Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent

The Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent

Formation	1928
Type	Deliberative body
Legal status	Active
Headquarters	Geneva, Switzerland
Fields	Humanitarianism
Chair	Mercedes Babé
Website	www.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 Council of Delegates 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, Colonel Paul Draudt 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 Council of Delegates (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	Prince Tokugawa	Japanese Red Cross	Male	1930-38
3	Lady Novar	British Red Cross	Female	1930-34
4	Torolf Prytz	Norwegian Red Cross	Male	1930-34
5	Marquis de Hoyos	Spanish Red Cross	Male	1930-34
6	General D. Ricardo Burguete y Lana	Spanish Red Cross	Male	1934-38
7	Dr Ibrahim Refik Saydam Bey	Turkish Red Crescent Society	Male	1934-38
8	Alvaro Carlos Tourinho	Brazilian Red Cross	Male	1934-38
9	Sir Arthur Stanley	British Red Cross	Male	1934-46
10	Axel Hultkranz	Swedish Red Cross	Male	1938-48
11	Dr Chao Phya Bijayanati	Thai Red Cross	Male	1938-48
12	Dr Pedro Vignau	Argentinian Red Cross	Male	1938-48
13	Senator Giuseppe de Michelis	Italian Red Cross	Male	1938-48
14	Count Folke Bernadotte	Swedish Red Cross	Male	1946-48
15	André François-Ponçet	French Red Cross	Male	1948-65
16	Tom Willmott Sloper	Brazilian Red Cross	Male	1948-65
17	Ali Rana Tarhan	Turkish Red Crescent	Male	1948-52
18	Henrik Beer	Swedish Red Cross	Male	1949-51
19	Lord Woolton	British Red Cross	Male	1952-57
20	Boris Pachkov	Russian Red Cross	Male	1952-57
21	James Thomas Nicholson	American Red Cross	Male	1951-57
22	Rajkumari Amrit Kaur	Indian Red Cross	Female	1952-57
23	General Alfred Maximilian Gruenther	American Red Cross	Male	1957-65
24	Prof Georgy Miterev	Russian Red Cross	Male	1957-73
25	Angela Countess of Limerick	British Red Cross	Female	1965-73
26	General F. Collins	American Red Cross	Male	1965-73
27	Hans (Ritter von) Lauda	Austrian Red Cross	Male	1965-69
28	Sir Geoffrey Newman-Morris	Australian Red Cross	Male	1965-77
29	Dr Ahmed Djebli-Elaydouni	Moroccan Red Crescent	Male	1969-73
30	Dr Nadejda Troyan	Russian Red Cross	Female	1973-77
31	George Aitken	Canadian Red Cross	Male	1973-77
32	Alexandra Issa-el-Khoury	Lebanese Red Cross	Female	1973-77
33	Sir Evelyn Shuckburgh	British Red Cross	Male	1973-81
34	Dr Kai Warras	Finnish Red Cross	Male	1977-86
35	HE Dr Ahmed Abu-Goura	Jordan National Red Crescent	Male	1977-81
36	OMR Prof Dr Werner Ludwig	German Red Cross	Male	1977-81
37	Rito Alcantara	Senegalese Red Cross	Male	1977-81
38	R. James Kane	Canadian Red Cross	Male	1981-86
39	Soehanda Ijas	Indonesian Red Cross	Male	1981-95
40	Dr Janos Hantos	Hungarian Red Cross	Male	1981-95
41	Hon Byron Hove	Zimbabwe Red Cross	Male	1986-99
42	Dr Botho Prinz su Sayn Wittgenstein-Hohenstein	German Red Cross	Male	1986-95
43	Mavy Harmon	Brazilian Red Cross	Female	1986-95
44	Véronique Ahouanmenou	Red Cross of Benin	Female	1993-95
45	Guillermo Rueda Montaña	Colombian Red Cross	Male	1995-99
46	Princess Christina Magnuson	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	General Georges Hanouk	Lebanese Red Cross	Male	1998-99
50	Prof Mamoun Yousif Hamid	The Sudanese Red Crescent	Male	1999-99
51	Dr Abdul-Rahman Al-Swailam	Saudi Red Crescent Authority	Male	1999-03
52	Dr Freddy Karup Pedersen	Danish Red Cross	Male	2003-07
53	Janet M. Davidson	Canadian Red Cross	Female	2003-07
54	Philippe Cuvillier	French Red Cross	Male	2003-07
55	Zoy Katevas de Sclabos	Chilean Red Cross	Female	2003-07
56	Adama Diarra	Mali Red Cross	Male	2007-11
57	Eamon Harrison Courtenay	Belize Red Cross	Male	2007-11
58	Greg Vickery	Australian Red Cross	Male	2011-2019
59	Steven E. Carr	American Red Cross	Male	2007-2015
60	H.E. Dr Mohammed Al-Hadid	Jordan National Red Crescent Society	Male	1999-2015
61	Dr Massimo Barra	Italian Red Cross	Male	2007-2019
62	Hon. Pär Stenback	Finnish Red Cross	Male	2011-2015
63	Eva von Oelreich	Swedish Red Cross	Female	2015-2017
64	Chrystold Chetty	Red Cross Society of Seychelles	Male	2015-2019
65	George Weber	Canadian Red Cross Society	Male	2015-
66	Ibrahim Osman	The Sudanese Red Crescent	Male	2017-2019
67	Mercedes Babé	Spanish Red Cross	Female	2019-
68	Abbas Gullet	Kenya Red Cross Society	Male	2019-
69	Dr Hilal Al Sayer	Kuwait Red Crescent Society	Male	2019-
70	Fine Tu'itupou Arnold	Cook Islands Red Cross Society	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 Frantisek Janouch	Czechoslovakia	Male	1969
2	Dr Dragan Hercog	Serbia	Male	1969
3	Robert Carlson	Sweden	Male	1969
4	Pierre-André Tacier	Switzerland	Male	1969
5	Sachiko Hashimoto	Japan	Female	1971
6	André François-Poncet	France	Male	1971
7	Katalin Durgo	Hungary	Female	1971
8	John McAulay	Canada	Male	1971
9	Dr Pavle Gregoric	Croatia	Male	1971
10	Prof Georgy Miterev	Russia	Male	1975
11	Angela Countess of Limerick	United Kingdom	Female	1975
12	Pierre Boissier	Switzerland	Male	1975
13	Ferer Segura	Mexico	Male	1975
14	Dr Irena Domanska	Poland	Female	1975
15	Duke of Hernani	Spain	Male	1977
16	Baroness Mallet	France	Female	1977
17	Corp Saing Aung Hlaing Myint	Myanmar	Male	1977
18	Countess Etta Waldersee	Germany	Female	1977
19	Sir Geoffrey Newman-Morris	Australia	Male	1979
20	Alan Bièri	Switzerland	Male	1979
21	André Tièche	Switzerland	Male	1979
22	Charles Chatora	Zimbabwe	Male	1979
23	George Aitken	Canada	Male	1979
24	José Dolores Estrada-Granizo	Nicaragua	Male	1979
25	Louis Gaulis	Switzerland	Male	1979
26	Marvin Alberto Flores-Salazar	Nicaragua	Male	1979
27	Leslie Barry	Ireland	Female	1979
28	Louise Henriette van Overeem-Ziegenhardt	Netherlands	Female	1979
29	Krista Djordjevic	Croatia	Female	1981
30	Ismael Reyes Icabalceta	Nicaragua	Male	1981
31	Melchior Borsinger	Switzerland	Male	1981
32	Alexandra Issa-el-Khoury	Lebanon	Female	1981
33	OMR Prof Dr Werner Ludwig	Germany	Male	1983
34	Dr Abdul Aziz Mudarris	Saudi Arabia	Male	1983
35	Dr Bagus Rudiono	Indonesia	Male	1983
36	Mariano Bahamonde Ruiz	Chile	Male	1983
37	Hans Christian Bennetzen	Denmark	Male	1983
38	John Henry Felix	United States	Male	1983
39	Walter Bargatzky	Germany	Male	1983
40	Olga Milosevic	Serbia	Female	1985
41	Tom Willmott Sloper	Brazil	Male	1985
42	Marie Josée Burnier	Switzerland	Female	1987
43	Dr Anton Schlogel	Germany	Male	1987
44	Dr Kai Warras	Finland	Male	1987
45	HRH Princess Gina of Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	Female	1987
46	Hon Justice Joseph Adetunyi Adefarasin	Nigeria	Male	1987
47	Enrique de la Mata	Spain	Male	1987
48	Juan José Vega Aguiar	Cuba	Male	1987
49	Onni Nishannen	Ethiopia/Sweden	Male	1987
50	Prof Gejza Mencer	Czechoslovakia	Male	1989
51	Dr Ali Fourati	Tunisia	Male	1989
52	George Elsey	United States	Male	1989
53	Leon George Stubbings	Australia	Male	1989
54	Michael Egabu	Uganda	Male	1989
55	Prof Dr ML Kashetra Snidvongs	Thailand	Male	1989
56	Kamar Kazoon Choura	Syria	Female	1991
57	Baron Kraijenhoff	Netherlands	Male	1991
58	Dr Janos Hantos	Hungary	Male	1991
59	Alexandre Hay	Switzerland	Male	1991
60	Dr Carlos Alberto Vera Martinez	Paraguay	Male	1991
61	Faqir Yar	Afghanistan	Male	1991
62	Graeme Whyte	New Zealand	Male	1991
63	Juanito Patong	Philippines	Male	1991
64	Peter Altwegg	Switzerland	Male	1991
65	Walter Berweger	Switzerland	Male	1991
66	William Cassis	Lebanon	Male	1991
67	Zamany Mohammed Osman	Afghanistan	Male	1991
68	Susanne Buser	Switzerland	Female	1993
69	Jock Sutherland	New Zealand	Male	1993
70	Dr Pedro José Manrique Lander	Venezuela	Male	1993
71	HE Dr Ahmed Abu-Ghoura	Jordan	Male	1993
72	Abdul Qadar	Pakistan	Male	1993
73	Arthur Brian Hodgson	United Kingdom	Male	1993
74	Frédéric Maurice	Switzerland	Male	1993
75	Jon Karlsson	Iceland	Male	1993
76	Kurt Lustenberger	Switzerland	Male	1993
77	Michel Kuhn	Switzerland	Male	1993
78	Mohammed Zaboor	Afghanistan	Male	1993
79	Win van Boxelaere	Belgium	Male	1993
80	Maria Luisa Torres de la Cruz	Chile	Female	1993
81	Sarah Veronica Leomy	Sierra Leone	Female	1993
82	Tunku Tan Sri Mohamed Bin Tunku Besar Burhanuddin	Malaysia	Male	1995
83	Dr Botho Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein	Germany	Male	1995
84	Dr Esmildo Gutierrez Sanchez	Cuba	Male	1995
85	Dr Hugo Ernesto Merino Grijalva	Ecuador	Male	1995
86	Prof Hans Haug	Switzerland	Male	1995
87	Jaqueline Briot	France	Female	1995
88	Sheryl Thayer	New Zealand	Female	1997
89	Dr Ahmed Alsherif	Libya	Male	1997
90	Aimé Amuli	Uganda	Male	1997
91	Amin Booyi Andana	Uganda	Male	1997
92	Bahozi Kabaka	DRC	Male	1997
93	Bernard Umba Kanonge	DRC	Male	1997
94	Cédric Martin	Switzerland	Male	1997
95	Chin Chun	Cambodia	Male	1997
96	Déogratias Kitungao Bisahi	DRC	Male	1997
97	Dieudonné Budogo	DRC	Male	1997
98	Djuma Sebasore	DRC	Male	1997
99	Enzo Boletti	Italy	Male	1997
100	Hans Elkerbrot	Netherlands	Male	1997
101	Herculano Tchipindi	Angola	Male	1997
102	Ilunfa Sebastien	DRC	Male	1997
103	Juan Ruffino	Italy	Male	1997
104	Luiji Apata	Uganda	Male	1997
105	Mafuta Nzangamya	DRC	Female	1997
106	Reto Neuenschwander	Switzerland	Male	1997
107	Véronique Ahouanmenou	Benin	Female	1997
108	Fernanda Calado	Spain	Female	1997
109	Gunnhild Myklebust	Norway	Female	1997
110	Ingebjorg Foss	Norway	Female	1997
111	Nancy Malloy	Canada	Female	1997
112	Ute Stuhrwoldt	Germany	Female	1999
113	Dr Guillermo Rueda Montaña	Colombia	Male	1999
114	Hon Dr Byron Hove	Zimbabwe	Male	1999
115	Donald Tansley	Canada	Male	1999
116	Phlech Phiroun	Cambodia	Female	2001
117	Roger Durand	Switzerland	Male	2001
118	Noreen Minogue	Australia	Female	2003
119	André Durand	Switzerland	Male	2003
120	Prof Frits Kalshoven	Netherlands	Male	2003
121	Monique Basque	Côte d’Ivoire	Female	2003
122	Princess Christina	Sweden	Female	2005
123	Col Dr Mekonnen Muluneh	Ethiopia	Male	2005
124	Dr Jean Simon Pictet	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	Josiane Gabel	France	Female	2007
128	Hon James Joseph Carlton	Australia	Male	2007
129	Alexander Dumba Ika	DRC	Male	2007
130	Christoph Hensch	Switzerland	Male	2007
131	Zoy Katevas Lazaratu de Sclabos	Chile	Female	2009
132	Muctarr Amadu Sheriff Jalloh	Sierra Leone	Male	2009
133	Dr Cornelio Sommaruga	Switzerland	Male	2009
134	Dr Fouad Hamza	Syria	Male	2009
135	Hon Pär Stenback	Finland	Male	2009
136	Datuk Datin Paduka Ruby Lee	Malaysia	Female	2009
137	Dr Shimelis Adugna	Ethiopia	Male	2011
138	Dr Astrid Nöklebye Heiberg	Norway	Female	2011
139	Dr Bosko Jakovljevic	Serbia	Male	2011
140	Barges Hamoud Al-Barges	Kuwait	Male	2013
141	Dr Alberto Cairo	Italy	Male	2013
142	Tom Buruku	Uganda	Male	2013
143	Doña Meneca de Mencía	Honduras	Female	2013
144	Manowara Sarkar	Bangladesh	Female	2015
145	Dr Ahmed Mohamed Hassan	Somalia	Male	2015
146	Dr Mamdouh Kamal Gabr	Egypt	Male	2015
147	Stephen Davey	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 Somali Red Crescent in 1993, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in 2013, and Dr Mohammed Al-Hadid of the Jordan National Red Crescent Society in 2019. ^[12]

References

1. 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. 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. ICRC archives, Geneva Headquarters, Switzerland
10. 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. "Peace Prize". Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-08-19.

Related links

• http://www.icrc.org/eng/
• http://www.ifrc.org/en/
• http://www.ifrc.org/en/who-we-are/directory/web-pages/
• http://www.rcrcconference.org/en
• http://www.standcom.ch/