Episode Details

Doctors who provide care for the war wounded and ICRC delegates who work in areas affected by armed conflict rely on a unique and universally recognized symbol of protection: the distinctive red cross or red crescent emblems. For over 150 years, these have conveyed a simple message: facilities, vehicles, or people displaying the emblem must not be attacked. Today, medical facilities and humanitarian operations use digital technologies to respond to peoples’ needs more efficiently and effectively. This digitalization, however, exposes them to new threats. As armed conflicts digitalize, can digital technology be leveraged to strengthen the protection of medical facilities? Can we incorporate the century old idea that ‘hospitals, ambulances and evacuation parties … shall bear a red cross on a white ground’ into the digital environment? Is it technically possible, and what would be the benefits and risks of doing so? Since 2020, the ICRC has partnered with the Centre for Cyber Trust, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and, more recently, ITMO University St Petersburg and convened a global group of experts to assess the possible solutions, benefits, and risks associated with a ‘digital emblem’. Its new report launched today on ‘Digitalizing the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal Emblems’ presents technological solutions, expert views on the benefits and risks, and possible ways forward. In this post, ICRC Advisers Tilman Rodenhäuser and Mauro Vignati answer five essential questions on the idea of a ‘digital emblem’. Read the full blog post here: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2022/11/03/digital-emblemfive-questions-law-tech-policy/