ICRC Presidency
In 1975, Hay became a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). A year later on July 1, 1976 he took over as President of the Committee, succeeding Eric Martin. By the end of the year, he shared the presidency with Roger Gallopin, the President of the Assembly Council, before he took over this function.
During his eleven years as president the budget increased from 50 million to 250 million CHF and the number of staff and delegates tripled. This was partially due to the steady increase in the number and duration of armed conflicts.
During his tenure, 250,000 refugees were removed from Cambodia by the Thai government. Increasingly, governments began ignoring their commitments under the Geneva Conventions and others. From 1980 to 1988, chemical weapons were deployed in fighting during the Iran–Iraq War in violation of their commitment under the Geneva Conventions. Hay repeatedly protested against these violation but with no significant result.
Hay was especially concerned with establishing good relations between the ICRC and various Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world.
His successor was Cornelio Sommaruga who took over in 1987, but Hay remained a member of the ICRC until 1989.
Read more about this topic: Alexandre Hay
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