ATTENTION: DR EXCELLENCE It would be referenced from the rough draft you did.  I need a Persuasive essay in which the writer encourages the reader to give in some way to a worthy cause. This essay mu

International Committee of the Red Cross

Jazmine Pullen

Dr. Kunz

Trident University

Charity or giving is pinned on the concept that we are our brother’s keepers. Charity emanates purely from the heart and a giver in charity expects no reward back. It is an unconditional act which often aims at the prevention or relief from poverty, war and natural calamity. In giving one may also aim to help in the advancement of education or the health care system or provide assistance to orphans or the elders (Ighobor, 2013). There are many organizations that are charitable and are able to run their activities because of giving from several individuals.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is a non-profit organization that comes to mind for any person intending to give for the purpose of helping the victims of armed conflicts across the world. The organization derives its mandate from the Geneva Convention, the protocols of the conventions and the resolution of the International Conference of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. The organization responds to emergencies in armed conflicts and promote respect for humanitarian law important in regulating armed conflict (www.https://www.icrc.org/en)

Because there is no law that prohibits nations from going to war, laws regulating how war should be conducted were formulated during the Geneva Convention and summarized in a document we refer to as the Geneva Convention of 1949 (Forsythe, 1977). Due to the fatal aftermaths or consequences of war, it is always important to help the people who fall victims. While a government can exercise its sovereign powers under public international law to declare war on another government, the government itself is only a legal person but the people who suffer the consequences of the war are the natural persons under the watch of the government.

In relation to armed conflict, and in the quest to help the International Committee of the Red Cross in furthering its objectives, giving can be done in many forms apart from the traditional financial donations. An individual may give by choosing to contribute professionally in the development of the law that regulates armed conflict, an individual may contribute by pushing and teaching compliance of the law of war and an individual may also give donating other material things such as food, shelter, clothing, medical attention and education to the victims of armed conflict and violence.

An individual is considered to have given to the International Committee of the Red Cross by promoting its objective which is to protect the lives and the dignity of victims of armed conflict and violence and to provide them with assistance. An individual can give to this mission by also preventing suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and the universal principles related to humanitarian assistance during armed conflicts (www.https://www.icrc.org/en).

Across the globe, numerous armed conflicts have arisen. The rising number of armed conflicts only translate to the rising number of victims and casualties in the war. From Iraq, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan where innocent civilians have fallen victims to of indiscriminate and non-proportional attacks to the armed rebellion by the Boko Haram in Nigeria who are responsible for capturing and sexually violating young girls, it is evident that International Committee of the Red Cross requires a lot of resources to carry out their humanitarian objectives.

International Committee of the Red Cross has attracted sympathy by getting funding for its objectives from; voluntary contribution of states who are signatories of the Geneva Conventions, regional organizations such as the European Union, charitable trusts and companies and donations from public and private donors who include individuals and sometimes even companies. Yearly the organization appeals for donations to help it cover its objectives which greatly touch on human dignity.

It is a widely appreciated factor that while war creates winners and heroes, it also creates losers and generates suffering on a large scale. According to (Paludan, 2004) the consequences of war are usually grave and may include:

• Armed conflicts that disregards principles of humanity often leads to many casualties civilian and soldiers. An armed conflict usually results in death and injuries and medical attention is always paramount to help save casualties who may, in the absence of medical attention succumb to their injuries and die.

• War always leads to displacement of people from their homes and the disruption of economic activities and as a result, many victims usually doe of hunger because of the lack of food. Sometimes the supply of food is also destroyed in combat and as such, humanitarian organizations step in to five food donations to prevent the victims from dying out of starvation.

• During war and rebellions, women and children often suffer from blatant sexual abuse and as a result get traumatized. Humanitarian assistance is important in rehabilitating the casualties in order to accord them an opportunity of staring life afresh.

• During war, civilian become internally displaced and as a result young children and women sleep in the cold without shelter of proper clothing. Human life is that of dignity and it is the reason why humanitarian organizations always spring into action to alleviate the victims from such distress.

The reasons above only demonstrate the consequences of war that demonstrate why giving in the course of assisting victims of war is important. Giving assistance in war is a special kind of assistance especially because of the fact that victims are usually innocent civilians who are not even direct participants of the war. Innocent civilians always find themselves in a difficult situation where they suffer consequences of military action. Property is usually destroyed and many human life lost (Gupta et al., 2004). It is important, while having the ability to make the condition better, for an individual o give in order to save a war victim.

Many philanthropic donors, whether private individuals, donor organizations, governments or companies are usually apprehensive of the probability of the embezzlement of the funds contributed or a possible misdirection of the contribution money to a different purpose. However, with International Committee of the Red Cross, every fund donated is accounted for and purpose to which it is directed to made clear (Forsythe, 1977). Your donations to International Committee of the Red Cross is safe because:

• International Committee of the Red Cross accounts for each work done and the expenditures in their annual financial and accountability report. A donor is able to review this information that is always made available in the organization’s website annually.

• The organization operates within the precincts of impartiality, neutrality and independence with its mandate being exclusive humanitarian. Donations are used in humanitarian work and a donor is assured that no donations are diverted t serve other purposes.

• International Committee of the Red Cross is an international organizations with a long time reputation of humanitarian works. It is credited with promoting and promoting compliance with humanitarian law and therefore by far, the most trusted humanitarian organization when it comes to alleviating human suffering during armed conflicts.

As noted in the earlier paragraphs above, giving can be accomplished in many other ways apart from financial donations. International Committee of the Red Cross has made giving easier by allowing any form of contribution that is geared towards the attainment of its mission and objectives. Unlike other organizations which are keen only on financial donations, International Committee of the Red Cross encourages an individual to donate in any way one would feel to be promoting the objectives of the organizations.

For International Committee of the Red Cross, giving can be done, according to (www.https://www.icrc.org/en) by offering the following:

• Financial donations by making a regular gift, making single donation by bank transfer or by donating through a cheque or postal transfer. International Committee of the Red Cross prides in the accountability and transparency with which it deal with the funds donated.

• People may also contribute resources directly such as clothing, food and medicine to be used in providing relief to the war victims. Individual may also donate vehicles and choppers for safe mobility and transportation of humanitarian assistance across the world.

• Expert contribution in terms of giving suggestions on the further developing and promoting compliance of humanitarian law is also a contribution recognized by International Committee of the Red Cross.

• Another selfless act of giving to International Committee of the Red Cross includes volunteering to work with them in the delivery of humanitarian assistance across the word to victims of armed conflicts and rebellion.

Giving is a selfless act that is unconditional and is satisfies the giver by inculcating the feeling of righteousness in them. We all have an opportunity of making the world a better place by contributing and assisting people who cannot access the privileges and the comfort that we enjoy (Edmondson et al, 1999) We can make the world warm by putting a smile on the faces of people who are victims of war, the most brutal and blind persecution of human soul. When you give, you get more. The world is a circle, you may give today and the receiver may give your next generation tomorrow. The act of giving is summed in the saying that we are our brothers’ keepers.

Edmondson, V. C., & Carroll, A. B. (1999). Giving back: An examination of the philanthropic motivations, orientations and activities of large black-owned businesses. Journal of Business Ethics, 19(2), 171-179.

Forsythe, D. P. (1977). Humanitarian Politics: The International Committee of the Red Cross. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Gupta, S., Clements, B., Bhattacharya, R., & Chakravarti, S. (2004). Fiscal consequences of armed conflict and terrorism in low-and middle-income countries. European Journal of Political Economy, 20(2), 403-421.

Ighobor, K. (2013). Giving back to society. Africa Renewal, 27(3), 18-19.

Paludan, P. S. (2004). Victims: A True Story of the Civil War. Univ. of Tennessee Press.

www.https://www.icrc.org/en last accessed on August 30, 2018