The Fundamental Principles as a practical starting point

As a basis for all Movement responses, the Fundamental Principles provide the starting point for engagement. As demonstrated in the interviews below, the Principles provide a culturally neutral and reliable language. They are the platform from which to explain the identity, purpose and priorities of a National Society, with a view to gaining acceptance and access to the most vulnerable. This is particularly important when this is a new community that the National Society is approaching.

In interviews with colleagues from Canada, Australia, Britain and Kenya, it has emerged that the Fundamental Principles are often part of the first discussions with a community or the authorities. The Fundamental Principles are a key aspect of the identity of any Movement actor. This allows the organization to initiate important work based on new assessments of vulnerability. It also can ensure that volunteers and staff adhere to certain standards of behaviour.

More than twenty years ago, the Canadian Red Cross conducted a vigorous vulnerability and capacity assessment across the country which uncovered that aboriginal populations in Canada were underserved by the authorities and ranked very high in a number of indicators of vulnerability – for example, in terms of high exposure to flooding and snow emergency risk, low knowledge of swimming and self-protective measures, high levels of alcoholism, higher exposure to violence and harm, health problems, and high levels of children taken into care institutions relative to the rest of the population.

The management decided to hire new staff to work on improving the access of aboriginal communities to the work of the Canadian Red Cross, particularly its violence prevention methodology.Footnote ²⁷ In addition, the curriculum and training packages for staff and volunteers were completely overhauled to improve relevance and acceptance with these communities.

Shelley Cardinal, the national aboriginal adviser of the violence and abuse prevention programme, describes the Fundamental Principles as integral to introducing the Canadian Red Cross to communities:

In introducing the Canadian Red Cross to these communities, Cardinal utilizes a tool that shows the Fundamental Principles as threads, tying into accepted aboriginal principles (see Figure 1). This shows that the Fundamental Principles are part of a virtuous spiral of moral principles that agree with and support each other, but also remain distinct.

Figure 1.

Fundamental Principles and aboriginal principles. Source: Canadian Red Cross, RespectED project brochure.

Used in this way, the Fundamental Principles directly support access and acceptance with vulnerable communities. Over the past twenty-five years, of the approximately 750 aboriginal communities nationwide, the Canadian Red Cross works with nearly half: some 300 communities.Footnote ²⁹

The Fundamental Principles are not just useful in conflict-affected situations

The literature from outside the Movement largely refers to the application of humanitarian principles in conflict situations, or when there is a risk of conflict.Footnote ³⁰ However, for the Movement, the Fundamental Principles are useful in both conflict and non-conflict situations. In fact, they prove to be useful for every National Society, whether dealing with violence, immigration issues, prison visits, disaster risk reduction or various other issues. They also prove to be useful when articulating the distinct approach and unique position of a National Society. They serve to tie in any particular programme to the wider Movement, with its history, approach, and reputation for impartial and neutral humanitarian action.

The Australian Red Cross has been monitoring conditions in immigration detention facilities in Australia for more than twenty years. It provides independent humanitarian monitoring of conditions and conducts confidential advocacy with the Department of Immigration and the Australian government to ensure respect for the dignity, health and well-being of people held in detention. The aim is to reduce harm and increase resilience among people in detention, especially those who are particularly vulnerable.

The Australian Red Cross is the only independent organization to visit all detention facilities on at least a quarterly basis. Based on this monitoring, the Australian Red Cross raises issues of humanitarian concern, whether individual or systemic, with the authorities. In order to discuss sensitive issues openly and constructively, the Australian Red Cross's engagement with the authorities is confidential.Footnote ³¹

A former Australian Red Cross staff member described the Fundamental Principles as being very relevant to how one introduces the work of the Australian Red Cross; they serve to explain why the Red Cross is visiting immigration detention centres while not taking a political position. Without the Fundamental Principles, the information gained from these prison visits would potentially be susceptible to bias.

This positioning allows the Australian Red Cross to have continued access to detention facilities while regularly raising concerns about individuals or about systematic issues. No other organization has this access or unique position.

The Fundamental Principles provide staff and volunteers with the language and rationale needed to keep a programme focused on the most vulnerable, despite tensions or pressure to do otherwise. In Kenya, the emergency response work of the Kenya Red Cross Society is well known throughout the country and internationally. In the Tana Delta District (Coast Province), farming ethnic groups live alongside nomadic groups in a semi-arid land that is prone to drought. Conflict over the use of land and water resources in August and September 2012 led to nearly 200 people being killed and ninety injured. More than 34,000 people were displaced.Footnote ³³ The Kenya Red Cross carried out emergency response operations, but Red Cross staff and volunteers realized that more was needed to bring the society back to peace. Outside academic observers have documented that the Kenya Red Cross is seen as an “honest broker” to help decrease communal violence.Footnote ³⁴

The Fundamental Principles were the starting point for new programming in violence prevention and conflict resolution. It was essential to ensure that divided communities saw that neither group was favoured:

In this way, the Fundamental Principles provide answers for staff and volunteers to give when challenged. The final project report for the Kenyan programme concluded that the project as designed – based on the Fundamental Principles – was quite successful in mitigating the key driving factor for conflict in the community.Footnote ³⁶

Challenges to neutrality

There remain grim situations in current humanitarian crises where national or local actors attack aid workers, conduct human rights violations among the population, or restrict humanitarian relief for their own gain. The Fundamental Principles continue to be a practical basis on which to establish, maintain and regain neutral humanitarian space in operations.

Examples from National Societies show that it's not just talk; walking the walk, and making decisions along the lines of the Fundamental Principles, is very important. With the right approach, dramatic results are possible in terms of access and acceptance.

In Somalia, the Somali Red Crescent (or Ururka Bisha Cas) is the only national organization with reach across all of the country. This wide presence ensures that there is no preferential access for any political groups or particular clan. The Somali Red Crescent has a strong reputation for reach and impartiality, which was established during the 1990s. This is when, working with ICRC, it was providing food aid to over a million people, as well as cooked food provision to another 600,000.Footnote ³⁸ Today's work includes rapid humanitarian response as well as health provision, promotion of international humanitarian law (IHL) and tracing, and disaster risk reduction. Impartiality is reinforced by proactively ensuring a balanced clan make-up within its leadership and staff.

The work to promote the Fundamental Principles is captured in a document known as “Biri-ma-Geydo”, which means “Spared from the Spear”. This is used by the ICRC and the Somali Red Crescent to disseminate IHL and the Fundamental Principles. It has inspired dramas, roundtables and debates, particularly aimed at young people and those who may be directly involved in armed clashes.

Figure 2.

The Fundamental Principles in Somali. Source: Sorcha O'Callaghan, British Red Cross.

One example of the Fundamental Principles being challenged occurred at the Keysaney hospital in Mogadishu. The Somali Red Crescent has worked hard to ensure its neutrality despite very challenging years of conflict and upheaval. On one occasion, the roof was used as a military post for twenty days and patients could not all be evacuated. Somali Red Crescent staff stayed with the patients despite very high risks. They also worked to ensure that no military searches of patients took place despite great pressure from the warring parties. Advertising about the neutrality of the hospital on the radio increased the confidence of the community and brought people to seek treatment. As control of Mogadishu changed hands repeatedly in the mid- to late 2000s, the neutrality of that hospital was consistent, but hard-won.Footnote ³⁹

Interviews with staff, volunteers and other Red Cross members operational in Somalia show that the leadership of the Society, based on the Fundamental Principles, is a key element of its ongoing success. With leadership made up of a diverse and balanced membership from a range of clans, the principle of neutrality is reinforced even if conflict actors test the boundaries. In addition, strong and representative national leadership is linked to local and well-connected branch managers, all united by the Fundamental Principles. This allows the organization to brand itself as “a national organisation which is politically neutral … and, as such, distinguish itself from all other humanitarian organisations in Somalia”.Footnote ⁴⁰ This enables the Society to acquire and maintain access with a wide variety of groups across the country, unlike any other national organization (Figure 2 shows the Fundamental Principles in Somali including their English translation).

Another example of how the Fundamental Principles are helpful when neutrality is challenged comes from Uganda. In that country, in 2009, two Red Cross ambulances were attacked by angry mobs.Footnote ⁴¹Analysis after the event led to a conclusion that perhaps the mob either perceived the Ugandan Red Cross as being part of the government, or for some other reason did not consider the protection of ambulances, and the Red Cross emblem, as valid.Footnote ⁴²

In the months and years following the incident, the leadership of the Ugandan Red Cross made distinctive efforts to strengthen dissemination and communication of the Fundamental Principles and the Red Cross mandate. They also focused on building the capacity of the Society to deal with situations of potential violence in the face of future elections and conflict. They developed significant analytical capacity for looking at political “hotspots”, and invested in recruitment and training staff and volunteers in the Fundamental Principles, conflict analysis and scenario depiction. Communications were pitched to communities, authorities and local political leaders. Hospital staff were singled out as very important for dissemination as they could ensure that referrals would proceed with impartiality, focusing on those in most critical need of care.Footnote ⁴³

The Society stepped up its public information efforts, including the use of television and radio, aiming to transmit clear information about the Fundamental Principles, the purpose of the Ugandan Red Cross, and the unique and protective function of the emblem. These programmes aimed particularly to communicate with the range of people who might participate in violence, or those who moved amongst political activists. As one colleague described it, “we found you need to target people who travel, and people who talk… like motorcycle drivers. If you persuade a few, you persuade many, if you get your messaging right”.Footnote ⁴⁴ A final evaluation of this programme found that this communication campaign did enable the Ugandan Red Cross to ensure safe access and to work largely unimpeded by attacks or any confusion about its role.Footnote ⁴⁵ The campaign – based on the Fundamental Principles – brought about a reversal of the earlier lack of respect and protection, and allowed the Ugandan Red Cross to access those most vulnerable during the violence.

The Fundamental Principles are useful for any National Society that has to recalibrate or adjust in the face of challenges. In some countries, this will take an intentional strategic shift towards clarity, based on the Fundamental Principles. In Sweden, the leadership of the Swedish Red Cross have embarked on a Society-wide initiative about the Fundamental Principles. This work and the Society's reinvigorated approach to the Principles were tested by an incident in April 2014, when a volunteer for the Society was caught on camera treating a customer to the Swedish Red Cross shop disrespectfully, based on the customer's perceived ethnic background. The video was made public on social media and there was an outcry against the organization. However regretful the volunteer's actions, the leadership of the Society are not unhappy that this has come out into the open; it has served as an important impetus to refocus on the Fundamental Principles and what they mean for staff and volunteer behaviour.

The new five-year strategic plan for the Society is structured by the Fundamental Principles, and so they directly shape all domestic and international programmes for 2016–2019.

The leadership of the organization want to ensure that the Swedish Red Cross serves as a safe, neutral and impartial space. This flies in the face of rising xenophobia and public expressions of anger towards refugees and migrants in what they describe as a changing country.Footnote ⁴⁶ The Swedish Red Cross has made efforts to expand access with immigrant and refugee groups, particularly to promote services offering first aid in communities that may not have access to education otherwise. In times of riots or upheaval, first aid may indeed be a life-saving skill. This also serves to reach out to potential volunteers from these communities, which can lead to a positive spiral and a change in the perception of the Swedish Red Cross over time, increasing acceptance and access.Footnote ⁴⁷

The refugee support programmes are one very important way to promote the Fundamental Principles, particularly the principle of humanity. One former refugee from Morocco, who now serves as a Swedish Red Cross volunteer, describes it this way:

In Sweden, applying the Fundamental Principles throughout the organization may lead to better access to communities in the face of potential future urban unrest. It is also contributing to an increase in morale and focus for the current staff and volunteers, who are inspired by the leadership.Footnote ⁴⁹

The importance of leadership

As seen in the Somali, Australian and Canadian cases, good access does not come easily. There must be clear guidance from the top, and throughout the organization, to adhere to the Fundamental Principles in order to gain and increase access.

A deliberate strategy for gaining access and maintaining a level of safety and security for staff and volunteers requires preparation work based on the Fundamental Principles. This is the approach taken at the top of the Swedish Red Cross, and historically at the Canadian Red Cross, to lead to better access and acceptance today and in the future. The managerial courage to steer this kind of work should not be underestimated. Particularly – but not only – in conflict and post-conflict societies, experience shows that this type of work does not arise by accident. The pattern of access, negotiation and acceptance across the Movement, although far from perfect or uniform, has been drawn from efforts to use, demonstrate and live up to the Fundamental Principles.

Leaders in the Movement come in all forms and persuasions; some have not proven to be as inspirational as required.Footnote ⁵⁰ While all National Societies are legal entities based on the Geneva Conventions and the Red Cross Act in their national legislation, some leaders are appointed by the government in power, and this is a challenge for the perception of independence. Fulfilling the auxiliary role, as required by the Statutes of the Movement, is a difficult balancing act. It is often a difficult negotiation in which authorities at different levels of government need to understand deeply the Movement's role and obligations, particularly to the Fundamental Principles.Footnote ⁵¹

One leader of a National Society in the Middle East explained that, in order to push back against the demands of a person in authority, the work had to be acceptable to the volunteers. If they were not convinced that the work fulfilled the Fundamental Principles, particularly with regard to being impartial and based on need rather than on political decisions and attempts to curry favour, then the leader would not be able to lead them.Footnote ⁵² The principle of voluntary service here serves to ensure adherence to the principles of independence and impartiality.

All seven Fundamental Principles work together

Unlike other humanitarian organizations, the Movement has the last three principles of voluntary service, unity and universality that, in some ways, define the way it works. These principles tie together the work on the local, national and international scales. In some ways the Movement is expressed by the work of the 17 million volunteers; linking all the Fundamental Principles together is one way to ensure that morale and performance do not falter in this volunteer workforce.

The Lebanese Red Cross Society is a leader in the Movement for innovative practices that ensure staff and volunteers adhere to the Fundamental Principles, which secure access. Inside Lebanon, the National Society is well known throughout the country as an active and impartial provider of emergency services. It currently runs the only national emergency service, with a fleet of 270 ambulances and forty-five ambulance stations staffed by approximately 2,700 volunteers. This is not without significant challenges, particularly running a 24-hour emergency service based on volunteers.Footnote ⁵³ However, the work that the Lebanese Red Cross has been doing for decades has placed it in very good standing.

In the civil war, the Lebanese Red Cross was able to work across as many as fifty different internal “borders”; it could and still can reach areas inaccessible to government agencies, and is the only national institution with that reach.Footnote ⁵⁴ It continues to be well known for its activities and neutrality.

One way the Lebanese Red Cross ensures neutrality is through a vigorous and ongoing process of recruitment based on the Fundamental Principles. During recruitment, volunteers need to sign a neutrality oath, and backgrounds are verified in the community to ensure political neutrality. New recruits are mentored for up to a year before deployment.

Due to the religious nature of the conflict and divisions within Lebanese society, once staff and volunteers are operational, they are called by nicknames that have no religious or cultural affiliation to further reinforce neutrality. No political discussions are allowed at ambulance stations, and at some stations even the news is turned off to prevent strong reactions to the media. All eighteen different confessional groups from Lebanese society are represented in the staff and volunteers, and there is strong representation of both men and women in the teams.Footnote ⁵⁵

The Lebanese Red Cross has captured staff and volunteers’ experiences in publications with the ICRC and the British Red Cross. Many other National Societies in the region and beyond, including ICRC staff, are inspired by the Lebanese example, and imitate some elements of the Lebanese Red Cross's work in applying the Fundamental Principles. However, there is very little documentation about this work and the innovations required to deliver according to the Fundamental Principles. It is felt that with 189 National Societies, there may be many more innovations being trialled. So far the Movement has not been very successful in capturing lessons learned and saving and sharing them in ways that can promote best practice over the wider network. This article is one attempt to do so.

Decision-making guided by the Fundamental Principles

It is not enough merely to talk about the principle of humanity in a vague way. Today's Movement actors need to have access to reliable and high-quality data to make strong decisions. As discussed above in the cases of Somalia, Uganda and Sweden, the context and power holders in any situation can change and shift. In addition, for services to be relevant and stand up to challenges, the National Society must be focused on the most vulnerable as a way of demonstrating impartiality. This is not a simple task of generalizations and assumptions. Rather, it relies on communications with a range of stakeholders from different parts of society, a thorough examination of relevant information and an excellent context analysis, revisited regularly.

As we saw above in the Canadian example, a good vulnerability and capacity assessment might lead a National Society in a new and different direction. In the United Kingdom, the British Red Cross works in Northern Ireland. Throughout the years of political tensions and conflict (known euphemistically as “the Troubles”), the Red Cross operated across sectarian lines and was known for national initiatives such as blood drives, social services and first aid.Footnote ⁵⁶

In recent years, however, the management team in Northern Ireland has become concerned that services might not be focused exactly as they should be: on accessing communities that were most in need of the services, in accordance with the principle of impartiality. They examined people's access to the services that the BRC offered, whether those were emergency shelter, wheelchair loans or care in the home. This demanded a close look at the statistics across the region, using different mapping tools and indicators to identify those most vulnerable. For example, the team investigated the relevant social and geological data relating to flood risk, poverty levels, education levels and access to State services. The locations of Red Cross services and branches were also charted, and whether and how they were utilized. In small but significant ways, the data suggested that the Red Cross needed to make some different decisions and shift some of its staff, volunteers and services if it wanted to live up to the Fundamental Principles. Ambulances had to be stationed closer to where they were needed. Some branches had been operating where there was a historical link with past volunteers, but would be more useful closer to vulnerable communities.Footnote ⁵⁷ With this in mind, the Red Cross in Northern Ireland is undergoing a process of realigning people and assets to more appropriately reflect the requirements of those in need across society. In addition, the management decided to look at the demographics of the staff and volunteer base; similar to the Swedish Red Cross and the Lebanese Red Cross, the BRC also had to take steps to ensure that its personnel base reflected the diversity of the communities that it aims to serve.

This process demanded significant managerial courage in a society that is still recovering from conflict. For the Red Cross management team in Northern Ireland, even embarking on a refocusing of the work along the lines of the Fundamental Principles raised very painful reactions in some staff, many of whom saw the Red Cross as a neutral haven where divisions in society were not to be spoken about. In order to keep staff and volunteers on board, and to further diversify the staff in the future, the Fundamental Principles have been the tools for decision-making and communication.

This alignment with the Fundamental Principles has real impact in terms of access, even on a small scale. For example, Derry/Londonderry is a city quite divided between different groups of people.Footnote ⁵⁸ Political activism is still very much alive in the city, and graffiti decorates the walls and monuments in sectarian colours. The Red Cross provides a meals-on-wheels service that serves vulnerable people including those just out of hospital and the elderly. Volunteers for the service cross literal boundaries within the city four days a week.

Maintaining a position of neutrality and a focus on impartiality of services takes constant vigilance on the part of managers as well as staff and volunteers in a divided Society. A good context analysis accepts that the Society is changing, political processes are under way, and people may have very diverse views, even within a community. A Red Cross staff member described the line that staff and management have to walk:

Another staff member described the importance of showing neutrality:

This work is difficult and subtle, and takes its toll on staff. However, it pays off in terms of access. A volunteer coordinator stated that volunteers who are retired policemen now have greater access to different parts of the city as Red Cross volunteers than they ever did during their long careers in positions of State authority.Footnote ⁶¹

Training on the Fundamental Principles

Having staff and volunteers who can act and make decisions along the lines of the Fundamental Principles takes active and relevant training, and regular revisiting of the subject. It does not prove successful merely to use the Principles as part of staff members’ introduction to a Society; lessons learned from different contexts show that coming back to the Fundamental Principles before, during and after a crisis makes the organization stronger and volunteers and staff more focused.

The South African Red Cross Society had to work on acceptance and capacity-building in order to overcome a history wherein it was felt that the Society was not supportive enough of the anti-apartheid struggle prior to the 1990s. The Society started to build its reputation by providing first aid and emergency evacuations in 1993 and 1994, and at political protests and demonstrations throughout the decade. At the outbreak of xenophobic violence in 2008, the Society quickly mobilized staff, volunteers and relief supplies. Building on existing relationships, which were based on past performance, access was secured by involving different communities in the process of identifying solutions and providing relief. In addition, the Society structured its programmes to bolster community self-help initiatives and empower community volunteers.Footnote ⁶²

One element considered key, identified by a Safer Access review of the work, was building on the competencies and skills of staff so that they could be strong Red Cross “ambassadors” to help gain acceptance. An important starting point for building these skills was identified to be the Fundamental Principles. Teaching community volunteers to use the Principles to guide decision-making and relief activities was considered key to positioning the organizations and securing access during disturbances. A compilation of lessons learned identified understanding of the Principles and the ability to translate them into action in daily work and life to be essential for the success of this response.Footnote ⁶³

Managing volunteers, particularly in difficult, politicized or emotive situations, takes different management techniques and skills. In the Australian Red Cross, using the Fundamental Principles with volunteers was central to securing the right kind of behaviour and access. A colleague interviewed for this study commented:

The work in Australia would be inconceivable without the Fundamental Principles and the commitment of the wider Movement. Teaching the volunteers and continually supporting their work using the Fundamental Principles is the practical method the teams have found to sustain access and their difficult work in the long term.

In Northern Ireland, the British Red Cross has ensured that understanding of the Fundamental Principles does not just begin and end with a welcome workshop in the first few days. Managers of the different teams discuss the Fundamental Principles in monthly staff meetings, whether they are working with those who teach first aid, those who arrange wheelchair rentals or those who support refugees. This ensures a refreshed understanding of what it means to be a Red Cross volunteer, and a better ability to incorporate the Principles into daily decision-making.

Interviews with volunteers in Northern Ireland show that they do consider the regular discussions on the Fundamental Principles helpful for focusing and delivering their work. In the words of one volunteer:

In addition to regular briefings and debriefings about the Fundamental Principles, the Red Cross in Northern Ireland has improved its training materials in order to better reflect the local reality faced by volunteers there. While the BRC carries out scenario-based training on the Fundamental Principles, it was strongly felt that the training needed to be updated in this specific context to give volunteers and staff more practice and discussion around decision-making according to the Principles. Figure 3 shows an example of materials currently being used for training across Northern Ireland.

Figure 3.

Training materials for Ideals in Action. Source: Northern Ireland Management Team, Ideals in Action Training Package, BRC, 2015.

The Fundamental Principles are highly motivational for staff and volunteers. Staff are drawn to the Movement for what it stands for and how it goes about its work. In addition to providing training and interesting work, the Principles also can provide some protection. This was reported to the author by volunteers in Northern Ireland, Sweden and other places. In Lebanon, volunteering for the Lebanese Red Cross provided an alternative path to being conscripted by a militia group during the civil war.Footnote ⁶⁶ In many countries there may be pressure to volunteer or work along lines drawn according to political divides, religious differences or ethnic affiliation. The Fundamental Principles help the National Societies to be a potentially positive place where neutrality is a considerable draw.

Working as part of the Movement

Maintaining neutrality and independence in tricky situations takes intentional strategy, with the support of the resources and identity of the Movement. The Fundamental Principles – all seven together – ensure that these situations are approached systematically and practically, supported by a range of National Societies, the IFRC and the ICRC. The principles of universality and unity are not often mentioned at first in discussions about the Fundamental Principles, but then, like the principle of voluntary service, it becomes clear that the work of the Movement would not have anywhere near the access or global reach that it has without these principles. The work in Kenya discussed above was supported by the Canadians. The Canadian approach to aboriginal communities is being duplicated with work in Australia. The Northern Ireland programme was supported by the ICRC, including a recent visit to Kosovo and Serbia to connect with the National Societies working in those contexts. The ICRC is a strong supporter of National Societies working in conflicts and other situations of violence – the work cited here in Somalia, Lebanon and South Africa was specifically facilitated or supported by the ICRC.

And these are just a few examples. All of the large or complex emergencies across the world will have aspects of Movement coordination and decision-making, whether that be in response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014–2015, or the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis across the Middle East. This is not to say that these relationships and programming options are easy and free from problems; regardless, it is inconceivable that the Movement would have the scale of operations and access it does without all the Fundamental Principles, and the principles of universality and unity tying it all together.