IRRC No. 19
A Special International Status for Civil Defence Personnel
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Abstract
If the humanitarian conventions accord special guarantees to medical personnel of the armed forces in the interest itself of its mission on behalf of wounded and sick military, why should we, members of civil defence, who carry out similar tasks for civilian victims of hostilities, not benefit as well from a privileged status and especially from a distinctive sign?This is a wish often expressed by representatives of civil defence organizations, particularly when they are of a non-military character. This same question was thoroughly examined by a group of experts convened in June 1961 by the ICRC, and whose task it was to study the position of civil defence organizations in international law