Interview with Renée Zellwegger Monin, deputy head of the ICRC Central Tracing Agency and Protection Division and chair of the Project Advisory Group.

What is the history behind this project?

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has been responding to humanitarian needs for decades by restoring contact between separated relatives. In past years, international and internal conflicts, natural disasters and migration have all produced their share of separated families. Following events such as the conflict in Darfur, the tsunami in Asia, Hurricane Katrina and the South Asia earthquake, hundreds of thousands of people lost touch with their loved ones. Putting them back in touch with each other is an essential task.

Acting on the basis of its principles, the Movement, with its worldwide network of National Societies and its longstanding experience and expertise in this area, is particularly well placed to address the needs of people without news of family members. Building on various resolutions of the Movement and on the Agenda for Humanitarian Action adopted by the 28th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2003, the ICRC decided to launch this project aimed at strengthening the existing family links network and improving the service across the world.

What are the goals of this project?

Acting through its family links network, the Movement must continue to address RFL needs in a wide range of situations, maintaining and increasing its capacity to assist people in accordance with the role assigned to it by the States. With so many players involved, it is essential to think about how the network functions and how service delivery can be enhanced.

How will these goals be reached?

The aim of the project is to develop a 10-year RFL strategy for the Movement covering such areas as needs assessment, resources (human, technical, financial), communication, accessibility of the service and ownership of the service by individual National Societies and the Movement as a whole. This is the first time that an RFL strategy is being devised for the entire Movement and it is a fascinating endeavour. The ICRC is being assisted in its task by an Advisory Group comprising 19 National Societies and the International Federation. The group has met four times since the launch of the project. Its task is to assist in drafting the strategy, in particular through working groups focusing on specific components of the strategy, and in planning and organizing four regional conferences taking place at the end of 2006. The draft strategy will be discussed with National Society leaders during these conferences. After a broad consultation process within the Movement, the strategy will be presented to Council of Delegates in 2007.