Red crystal to be adopted as new symbol protecting medical staff on the battlefield
By Anton La Guardia Diplomatic Editor
(Filed: 06/12/2005)

The decades-old row over humanitarian symbols is likely to be resolved as early as today, with the "Red Crystal" approved for use alongside the Red Crescent and the Red Cross.

Opening a special conference of the 192 signatories of the Geneva Conventions, the Swiss foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, yesterday expressed confidence that delegates would recognise the diamond-shaped sign.

"The adoption of an additional emblem free of any national, political or religious connotation will put at our disposal an additional instrument for the protection of both civilian and military health services on the field of battle," she told the gathering in Geneva.

She said that the new emblem - a thick red square tilted on its edge - would protect humanitarian workers where the existing symbols "are not sufficiently recognised and respected". The rest