Blog

Towards a complementary Movement approach to education

April 2022

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.

Counterterrorism & sanctions regimes and their impact on humanitarian action

January 2022

Tags: Terrorism / Counterterrorism

In recent years, in response to terrorist actions and to other threats to international peace and security, international organisations and States have developed increasingly robust counterterrorism measures and sanctions regimes. Their multiplication and breadth have had adverse effects on principled humanitarian action, on a number of occasions impeding the operations of humanitarian actors, including Movement components and their partners.

From Talk to Action: Making Strides on the Women and Leadership Resolution

July 2021

Tags: Gender / Leadership / Women

In December 2019, the entirety of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement came together in support of the Women and Leadership Resolution. The Resolution stresses a deep concern for under-representation of women in governing bodies and senior management positions across all Movement components and in humanitarian organizations in general. GLOW Red (The Global Network of Women Leaders in the RCRC Movement) has taken the lead on reporting on this resolution.

Overall, this blog post acts as a reminder of the Women and Leadership Resolution, and the need for all Movement Partners to be working towards the objectives outlined in the resolution. The blog post highlights two milestones achieved: the establishment of the Women and Leadership Resolution Working Group and the release of the RCRC Movement-wide research piece How Diverse Leadership Shaped Responses to COVID-19 within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Strengthening the resilience of urban communities: Our way forward

June 2021

Tags: Climate change / Disaster risk reduction / Shelter / Urban resilience / Urban risk / Youth

The ongoing pandemic and its long-lasting consequences call for renewed efforts in strengthening urban community resilience. Cities are both hubs of development and innovation and the epicentre of major challenges for vulnerable communities.
How do we improve the effectiveness of humanitarian action in urban areas? What kind of innovation is needed to tackle urban complexity and fragmented communities? Operating in urban settings is not new to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, but we need new ways of working in cities, including wider partnerships, along with advocacy for increased investment in risk reduction, social inclusion and equality for the most vulnerable.

War in Cities: Joining forces to tackle the humanitarian impact

April 2021

Abstract

What do you do when your city suddenly becomes a battleground? Around the world, millions of civilians are caught in the crossfire. As homes and neighborhoods turn into frontlines, many have no other choice but to run for their lives amidst widespread destruction or to shelter in place, often with no place to hide.
We see it all too often. Mosul, Aleppo, Raqqa, Marawi, Gaza, Mogadishu, Donetsk, Tripoli, Sanaa—a long list of cities trapped in the horror of war, each a story of untold civilian fear and suffering almost too vast to imagine. Each battle leaving affected populations displaced and traumatized for years, many with life-long scars and disabilities – visible and invisible.

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