Blog

Mental health and psychosocial support: Not a luxury for some, but a right for all

March 2023

Tags: Health – mental health and psychosocial support

In December 2019, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement adopted a set of commitments to address mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) needs. To translate these historic commitments into action, six priority action areas were formulated as part of a roadmap for implementation. Five working groups were established, each focusing on one of the priority action areas aiming to:
1) strengthen the integration of basic psychosocial support across sectors
2) promote MHPSS holistically in line with the Movement’s MHPSS framework
3) protect the well-being of the Movement’s staff and volunteers
4) promote monitoring, evaluation and research
5) undertake advocacy and resource mobilization.
The roadmap extends until the end of 2023, however, there is a resolve for MHPSS to remain on the international agenda in the longer term, and a new MHPSS governance structure has been established to ensure its continuity.

Towards a Movement Strategy on Migration

June 2022

Blog on the Global Migration Leadership Group and COD Resolution Addressing the humanitarian needs of migrants in vulnerable situations and those impacted by migration has been a priority of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent (RCRC) Movement (‘the Movement’) for decades. The commitment and role of the Movement in relation to migration has been […]

Building trust in the Red Cross Red Crescent brand: The case for investing in Movement communications

May 2022

Tags: Communication

A strong communications capacity across the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), from the local to the global level, is crucial if we are to build trust, acceptance and credibility at all levels. To achieve it, we must harness the power of our network and leverage our local presence, but building our brand is not without its challenges in today’s increasingly complex and interconnected world. We are therefore holding a virtual workshop on 19 May as part of the Council of Delegates to explore how we can best invest in communications skills and systems across the Movement, to better support our humanitarian mission.

Strengthening integrity within the Movement

May 2022

Tags: Diversity / Inclusion / NS statutes/legal base

The adoption of the Statement on Integrity by the 2019 Council of Delegates represents an important milestone in confirming the collective commitment of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement) and its components and, as such, was highly welcomed by the participants. The Statement expresses the seriousness with which the Movement takes the issue of integrity and reiterates the crucial importance for each component of the Movement, at an individual as well as well as at an institutional level, to ensure respect for integrity and ethical principles. Since the adoption of the Statement active follow-up work has been undertaken and Movement components continue to engage and seek ways to strengthen integrity and share their experiences and knowledge in the topic.

Towards a complementary Movement approach to education

April 2022

Tags: Children / Education / Youth

Education is a fundamental human right and an essential public service. It also plays an essential role in building safe, healthy, resilient, inclusive and caring societies. But education is easily disrupted during emergencies, and that calls for an effective humanitarian response. Under Resolution 6 of the 2017 Council of Delegates, the Movement committed itself to addressing education-related needs, especially those of people whose access to education is denied, limited or disrupted by such situations as armed conflict, disasters and other emergencies. A pilot project is looking at how Movement components can intensify their efforts and support each other’s efforts in the field of education.

Increased local action: Investing in sustainable and strong National Societies

April 2022

Tags: National Society development / NS statutes/legal base / Organzational development / Partnership / RC RC Movement cooperation

Strong and sustainable National Societies are the key factor for increased local action. Investing in purposeful efforts to transform and adapt to a changing environment while remaining anchored to principled humanitarian action is the challenge of the vast majority of National Societies.
National Societies are the owners of their own development, while the IFRC has the mandate, responsibility and know-how to support their development and their capacity to deliver relevant services and the ICRC has a specific mandate in building capacities with National Societies to prepare for and respond to armed conflict and to preserve and strengthen principled humanitarian action in all contexts. As a Movement, we want to learn from successful experiences how to identify concrete avenues to strengthen the overall sustainability of National Societies, focusing on the auxiliary role, the legal base and financial sustainability, leveraging the coordinated and aligned expertise and support of the Movement components.

Towards a Movement position on autonomous weapons

April 2022

Tags: IHL – national implementation / IHL – strengthening / IHL compliance / IHL dissemination / IHL ratification / IHL violations (repression of) / Nuclear weapons / Weapons

Almost ten years have passed since the Movement first called on states to consider the potential humanitarian impact of autonomous weapons. For the past year, the ICRC has been recommending that states adopt new legally binding rules on autonomous weapons, and momentum towards that goal has been building at the international level. Because of that momentum and especially given how quickly the technologies and practices for using of autonomous weapons are developing, now is the time for the Movement to consider taking collective action to support adoption of such rules. Moreover, a recent workshop co organized by Norcross and the ICRC for the 2022 Council of Delegates indicated that there is broad support for the Movement helping to build, nurture and shape an effective international response to the humanitarian concerns raised by autonomous weapons.

Protection in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement: Building a collaborative, coherent and complementary approach

April 2022

Humanitarian crises are becoming more frequent, severe, complex and protracted. Armed conflicts and other violence, disasters and environmental issues, and health and economic crises are all having an impact on people’s lives, often combining to leave them less resilient. The capacity of the humanitarian sector to prevent crises and to respond to them is being stretched to the limit, and organizations have repeatedly warned that millions of people around the world are at risk of harm and that their needs are not being addressed.
In this short article, we will focus on the response of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement) to these ever-growing concerns, the challenges that it faces and how the work of different Movement members can be strengthened to better protect people from harm and violations of their rights.

What will it take to build an International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement free from racism, xenophobia and discrimination?

March 2022

Tags: Discrimination / Diversity / Fundamental Principles / Inclusion / Racism / Xenophobia

In every society, there are people who experience racism and discrimination. The intersection between these dynamics and humanitarianism presents a complex reality – including within and for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement) – and one that warrants investigation. As members of a global Movement, we cannot ignore the fact that we are the product of our individual contexts and environments, and therefore influenced by different attitudes to racism and discrimination. This article supports the forthcoming Council of Delegates workshop entitled “What will it take to build an International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement free from racism, xenophobia and discrimination?”

Virtual Fundraising Hub 2.0 – A commitment to growth

February 2022

Tags: Data protection / Fundraising / Resource mobilization

In the lead-up to the 2022 meeting of the Council of Delegates, the Virtual Fundraising Hub will host a workshop on reinvigorating Movement fundraising and delivering on the Movement-wide principles for resource mobilization. In 2017, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement set out a bold vision for its fundraising and has since invested significant resources in implementing that vision. Now the Virtual Fundraising Hub aims to develop and evolve, and the Council of Delegates offers an opportunity to revisit our ambitions and recommit to the Movement-wide principles.

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