Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent
Red Cross and Red Crescent Flags.jpg
Formation1928
TypeDeliberative body
Legal statusActive
HeadquartersGeneva, Switzerland
FieldsHumanitarianism
Chair
Mercedes Babé
Websitewww.standcom.ch

The Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent is the permanent statutory body of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the highest deliberative body of the Movement between the meetings of the and the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. It was originally set up to coordinate cooperation between the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (previously known as the League of Red Cross Societies).

It consists of two representatives from the ICRC (including its president), two from the IFRC (including its president), and five individuals who are elected by the International Conference.[1] There is also a permanent administrative Secretariat currently located at the ICRC Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. There have been 65 previous elected members of the Standing Commission, in addition to the 5 members who are currently serving. The Standing Commission is also responsible for giving out the Henry Dunant Medal (the Movement's highest award) and the Red Cross Red Crescent Prize for Peace and Humanity.

History[]

The Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent is the permanent statutory body of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the highest deliberative body of the Movement between the meetings of the Council of Delegates and the International Conference, as well as the trustee of the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.[2] It was created during the 13th Red Cross Conference in The Hague, the Netherlands in 1928, under Article 18, resolution X.[3] It was set up, in part, to be a connecting force between the International Committee of the Red Cross and the League (today the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies), as there had been some disputes over how the Movement should be run and what level of autonomy the League should have. After years of disagreement, who was Vice-Chairman of the League and Max Huber of the ICRC drafted a plan that formed the basis for the adoption of the “Statutes of the International Red Cross” in 1928. This resulted in the League being recognised as a full component of the Movement and helped build institutional stability and effectiveness. In order to help with this cooperation a new International Council was approved- which was the direct predecessor of the Standing Commission.[4] Since then, the Standing Commission has been making arrangements for the International Conference (held every four years) such as setting the place and date, establishing the programme, preparing the provisional agenda for submission to the Council of Delegates as well as promoting the Conference, encouraging members of the Conference to make pledges and securing optimum attendance. It has also encouraged implementation of resolutions, examined issues of concern for the Movement and worked to promote cooperation and coordination within the different branches of the Movement.[2]

Role and Mandate[]

The Standing Commission's main role is to act as the trustee of the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The International Conference is the highest institutional body of the Movement and every four years members from the ICRC, IFRC, the National Societies as well as states and other relevant international actors meet to discuss humanitarian matters. In between the Conferences, the Standing Commission acts as the supreme body and is mandated to provide strategic guidance to all the components of the Movement, along with supervising the implementation of and compliance with the resolutions made during the International Conference.[5] Its functions and goals are defined in article 18 of the Statutes of the Movement and have been further developed in the (CoD) and International Conference resolutions.[6]

In addition to its responsibilities regarding arrangements for International Conferences and meetings of the Council, the Standing Commission is responsible for

  • cooperation and coordination within the Movement;
  • making sure the resolutions from the International Conference are being implemented and followed.

Another purpose (in consultation with the ICRC, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and National Societies) is to provide strategic guidance in matters which concern the Movement as a whole. It prepares Movement-wide policies such as the Strategy for the Movement, which aims at coordination and cohesion in action.[7] It is the only body in the Movement where all components are represented and which meets regularly on a permanent basis. For the implementation of its decisions, the Commission relies on the ICRC, the International Federation, and the National Societies as components of the Movement. In preparing Councils of Delegates and International Conferences, the Commission focuses on the inclusion of and consultation with National Societies, in order to try to stay in touch with local needs and with external developments.[8] The Standing Commission was also instrumental in bringing the Seville Agreement to the Council of Delegates for adoption to better regulate more cooperation between different components of the Movement. The Standing Commission convenes at least twice a year.

Membership[]

The Standing Commission has nine members, five elected from national societies but serving in a personal capacity; two from the International Committee of the Red Cross (one of whom serves as President); and two from the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).[1] There is also a permanent administrative Secretariat located at the ICRC Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.[9]

Previous and current elected members of the Standing Commission

Number Name National Society Gender Period
1 Pierre Nolf Belgian Red Cross Male 1930-34
2 Japanese Red Cross Male 1930-38
3 British Red Cross Female 1930-34
4 Torolf Prytz Norwegian Red Cross Male 1930-34
5 Male 1930-34
6 Male 1934-38
7 Male 1934-38
8 Brazilian Red Cross Male 1934-38
9 Sir Arthur Stanley British Red Cross Male 1934-46
10 Swedish Red Cross Male 1938-48
11 Thai Red Cross Male 1938-48
12 Male 1938-48
13 Italian Red Cross Male 1938-48
14 Count Folke Bernadotte Swedish Red Cross Male 1946-48
15 French Red Cross Male 1948-65
16 Brazilian Red Cross Male 1948-65
17 Ali Rana Tarhan Turkish Red Crescent Male 1948-52
18 Swedish Red Cross Male 1949-51
19 Lord Woolton British Red Cross Male 1952-57
20 Male 1952-57
21 American Red Cross Male 1951-57
22 Rajkumari Amrit Kaur Indian Red Cross Female 1952-57
23 American Red Cross Male 1957-65
24 Male 1957-73
25 British Red Cross Female 1965-73
26 American Red Cross Male 1965-73
27 Austrian Red Cross Male 1965-69
28 Australian Red Cross Male 1965-77
29 Male 1969-73
30 Female 1973-77
31 Canadian Red Cross Male 1973-77
32 Lebanese Red Cross Female 1973-77
33 Sir Evelyn Shuckburgh British Red Cross Male 1973-81
34 Finnish Red Cross Male 1977-86
35 Male 1977-81
36 German Red Cross Male 1977-81
37 Senegalese Red Cross Male 1977-81
38 Canadian Red Cross Male 1981-86
39 Indonesian Red Cross Male 1981-95
40 Male 1981-95
41 Zimbabwe Red Cross Male 1986-99
42 German Red Cross Male 1986-95
43 Brazilian Red Cross Female 1986-95
44 Red Cross of Benin Female 1993-95
45 Colombian Red Cross Male 1995-99
46 Swedish Red Cross Female 1995-03
47 Princess Margriet Netherlands Red Cross Female 1995-03
48 Tadateru Konoe Japanese Red Cross Male 1995-03
49 Lebanese Red Cross Male 1998-99
50 Male 1999-99
51 Saudi Red Crescent Authority Male 1999-03
52 Male 2003-07
53 Canadian Red Cross Female 2003-07
54 French Red Cross Male 2003-07
55 Female 2003-07
56 Mali Red Cross Male 2007-11
57 Male 2007-11
58 Australian Red Cross Male 2011-2019
59 Steven E. Carr American Red Cross Male 2007-2015
60 Male 1999-2015
61 Italian Red Cross Male 2007-2019
62 Finnish Red Cross Male 2011-2015
63 Swedish Red Cross Female 2015-2017
64 Male 2015-2019
65 Canadian Red Cross Society Male 2015-
66 Ibrahim Osman Male 2017-2019
67 Female 2019-
68 Abbas Gullet Kenya Red Cross Society Male 2019-
69 Kuwait Red Crescent Society Male 2019-
70 Female 2019-

[9]

The Henry Dunant Medal[]

Main article: Henry Dunant Medal

The Henry Dunant Medal is the highest award of the Red Cross Movement and is presented and awarded by the Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The Standing Commission makes up to five awards every two years.[10] The medal is awarded in order to “recognise and reward outstanding services and acts of great devotion, mainly of international significance, to the cause of the Red Cross/Red Crescent by any of its members.”[10] Special weight is put on the international significance of a potential recipient's acts or service. The medal was first given in 1969 and 149 individuals have received the award since then.[11]

Table of previous Henry Dunant medal winners

Number Name Nationality Gender Year
1 Dr Czechoslovakia Male 1969
2 Dr Serbia Male 1969
3 Robert Carlson Sweden Male 1969
4 Switzerland Male 1969
5 Japan Female 1971
6 André François-Poncet France Male 1971
7 Hungary Female 1971
8 John McAulay Canada Male 1971
9 Dr Croatia Male 1971
10 Prof Russia Male 1975
11 United Kingdom Female 1975
12 Switzerland Male 1975
13 Mexico Male 1975
14 Poland Female 1975
15 Duke of Hernani Spain Male 1977
16 France Female 1977
17 Myanmar Male 1977
18 Germany Female 1977
19 Sir Australia Male 1979
20 Switzerland Male 1979
21 Switzerland Male 1979
22 Zimbabwe Male 1979
23 George Aitken Canada Male 1979
24 Nicaragua Male 1979
25 Switzerland Male 1979
26 Nicaragua Male 1979
27 Leslie Barry Ireland Female 1979
28 Netherlands Female 1979
29 Croatia Female 1981
30 Nicaragua Male 1981
31 Switzerland Male 1981
32 Lebanon Female 1981
33 OMR Prof Dr Germany Male 1983
34 Dr Saudi Arabia Male 1983
35 Dr Indonesia Male 1983
36 Chile Male 1983
37 Denmark Male 1983
38 United States Male 1983
39 Germany Male 1983
40 Serbia Female 1985
41 Brazil Male 1985
42 Switzerland Female 1987
43 Dr Germany Male 1987
44 Dr Finland Male 1987
45 HRH Liechtenstein Female 1987
46 Hon Justice Nigeria Male 1987
47 Enrique de la Mata Spain Male 1987
48 Cuba Male 1987
49 Male 1987
50 Prof Czechoslovakia Male 1989
51 Dr Tunisia Male 1989
52 George Elsey United States Male 1989
53 Australia Male 1989
54 Uganda Male 1989
55 Prof Dr Thailand Male 1989
56 Syria Female 1991
57 Netherlands Male 1991
58 Dr Hungary Male 1991
59 Alexandre Hay Switzerland Male 1991
60 Dr Paraguay Male 1991
61 Afghanistan Male 1991
62 New Zealand Male 1991
63 Philippines Male 1991
64 Switzerland Male 1991
65 Switzerland Male 1991
66 Lebanon Male 1991
67 Afghanistan Male 1991
68 Switzerland Female 1993
69 Jock Sutherland New Zealand Male 1993
70 Dr Venezuela Male 1993
71 HE Dr Jordan Male 1993
72 Pakistan Male 1993
73 United Kingdom Male 1993
74 Switzerland Male 1993
75 Iceland Male 1993
76 Switzerland Male 1993
77 Switzerland Male 1993
78 Afghanistan Male 1993
79 Belgium Male 1993
80 Chile Female 1993
81 Sierra Leone Female 1993
82 Malaysia Male 1995
83 Dr Botho Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein Germany Male 1995
84 Dr Cuba Male 1995
85 Dr Ecuador Male 1995
86 Prof Hans Haug Switzerland Male 1995
87 France Female 1995
88 New Zealand Female 1997
89 Dr Libya Male 1997
90 Uganda Male 1997
91 Uganda Male 1997
92 DRC Male 1997
93 DRC Male 1997
94 Switzerland Male 1997
95 Chin Chun Cambodia Male 1997
96 DRC Male 1997
97 DRC Male 1997
98 DRC Male 1997
99 Italy Male 1997
100 Netherlands Male 1997
101 Angola Male 1997
102 DRC Male 1997
103 Italy Male 1997
104 Uganda Male 1997
105 DRC Female 1997
106 Reto Neuenschwander Switzerland Male 1997
107 Véronique Ahouanmenou Benin Female 1997
108 Fernanda Calado Spain Female 1997
109 Norway Female 1997
110 Norway Female 1997
111 Nancy Malloy Canada Female 1997
112 Germany Female 1999
113 Dr Colombia Male 1999
114 Zimbabwe Male 1999
115 Canada Male 1999
116 Cambodia Female 2001
117 Switzerland Male 2001
118 Australia Female 2003
119 André Durand Switzerland Male 2003
120 Prof Netherlands Male 2003
121 Côte d’Ivoire Female 2003
122 Princess Christina Sweden Female 2005
123 Col Dr Ethiopia Male 2005
124 Dr Switzerland Male 2005
125 Gen Bjorn Egge Norway Male 2005
126 The Volunteers of the Indonesian Red Cross Society, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, the Indian Red Cross Society and the Thai Red Cross Society - - 2005
127 France Female 2007
128 Hon Australia Male 2007
129 DRC Male 2007
130 Switzerland Male 2007
131 Chile Female 2009
132 Sierra Leone Male 2009
133 Dr Cornelio Sommaruga Switzerland Male 2009
134 Dr Syria Male 2009
135 Hon Finland Male 2009
136 Malaysia Female 2009
137 Dr Shimelis Adugna Ethiopia Male 2011
138 Dr Norway Female 2011
139 Dr Serbia Male 2011
140 Kuwait Male 2013
141 Dr Alberto Cairo Italy Male 2013
142 Uganda Male 2013
143 Doña Honduras Female 2013
144 Bangladesh Female 2015
145 Somalia Male 2015
146 Egypt Male 2015
147 United Kingdom Male 2015
148 Michael Bothe Germany Male 2017
149 Arthur Agany Poole South Sudan Male 2017
150 Michael Meyer United Kingdom Male 2019
151 Dr Mario Villaroel Lander Venezuela Male 2019
152 Dr Manuela Cabero Morán Spain Female 2019

[9]

Red Cross Red Crescent Prize for Peace and Humanity[]

The Standing Commission is also responsible for awarding the Red Cross and Red Crescent Prize for Peace and Humanity. It was created in 1987 and is given either to National Societies or to persons in the Movement “who have actively contributed to a more peaceful world through humanitarian action and the dissemination of the ideals of the Movement”.[12] Only four recipients have received it so far, the Lebanese Red Cross in 1989, the in 1993, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in 2013, and of the in 2019.[12]

References[]

  1. ^ a b 7. Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Adopted by the 25th International Conference of the Red Cross at Geneva in 1986, amended in 1995 and 2006
  2. ^ a b 4. “Red Cross-Red Crescent Statutory Meetings-What’s What”, Pamphlet produced by the Secretariat of the Standing Commission in consultation with the ICRC and the IFRC.
  3. ^ 2. Résolutions et Vœux votés par la XIII’ Conférence Internationale de la Croix Rouge, La Haye, 27/28 Octobre 1928
  4. ^ 3. Reid, Daphne A. and Patrick F. Gilbo. “Beyond Conflict. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 1919-1994”, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva 1997.
  5. ^ "Role and Mandate of the Standing Commission". Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  6. ^ 5. Résolutions et Vœux votés par la XIII’ Conférence Internationale de la Croix Rouge, La Haye, 27/28 Octobre 1928.
  7. ^ “Red Cross-Red Crescent Statutory Meetings-What’s What”, Pamphlet produced by the Secretariat of the Standing Commission in consultation with the ICRC and the IFRC.
  8. ^ "International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent", International Review of the Red Cross, Volume 91, Number 876, December 2009.
  9. ^ a b c ICRC archives, Geneva Headquarters, Switzerland
  10. ^ a b 10. "What is the Henry Dunant Medal?". Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Pamphlet
  11. ^ “50 Years of the Henry Dunant Medal: Honouring the Winners”, booklet produced by the Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-08-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Related links[]

Retrieved from ""