In this connection, the Division for Movement Coordination and Cooperation:

provides direction, guidance and support to ICRC headquarters and field delegations for National Society capacity building and operational cooperation and for coordination with other Movement components (Movement action)

backs National Society endeavours to implement the Fundamental Principles and the Movement’s policies, rules and regulations (Movement principles and rules)

develops policies and guidance documents for adoption by the Movement’s statutory bodies, organizes meetings of these bodies and promotes implementation of the decisions and resolutions they adopt (Movement policy)

The highlights of the Division’s 2007 activities are described below.

In 2007, the Division again provided substantial support for coordination and cooperation between Movement components, placing particular emphasis on the role of the host National Society in major ICRC operations in places such as Afghanistan, Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Israel and the occupied and autonomous Palestinian territories, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Sudan (Darfur).

Operational and capacity-building partnerships with National Societies
One of the two cornerstones of the Division’s work – the other being preparations for the 2007 statutory meetings – was implementation of the ICRC’s institutional priority for 2007–2010 to reinforce its partnerships with National Societies both in operational cooperation and capacity building for emergency response.

Accordingly, it drew up an implementation framework to serve as the basis for guidelines, tools development and staff training. It also organized workshops and consultations with senior National Society staff in countries hosting large-scale ICRC operations (Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Nepal, Somalia and Sudan) and with the International Federation and partner National Societies with a view to ensuring coherent application of the Code of Good Partnership.

The Division’s guidance and support for ICRC delegations and headquarters were aligned on this priority, the focus being on joint operations and programmes to strengthen National Society capacities to assist the victims of armed conflicts and violence, restore family links, promote IHL and the Fundamental Principles and conduct mine-action activities. These efforts were closely linked with activities relating to National Society statutes and integrity. Other forms of support will be provided in the light of needs and in coordination with the International Federation.

In addition, the Division worked hand in hand with the ICRC Protection and Tracing Agency Division on the Movement’s 10-year Restoring Family Links Strategy adopted at the 2007 Council of Delegates.

Support for Movement coordination

The Division worked to help implement the Supplementary Measures to the Seville Agreement. In cooperation with the International Federation, it organized eleven joint ICRC-International Federation training sessions for over 180 managers from the two institutions, arranged for external evaluations to monitor implementation in Haiti and Indonesia, and documented situations in ten additional contexts using a jointly developed monitoring framework. The findings pointed to improvements in awareness and implementation and were compiled in a report for the 2007 Council of Delegates.

In order to ensure the best possible operational coordination between the ICRC and the International Federation’s new geographical structure and operating model, the Division helped arrange several coordination meetings between operational man­agers from both institutions. Together with its counterparts from the International Federation, it organized six senior management meetings that focused on strengthening the Movement’s identity and working methods as a distinct system of humanitarian response.

Again with the International Federation, the Division organized the annual information meeting for 40 National Societies working internationally. The meeting discussed in particular the specific nature of Movement partnerships and action, and other key topics linked to the 2007 statutory meetings. A workshop in Kuwait brought together five National Societies from the Persian Gulf region – emerging international players – and several ICRC units from headquarters.

Another aspect of the Division’s work was to provide input for Movement papers and processes, such as the Movement security framework (internal guidelines on how to establish, manage and maintain a security framework for Movement partners), the draft guidelines for National Societies wishing to work with detained migrants and the dialogue with Movement partners on migration.

ICRC specialists and experts from National Societies working internationally visited the National Societies in Chad, Liberia and Pakistan to bolster their first-aid capacity, and specific partnerships are being explored in this field. The Division also organized an external review of the emblem protection campaigns carried out for several years by the National Societies of Bangladesh and Nepal with the support of the ICRC.

Together with the International Federation, the Division organized two Leadership Development Programme courses for 36 senior National Society leaders, focusing on their international dimensions and responsibilities. For the first time in several years, one course was conducted in Russian, and a broad range of reference documents was therefore translated into Russian.

The Division also helped develop the new on-line self-study course that is a first part of the Basic Training Course (BTC) for National Society staff. It ensured that the ICRC participated in 36 BTCs organized by 18 National Societies and in several training sessions for International Federation staff seconded to emergency operations.

The Joint ICRC/International Federation Commission for National Society Statutes continued to help National Societies adhere at all times to the Fundamental Principles by strengthening their legal base, i.e. their statutes and national legislation on the Movement’s emblems. The Commission met five times in 2007; it provided formal comments and recommendations to 40 National Societies on the text of their draft statutes and assistance and guidance to 10 National Societies regarding the revision of national legislation. It also prepared a report for the 2007 Council of Delegates that emphasized how important it was, in keeping with the Strategy for the Movement, for all National Societies to revise their statutes by 2010.

The ICRC further developed its method for helping National Societies safeguard their integrity in accordance with the Fundamental Principles. An ICRC internal case-management database was established, with 61 cases being monitored and analysed, and a CD was produced on the subject for ICRC delegations. For the purposes of coordination, the ICRC participated in the International Federation Governing Board working group on integrity, and both institutions agreed to strengthen mechanisms at management level. They also intervened, either jointly or separately but in coordinated fashion, in cases where serious concerns arose regarding the integrity of individual National Societies. The ICRC provided input for the implementation guidelines for the International Federation policy on integrity.

The Division dealt with roughly 50 inquiries in 2007 about the proper use of the red cross, red crescent and red crystal emblems, providing advice and recommendations to ICRC delegations, National Societies, government authorities and private individuals. The ICRC, in consultation with a large number of National Societies, produced the Study on operational, commercial and other non-operational issues involving the use of the emblems it had been asked for in the Strategy for the Movement. The Study was submitted for information to the 2007 Council of Delegates and will be developed further in line with the participants’ feedback.

The standard agreement between UNHCR and its implementing partners was revised in 2007, and a specific format drawn up for agreements between the Movement’s components and UNHCR that is in accordance with the Movement’s Statutes and principles.

The Division administered and supervised various Movement funds, medals and prizes, and organized 43 official visits by 376 National Society leaders and representatives to ICRC headquarters.

The Handbook of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which is also to become a web-based reference work, was updated to include the 2007 statutory meetings and will be distributed in 2008.

The year was also taken up with the preparatory work for the Movement’s November 2007 statutory meetings: the 2007 Council of Delegates and the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. In keeping with the Conference slogan, “Together for Humanity”, the statutory meetings adopted several resolutions providing the entire Movement with new posi­tions, guidance and policy documents.

The International Conference, which brings together the Movement’s components and the States party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, reaffirmed the relevance of IHL and the importance of effective implementation (Resolution 3, see below). It confirmed the pertinence and global scope of four major 21st-century challenges, namely environmental degradation and climate change, international migration, violence in urban settings and emergent and recurrent diseases, called for a collective response to their humanitarian consequences and recognized the added value contributed by the Movement’s components and their partner­ships, both with each other and with non-Movement entities such as governments, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs.

The Council of Delegates, for its part, adopted the Restoring Family Links Strategy (and Implementation Plan) for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Resolution 4). The Strategy underlines the importance of restoring family links in armed conflicts, situations of violence, natural or man-made disasters and any other circumstances requiring a humanitarian response. It reaffirms the ICRC’s lead role within the Movement in this connection and the entire Movement’s commitment to consolidating its leadership in this field.

The Council of Delegates also welcomed the decision of the International Federation General Assembly to develop a policy on international migration for National Societies that draws on the ICRC’s expertise in protection work. It acknowledged the relevance of the Restoring Family Links Strategy for international migrants and requested the ICRC to develop guidelines for National Societies working or wishing to work in places where migrants are being detained (Resolution 5).

The Council of Delegates also adopted a resolution on cluster munitions (Resolution 8, see below).

Both the Council of Delegates and the International Conference adopted resolutions on the Movement’s specific nature in action and partnerships and the role of National Societies as auxiliaries to the public authorities in the humanitarian field. The resolutions recognize the specific (and distinctive) partnership between National Societies and their governments, and contain key provi­sions governing the auxiliary role of National Societies. In particular, they provide a solid normative foundation for ensuring that governments respect the National Societies’ obligation to adhere at all times to the Fundamental Principles, especially the principles of independence and neutrality.

Lastly, both the Council of Delegates and the International Conference called for full implementation and stepped up monitoring of the Memorandum of Understanding and associated Agreement on Operational Arrangements signed by the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the Magen David Adom in Israel on 28 November 2005.


ICRC Annual Report 2007