I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. The main purpose of the Bill is to enable, so far as this country is concerned, effect to be given to and advantage taken of certain provisions of the following Geneva Conventions signed on behalf of Ireland on the 19th December, 1949—
(1) Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field;
(2) Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea;
(3) Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War;
(4) Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
The first and third mentioned conventions replace the Geneva Conventions of 1929 regarding respectively the relief of the wounded and sick in armies in the field and the treatment of prisoners of war, and bring them up-to-date to meet modern requirements. The second mentioned convention replaces the Tenth Hague Convention of 1907 for the adaptation to maritime warfare of the principles of the Geneva Red Cross Convention of 1906. The fourth mentioned convention is an entirely new convention.
The Geneva Conventions of 1949 have not yet been ratified. It is considered desirable that, before ratification, the necessary domestic legislation to give effect to the conventions should be enacted. The present Bill is the first of the measures which will be necessary for that purpose.
As the House is aware, the Red Cross Act, 1938, was enacted to give effect to and take advantage of certain provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 1929 and provided for the establishment and incorporation in Ireland of a Red Cross Society. The Irish Red Cross Society was established by an Order made by the Government under that Act.
The Geneva Conventions of 1929 generally referred to "armies" which was a narrow term applying to the armed forces proper. The 1949 Conventions refer to "armed forces" and set out various categories of persons, in addition to armed forces proper, who are entitled to the benefits of the conventions. Persons who accompany the armed forces without actually being members thereof, such as civil members of military aircraft crews, war correspondents and supply contractors are, for example, entitled to the benefits of the 1949 conventions provided they have received authorisation from the armed forces they accompany.
In Section 4 of the Bill, which sets out the primary objects of the Irish Red Cross Society, the expression "armed forces" within the meaning of the 1949 Conventions replaces, therefore, the term "armies" in Section 1 of the 1938 Act. The expression "prisoners of war" in the section has likewise the same extended meaning covering all those who come under the classification of "armed forces". As I have said, the Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war is an entirely new convention. For the purpose of that convention a new primary object, namely, the furnishing of relief to civilians who are protected persons within the meaning of the convention, is added in Section 4 to the primary objects of the Irish Red Cross Society. Protected persons are defined in the convention as covering those who, at a given moment and in any manner whatsoever, find themselves, in the case of a conflict or occupation, in the hands of a party to the conflict or occupying power of which they are not nationals.
Advantage is being taken of the present opportunity to amend the Act of 1938 so as to authorise the Irish Red Cross Society to engage in any activities of a humanitarian character which are considered suitable and to make, at its discretion, charges therefor. It was held in a High Court judgment some years ago that the powers conferred by the 1938 Act did not entitle the society to hire out ambulances. The peace-time activities of the society include the maintenance of an ambulance service for training purposes on the grounds that the most satisfactory and most thorough training in ambulance service work can be obtained only by actually operating such a service for the carriage of patients. The funds and commitments of the Society are such, however, as to preclude it from operating such a service free of charge to the extent which adequate training demands. In a number of countries a charge is made for the use of Red Cross ambulances in peace-time and, in the opinion of the International Red Cross Committee, the hiring of material by a National Red Cross Society would not be in any way incompatible with the Red Cross spirit and the Geneva Conventions. The deficiency in the matter in the 1938 Act is, accordingly, being rectified in Section 5 of the Bill. The reference to a preventorium in the section is intended to remove any possible doubt that the society will have power to continue the great work which it has being carrying on for some years in the Children's Hospitals at Ballyroan, County Dublin, and Montenotte, Cork, for the prevention of tuberculosis.
Any activities of the society under Section 5 which may bring it into competition with private enterprise, will, however, be circumscribed under Section 6 which empowers the Minister for Defence to regulate and control such activities.
It is necessary that the Government should be empowered:—(a) for the purposes of Article 26 of the wounded and sick convention to authorise voluntary aid societies (including the Irish Red Cross Society) to render assistance to the Army Medical Corps; (b) for the purposes of Article 27 of the same convention to consent to a recognised society of this country, when neutral, assisting a belligerent; and (c) for the purposes of Article 24 of the maritime convention commissioning hospital ships which might be used by the society. These matters are provided for in Section 7.
Under Section 4 of the Act of 1938, the emblem of the red cross on a white ground cannot be used for trade or other purposes without the consent of the Minister for Defence. The wounded and sick convention requires that the emblems of the red crescent on a white ground, used by Turkey and other countries, and the red lion and sun on a white ground used by Iran as the emblems and distinctive design of the medical services of their armed forces, should be placed on the same footing as the Red Cross emblem. The prohibition of the use of the emblems of the red crescent and the red lion and sun will not, however, affect any rights acquired through their use prior to the enactment of the present Bill. Section 8 of the Bill covers these requirements.
Section 9 which relates to the use of the Arms of the Swiss Confederation revises the provisions in that respect in the 1938 Act so as to bring them into line with the terms of the wounded and sick convention. The 1938 Act, in pursuance of a reservation by this and other countries to the 1929 Convention, preserved the rights of proprietors of trade marks registered before the 13th June, 1931, and containing the Swiss Arms. The 1949 Convention was not the subject of such a reservation on the part of any country. Section 9, accordingly, repeals the 1938 Act provision in that respect.
That I think fairly well explains the provisions of the Bill and I am sure that Deputies will find little trouble in disposing of the measure. In concluding, however, I would like to pay a tribute to the Irish Red Cross Society which is, in a very real and effective way, carrying on its humanitarian activities in accordance with the high principles and tradition of the International Red Cross.
