Report on – 33rd IC Resolution 4: Restoring Family Links while respecting privacy, including as it relates to personal data protection (33IC/19/R4) – Swiss Red Cross

Has your State/National Society/Institution incorporated the commitments contained in this resolution into the relevant strategic or operational plans?

The commitments are incorporated into:
Strategy
Policy
Operational plan
Legislation (e.g. Law, Regulation, Statutes, Rules of Procedure etc.)

At the National level

Explanation:

The resolution together with the RFL Strategy were taken into consideration for our internal strategy, policy and operational plan. As it provides also some basics for the access to data and funding of RFL activities, it will hopefully also contribute for the negotiation for a new Red Cross Law in Switzerland (process has just started).

Has your State/National Society/Institution been working with other partners to implement the commitments contained in this resolution?

Partner with:
Government and/or public authorities
Other National Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies

Examples of cooperation:

With the government: Negotiation for better access to data, funding and support to our activities of humanitarian advocacy also in the part of family reunification.
With other National Societies: Regular exchange about the use and impact of the resolution in the sense of inspiration through best practices. Different processes for better application of Geneva Convention for the missing persons and their families has been launched. Also, a process for clarification of a general funding contribution through a Red Cross law was started in 2024 after a parliamentary decision has been taken to cancel basic funding in 2022.

Have you encountered any challenges in implementing the commitments contained in this resolution?

With challenges on:
Human resources
Funding constraints
Lack of capacity and/or support (technical, financial, or other)

Details about challenges:

If you want to use the resolution you also need human resources to start and follow-up on the negotiations. We got support from our Office for Foreign Affairs as they also supported the resolution, but this does not mean that the home departments and the political stakeholders do agree with it. This needs time to implement and especially when it comes to funding questions, it is very complicated.

Have the commitments contained in this resolution had an impact on the work and direction of your State/National Society/Institution?

Type of Impact:
Cooperation between Government/public authorities and National Society has been strengthened
Programming and operations have become more effective and efficient

Details about the impact:

Yes, as we got a central entry point to an important database of our government, we were able to save a lot of time for the search process. We got also a base to argument for other negotiations to different government institutions in the future.

Have the commitments contained in this resolution had an impact on the communities that your State/National Society/Institution serves?

Description of the impact:

Increased answers for beneficiaries who are looking for their missing family members as we got one important direct access to a government database.