International Conference hears call for ‘renewed commitment and purpose’ in a polarized world

By the Climate Centre

The 34th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (photo) ended Thursday by endorsing five major resolutions – including one on protecting people from the impacts of extreme climate and weather – together aimed at advancing humanitarian solutions to global challenges, a joint statement from the ICRC and IFRC said.

“This apolitical forum, held every four years, has historically driven significant humanitarian progress, including the shaping of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the global campaign to ban landmines, and initiatives for pandemic preparedness,” the joint statement says.

ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said: “Across today’s conflicts, we see devastating human suffering from the lack of respect for international humanitarian law.

“The conference reaffirmed the collective responsibility to uphold these essential rules. In today’s highly polarized context, this is a critical achievement, and we will build on it to continue promoting a culture of compliance with IHL, and to translate these resolutions into impactful actions for those affected by conflict.”

‘Spirit of solidarity’

IFRC President Kate Forbes said the conference underscored “that locally led solutions with global support are paramount to our work. They enable the people we serve to best meet the challenges of the future.

“I’m grateful for the spirit of solidarity from our National Societies, Movement colleagues and authorities who have made this important work possible. As we look to the future, it is incumbent upon us to carry these resolutions forward with renewed commitment and purpose.”

The five endorsed resolutions cover compliance with IHL, protecting civilians from cyberattacks during conflict, strengthening the governance of disaster risk through regulatory frameworks, and enabling local leadership “in principled humanitarian action and strengthening resilience”.

The fifth resolution, on climate, “provides the framework for collaboration between states parties and the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement to expand anticipatory action, ensuring better disaster preparation and humanitarian response,” the joint statement added.

‘More country contexts, more hazards’

Among other measures, it encourages states to integrate anticipatory action into existing local systems, and to strengthen all of anticipatory action in conflict settings, multi-hazard early warning, and the capacities of local actors.

It also calls on states to promote “timely, effective and equitable access to financial mechanisms enabling anticipatory action at the national and local level”, while making full use of National Societies’ experience and technical expertise.

Welcoming the resolution and the successful conclusion of the International Conference, Climate Centre Director of Programmes, Julie Arrighi, who attended the event in Geneva, said Friday: “As the relevant background document points out, the resolution on climate outlines how governments and Movement components can work together to ensure that more people, more country contexts, and more hazards are covered by anticipatory action.

“Such a strengthened partnership would profit from natural synergies between governments and the Movement, ensuring that anticipatory action can be expanded to protect more people from the intensifying humanitarian impacts of climate and extreme weather.  

“With the growing impact of disasters driven by climate change, as we have just seen so tragically in Spain, as well as by the loss of biodiversity and by environmental degradation, all exacerbated by economic challenges, food insecurity and conflict, anticipatory action helps chart a way through this complex humanitarian landscape.”

This year’s 34th International Conference of the Red Cross Red Crescent brought together 191 signatory governments of the Geneva Conventions, along with 186 National Societies and the ICRC and IFRC. (Photo: IFRC via social media)