File No. 514.2A2a/90.
The Swiss Minister to the
Secretary of State.
[Translation.]
Legation of Switzerland,
Washington, September 11,
1911.
Mr. Secretary of State: By a note of May 10,
1911, this legation had the honor to bring to your knowledge the
contents of a note of the Imperial Government of Russia to the Legation
of Switzerland at St. Petersburg relative to the conditions on which, in
that Government’s opinion, Turkey should be authorized to use the Red
Crescent for the distinctive mark of the sanitary service of its
armies.
By order of my Government, I have the honor to transmit to your
excellency a copy of the reply returned by the Sublime Porte under date
of July 5, 1911.
It appears from that answer that the Ottoman Government pledges itself
scrupulously to respect the Red Cross emblem, in conformity with the
provisions of the Geneva Convention, and to use the emblem, in time of
peace as well as in time of war, for the sole designation of the
personnel and material placed under the protection of the convention
(points 1 and 2 in the Russian note). As to point 3 which deals with the
prohibition of the use of Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems for
commercial or industrial purposes, the Ottoman Government declares its
readiness to enforce throughout its territory article 27 of the Geneva
Convention, on condition that the other contracting States will
guarantee equal treatment for the Red Crescent name and emblem.
The Federal Council therefore asks the Governments that have signed or
ratified the Geneva Convention of July 6, 1906, to notify it whether
they are in position to extend, within their territories, to the Red
Crescent name and emblem the same protection as is enjoyed, under
article 27 of the convention, by the Red Cross name and emblem.
Another question upon which the Federal Council asks the Governments’
parties to the convention of July 6, 1906, to pass, is the
following:
The adoption of the Red Crescent as a distinctive mark for Turkish
ambulances (field hospitals) implying a modification of the convention,
[Page 737]
is it not proper to have
the said modification accepted by all the States concerned in the shape
of an international instrument signed by their plenipotentiaries?
The Federal Council adds that it would be all the more desirable to
decide this question, as other States—Persia, for instance—might
hereafter ask to be permitted to use other distinctive marks (the lion,
the sun, etc.).
Be pleased to accept, etc.,
[Inclosure.]
The Turkish Minister for
Foreign Affairs to the President of
Switzerland.
[Translation.]
Sublime Porte,
Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, July 5, 1911.
Mr. President: I had the honor to receive
the note which your excellency saw fit to address to me on April 25,
1911, in relation to the Geneva Convention of July 6, 1906.
The developments set forth on this subject by the Imperial Russian
Government to the Legation of the Swiss Confederation at St.
Petersburg have been examined by the Imperial Ottoman
Government.
As regards the first condition, the Imperial Government has already
declared, in the dispatch of my department addressed to the
President of the Swiss Confederation on August 26, 1907, No.
69916–38, that it accedes to the Geneva Convention of July 6, 1906,
with the reservation that in its armies it will use the emblem of
the Red Crescent to protect its ambulances; it also added that it
would scrupulously respect the inviolability of the Red Cross
flag.
It goes without saying that by this declaration it consented to
conform to all the clauses of said convention which prescribe
scrupulous respect for the Red Cross, though adopting the Red
Crescent as far as it was concerned.
As regards the second point I can do no better than to repeat the
terms of article 23 of the aforesaid convention in order to better
determine the mode of employment of the Red Crescent.
Thus, the emblem of the Red Crescent on a white background, as well
as the words Red Crescent, may only be used, in time of peace or
war, to protect or designate the sanitary formations and
establishments and the personnel and materiel protected by this
convention.
As to the third point I am happy to note the good disposition of the
Imperial Russian Government, tending to insure to the Red Crescent,
in the countries participating in the Geneva Convention, the
protection accorded the Red Cross.
My Government is quite disposed to apply in its territory the
provisions of article 27 in so far as reciprocal treatment is
insured the emblem and denomination of the Red Crescent.
In your note No. 189 of July 14, 1910, your excellency informed me
that you had notified the Nations signing or indorsing the Geneva
Convention of the notes exchanged between the Imperial and Royal
Austro-Hungarian Legation, the political department of the Swiss
Confederation, and the Imperial Ottoman Government on the subject of
the protection of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
I should be much obliged to your excellency if you would advise me as
soon as the other Nations aforementioned have answered, so that the
Sublime Porte may be in a position to fulfill its engagements as
stipulated in article 27 mentioned above.
Please accept, Mr. President, the assurance of my very high
regard.
