The International Save the Children Union (french: L’Union Internationale de Secours aux Enfants) was a

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

-based international organisation of children's welfare organisations founded in 1920 by

Eglantyne Jebb Eglantyne Jebb (25 August 1876 – 17 December 1928) was a British social reformer who founded the Save the Children organisation at the end of the First World War to relieve the effects of famine in Austria-Hungary and Germany. She drafted th ...

and her sister

Dorothy Buxton Dorothy Frances Buxton (née Jebb; 3 March 1881 – 8 April 1963) was an English humanitarian, social activist and commentator on Germany. Life Dorothy Frances Jebb was born 3 August 1881 in Ellesmere, Shropshire, the youngest of three sisters bo ...

, who had earlier founded

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

in the UK. The intention was to create 'a powerful international organisation, which would extend its ramifications to the remotest corner of the globe'. The movement was granted the patronage of the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

, and the Council included two prominent members of that body, including its Head of Secretariat, Etienne Clouzot. It brought together organisations from various countries that were initially working to tackle child suffering around Europe after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

In 1923, it agreed, and then lobbied for, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child which was adopted by the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...

in the following year. In 1946, it merged with the International Association for the Promotion of

Child Welfare Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to ...

(founded 1921 in Brussels) to form the International Union for Child Welfare (French: ''Union internationale de protection de l'enfance''). In 1977, a number of Save the Children organisations formed the

International Save the Children Alliance Save the Children International, formerly known as the International Save The Children Alliance, is a worldwide non-profit organization that aims to improve the living of children. There are 30 Save the Children member organizations around the wo ...

to coordinate their international advocacy work. In 1986, the General Council of the International Union for Child Welfare voted to disband the organisation, allegedly for reasons of financial mismanagement.Yves Beigbeder, ''The Role and Status of International Humanitarian Volunteers and Organizations'', Martinus Nijhoff (1991), page 193. Its papers and those of its predecessor bodies were deposited in the archives of the

Canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...

References

{{reflist

External links

La Déclaration de Genève (in french)

Save the Children UK - account of the foundation of International Save the Children UnionArchives of the canton of Geneva (in French)

Save the Children Australian site

Lessons in Leadership
Save the Children