Bureau international pour la défense des indigènes (BIDI), or International Bureau for the Defense of the Native Races, was an international Swiss organization, founded 1913.

History

BIDI was founded in Geneva by René Claparède, chair of the Swiss League for the Protection of Indigenous People, which was founded give years prior, and three Evangelic philanthropists: Eugene Mercier-Glardon, Louis Ferriere, and Edouard Junod. BIDI had 300 Swiss members at its foundation. It was to function as an international representative of the rights of indigenous people in the contemporary colonies; encourage them to engage in an equivalent of the Red Cross called the Black Cross; and to function as an umbrella organization for other organizations of the rights of indigenous people. During the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, the BIDI was a NGO of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) 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 (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

and collaborated with the Anti-Slavery Society to combat slavery worldwide. Both organizations contributed in the international report 1922–1923, which resulted in the foundation of the

Temporary Slavery Commission The Temporary Slavery Commission (TSC) was a committee of the League of Nations, inaugurated in 1924. It was the first committee of the League of Nations to address the issue of slavery and slave trade, and followed on the Brussels Anti-Slave ...

of the League of Nations.{{Cite book , last=Miers , first=Suzanne , title=Slavery in the Twentieth Century: The Evolution of a Global Problem , year=2003 , publisher=AltaMira Press , page=101

References

Abolitionist organizations Charities based in Switzerland Human rights organisations based in Switzerland International human rights organizations International organisations based in Switzerland Organizations established in 1913 Organizations that combat human trafficking 1913 establishments in Switzerland Contemporary slavery