International Federation of the Blue Crystal Movement
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International Federation of the Blue Crystal Movement Fédération Internationale du Mouvement du Cristal-Bleu | |
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 Flag
 Emblem
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| Headquarters | Kalstad, Scovern |
| Type | Intergovernmental organization |
| Membership | Worldwide |
| Leaders | |
• President | tbd |
• Director-General | tbd |
| Establishment | |
• Founded | 5 May 1860 |
Website www.cristal-bleu.int/es | |
The International Federation of the Blue Crystal Movement (Gaullican: Fédération Internationale du Mouvement du Cristal-Bleu; Vestelian: Internasjonale Forbundet av Blå Krystallforeninger) is an international non-governmental humanitarian organization, headquartered in Kalstad, Scovern, which was formed with the goal preventing and alleviating suffering in order to protect human lives and dignity.
The IFBCM was founded primarily by Gustav Simo Hoen and Arthur Kent Søndergaard, two Scoverne citizens who witnessed the suffering of wounded soldiers during the War of the Triple Alliance. Subsequently, Hoen and Søndergaard began to advocate for the creation of national relief societies for wounded soldiers, with their effort culminating in the signing of the original Kalstad Convention and the creation of the IFBCM in 1860. Since then, the IFBCM's purview has been expanded by the demands of war and other humanitarian crises, and by the subsequent 1923 and 1937 Kalstad Conventions and 1937 Conventions' additional protocols.
The International Federation consists of two primary organizations. The first of these, the International Committee of the Blue Crystal, acts primarily to protect the victims of both international and intranational armed conflicts, including sick and wounded soldiers, prisoners of war, refugees, and civilian non-combatants, a task for which it has been given explicit legal mandate in international law. The second, the International League of Blue Crystal Societies, is an organization composed of the various national societies of the Blue Crystal movement, and responds to natural disasters, public health emergencies, and other humanitarian crises and concerns with the aim of improving standards of living and protecting vulnerable persons. All parts of the Blue Crystal movement operate under the principle of universality, vowing to protect individuals regardless of their race, gender, nationality, religion, class, political opinions, or other immutable characteristics.
The IFBCM is one of the most widely recognized organizations in the world and one of the oldest modern intergovernmental organizations, having been formed more than a century and a half ago. It has been highly praised for its decades of work in providing humanitarian aid, alleviating humanitarian crises, and encouraging widespread adherence to international law, but its reliance on confidential negotiations with state actors to ensure access to vulnerable populations and its unwillingness to apply public pressure have seen it criticized for allegedly valuing neutrality over efficacy.