Strategy for the Movement

 Chairpersons of the Commissions :

Mr Mehdi Bennouna, Vice President, Moroccan Red Crescent

Mr Jan Post, Director General, Netherlands Red Cross

Ms Anna Thorkelsdottir, President, Icelandic Red Cross

 Rapporteur : Mr Pierre Duplessis, Secretary General, Canadian Red Cross Society

 1. Keys points highlighted in the debates     

 1.1 General comments and clarifications  

The National Societies, the ICRC and the International Federation strongly supported the document; they expressed satisfaction with the process and appreciation of the extensive consultations that had been conducted with them.

The group voiced its appreciation of the practical aspects and relevance of the document. It was a tool which assisted and enriched all the Movement's components. It had particular importance for the leaders of National Societies, emphasizing the need to provide them with proper training. 

National Societies commented favourably on the clarity of the draft and the consistency between the strategic objectives, the action points and the expected results. The Strategy was not an end in itself but rather an instrument for implementing the mission of the Movement. In this regard, it should be incorporated into the strategies and programmes of the various components in a mutually strengthening manner. The Strategy for the Movement could even be utilized as the overall framework from which individual strategies could be derived.

There had been many strategies. The present one was a resounding call for coordination between governance documents.

Many speakers endorsed the aim of the Strategy, which was to make the Movement stronger in implementing effective humanitarian action that reached vulnerable people throughout the world, building on the complementary mandates of the separate components.

 1.2 Implementation of the three strategic objectives and their expected results  

The components of the Movement committed themselves to full implementation of the three strategic objectives contained in the document. They pledged to share knowledge of the Strategy at all relevant levels of their organizations.

Strategic objective number one, which was to strengthen the components of the Movement, was recognized as the most crucial objective for ensuring coherence. A number of speakers pointed out the need to give financial support to National Societies in developing countries so as to help them reach this objective.

Several delegates pointed to a number of the actions of the Strategy as being particularly important, such as those relating to the emblem, the relationship with governments and the private sector. All these references were made with a view to simultaneously safeguarding the independence of National Societies and generating support from various sectors of society.

The Commissions voiced strong support for advocacy. They emphasized that National Societies should be consulted on the positions taken for advocacy, in line with Resolution 6 of the 1999 Council of Delegates dealing with the subject.

The notion of integrity was mentioned as a fundamental part of the Strategy. In this context, reference was made to sound Statutes as a key requirement for well-functioning National Societies.

Cooperation between the National Societies was another topic of interest, especially regarding bilateral relationships. The Commissions felt that this type of cooperation should be more clearly defined, notably through the formulation of guidelines that would be considered as binding.

Harmonization and coordination were also seen as both necessary and worthwhile, as long as this did not lead to excessive bureaucracy. Creativity and innovation must be maintained and cultivated.

 1.3 Comments on monitoring and reporting  

The delegations stressed the need to establish simple monitoring procedures by devising tools designed to encourage and help National Societies to respond more easily to requests for information from the Federation.

The framework for monitoring and reporting was seen as a practical tool for monitoring the implementation of the Strategy, so as to avoid placing an additional burden on National Societies, especially those with limited staff. Existing tools for reporting were to be used rather than adopting new ones.

The Federation and the ICRC expressed their full support.

 1.4 Comments on the budget and funding  

Concern was expressed about the mobilization of resources; many speakers urged all components to make available the resources necessary to implement the Strategy. It was mentioned once again that most of the measures that needed to be taken had already been allowed for in the plans drawn up by the International Federation and the ICRC.

It was pointed out that the figures provided in Appendix 2 of the report were approximate. It was understood furthermore that funding would be through voluntary contributions.

 1.5 Comments on the draft resolution  

As a whole the National Societies gave their support to the draft resolution. However, two delegations submitted an amendment with a view to re-examining the relevance of the mission of Movement as defined in the preamble to the 1986 Statutes. A number of National Societies and the ICRC strongly rejected the proposal, as the current mission and Fundamental Principle s of the Movement were widely recognized as relevant for meeting the challenges of today. 

Some amendments were presented and subsequently incorporated in order to improve the language of the draft resolution.