Established in 1927 by the amalgamation of the Friends Foreign Mission Association (FFMA) and the Friends Council for International Service (CIS), the Friends Service Council (FSC) is the standing committee responsible for the overseas work of the Religious Society of Friends in Great Britain (London Yearly Meeting) and in Ireland (Ireland Yearly Meeting, formerly Dublin…

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) was founded in 1917 by members of the Religious Society of Friends in the United States in order to provide young Quakers and other conscientious objectors to war with an opportunity to perform a service of love in wartime. In the ensuing years, the Committee has continued to serve…

Since the Red Cross has figured four times in the award of the Nobel Peace Prize (, 1944, and ), as well as in the award to (1901), and has therefore been made the subject of various presentation speeches and Nobel lectures which give details of its inception, history, and activities, the following brief summary…

Since the Red Cross has figured four times in the award of the Nobel Peace Prize (1917, , and ), as well as in the award to (1901), and has therefore been made the subject of various presentation speeches and Nobel lectures which give details of its inception, history, and activities, the following brief summary…

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) was founded as a result of the third Universal Peace Congress in Rome, 1891, with one of its principal founders and its first president. Established at Bern as the central office and executive organ of the International Union of Peace Societies «to coordinate the activities of the various peace societies…

Established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946 and originally known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the UN Children’s Fund has employed three approaches in discharging its mandate.* For the postwar period 1946 to 1950, the “emergency needs approach” meant swift action to meet the food, clothing, and…

The United Nations Peacekeeping Forces are employed by the World Organization to maintain or re-establish peace in an area of armed conflict. The UN may engage in conflicts between states as well as in struggles within states. The UN acts as an impartial third party in order to prepare the ground for a settlement of…

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international humanitarian aid organisation that provides emergency medical assistance to populations in danger in nearly 70 countries. In countries where health structures are insufficient or even non-existent, MSF collaborates with authorities such as the Ministry of Health to provide assistance. MSF works in rehabilitation of hospitals and dispensaries, vaccination…

The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) is a federation of national groups dedicated to mobilizing the influence of the medical profession against the threat of nuclear weapons. Currently, there are IPPNW affiliated groups in 40 nations with several groups in the process of formation, representing a total of more than 145,000…

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was originally established by the General Assembly of the United Nations for a three-year period from January 1, 1951, to December 31, 1953, but it has since been voted successive five-year extensions through 1958, 1963, 1968, and 1973. Within the framework of the United…