of David emblem and admit MDA for 
full membership in the Movement.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution to encourage the 
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to recognize Israel's 
Magen David Adom society and its emblem, the Red Shield of David.

[[Page S7692]]



                          ____________________