# Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent

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. 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. It was created during the 13th Red Cross Conference in The Hague, the Netherlands in 1928, under Article 18, resolution X. 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. 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.

## 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. 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.
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. 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. 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). There is also a permanent administrative Secretariat located at the ICRC Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
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- |

## The 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. 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.” 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.

## 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”. 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.