Red Cross’ battle of nerves and funds continues

The use of the Red Shield of David is at the heart of the issue. Magden David Adom

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) says efforts to persuade the American Red Cross to unblock its contributions to the organisation are still continuing. The Americans are refusing to pay up until Israel is admitted to the Red Cross fold.

“The ball is in the American court. It’s up to them to take a decision,” IFRC spokeswoman Marie-Françoise Borel told swissinfo. “Our position is that these two issues should not be linked.”

The Americans insist that Israel’s national society, Magen David Adom (MDA), be accepted as a member of the federation. But this is not allowed under the Geneva Conventions as MDA uses the Red Shield of David as its symbol.

The Red Cross movement insisted Israeli admission would have to wait until a third neutral emblem was approved by a diplomatic conference of all the signatories of the conventions.

Borel explained that the federation’s overall operational budget, which amounts to over SFr 400 million, had been unaffected by the American Red Cross’s refusal to pay up.

But the annual US statutory contribution of $7.3 million makes up a quarter of the budget for the Geneva secretariat, which coordinates the federation’s work.

The IFRC rejected suggestions that it was forced to lay off 15 staff and focus on four priority areas as a result of the American decision. It said these changes were part of its Strategy 2010 plan, which was devised before the row with the Americans began.

Nevertheless, Borel admitted that “the US decision has undoubtedly posed a problem for the functioning of the secretariat”. Consequently, the federation has asked other national societies, including that of Switzerland, to make up the shortfall.

“We’re having to make do,” revealed Borel. “We are still talking to the Americans. We’re still working with them. We’re in constant communication, and obviously we’re trying to persuade them to pay their statutory contributions,” she added.

European national Red Cross societies, some of whose officials have angrily spoken of American “blackmail”, have also been trying to persuade the Americans to back down. Some are upset that they are being asked to pick up the tab.

The Swiss Red Cross has not yet reached a final decision on whether it will pay this additional contribution. That decision is expected later this week.

“We are concerned about what this means for the unity of the movement,” said Edgar Bloch, spokesman of the Swiss Red Cross.

“We are interested in seeing a strong Red Cross movement, with a big, powerful national society like the American Red Cross as part of it.”

Bloch told swissinfo that the Swiss Red Cross supported any efforts to find a solution, adding that discussions should focus on trying to convince the Americans to change their mind.

That seems the likeliest outcome, since the calling of a diplomatic conference is unlikely in the near future, given the escalating violence in the Middle East. Arab states form a powerful enough group to block a new emblem and Israeli admission.

The Red Cross Movement has steadfastly refused to recognise the Red Shield of David, saying it would lead to a proliferation of emblems, which would weaken the protective value of the cross and the crescent in the world’s trouble spots.

It has been striving to come up with a neutral emblem – the latest suggestion is a double chevron – within which the MDA or any other national societies could incorporate their own symbol.

Any new emblem would require an additional protocol to the Geneva Conventions, which would have to be passed at a special diplomatic conference.

Last year, Switzerland, as depository country of the conventions was preparing such a conference, but was forced to abandon its plans following the resumption of the intifadah in the Palestinian territories.

“The draft third protocol suggesting an additional emblem is still the best solution,” said Marie-Françoise Borel.

“Work on the emblem issue has been going on for years – long before the American Red Cross made any statement on it at all. We hope it can reach fruition,” she added.

by Roy Probert