The role of the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society cannot be underestimated; the institution is a model in the country, according to Herbert George Williams, Mayor of Freetown.

He made the statement on Wednesday when delivering his keynote address during the observance of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the battle of Solferino which spurred the founding of the Red Cross movement. He said the indictment of some military personnel after the country’s decade long war for various was crimes was a clear manifestation of the lack of knowledge of International Humanitarian Law within the armed forces. He said the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society had been working with the country’s military to educate servicemen on the laws of armed conflict. Mr. George-Williams observed that the society’s auxiliary role to the government over the years had also been very crucial. The Freetown mayor however appealed to the general public, to help promote the ideals of the Red Cross movement in the country.