ICRC’s Present-Day Organizational Structure

In 1863, the International Committee of the Red Cross was established. Its operations extend across all continents. It provides humanitarian assistance to people afflicted by war and domestic conflict. The ICRC is organized into three basic divisions: the directorate, the assembly, and the staff. The directorate is in charge of the organization’s everyday management tasks. A Director-General oversees the organization. Five other directors oversee their divisions and report directly to the Director-General. Human Resources, Operations, Financial Resources and Logistics, International Law and Cooperation, and Communication and Information Management are the departments (Forsythe et al., 2016). The assembly interviews candidates for the directorship.Those appointed serve for four-year terms. Initially, the Director-General served in an equal capacity as the other four directors and reported to the assembly. However, the dynamics has changed, and the current Director-General takes a more significant responsibility for the roles of the directorate, acting as the Chief Executive Officer. The assembly convenes after a defined period to deliberate on the missions and strategies of implementing these missions. Each member of the assembly must be conversant with French, English or German. An individual who gets a three-quarter majority vote of the members serves for four years, which is renewable. The Swiss neutrality in many conflicts has made the Swiss-dominance in the assembly an asset. Regimes are unlikely to lock the ICRC out due to this neutrality. Due to this characteristic, other organizations are ready to work with the organization. The Assembly Council is made up of five assembly members who meet at least ten times a year to organize for assembly meetings and address emergencies. The president leads the council and he is elected by the whole assembly for a tenure of four years. Volunteers initially controlled the ICRC operations. Due to its growth, the organization started hiring professional staff (Forsythe et al., 2016). Today, ICRC has employees hired at the national level in all the countries where its delegations operate.

ICRC’s current mission

According to Hafner-Button et al., (2009) disagreements and partnerships are influenced heavily by changes such as political realignments. The organization mandates the protection of lives affected by violence and armed conflict. The statutes of the organization require those carrying out activities to remain neutral and independent when dealing with victims of armed conflict and violence (Stibbe, 2006; International Committee of the Red Cross, 2006). The organization has mechanisms to ensure that it is in a position to respond to emergencies. It aims at promoting utmost respect for international law by ensuring that it is implemented at the national level.

Many engagements between the ICRC and states have been successful. This can be attributed to the organization’s success in portraying itself as a neutral organization that respects confidential negotiations. The organization has been able to secure access to captives of war and improve their living standards. The organization avoids exposing abuses and using public pressure as a way of coercing governments into respecting the international humanitarian law. Instead, it emphasizes on low-key engagements (Dahlgren et al., 2009).

Challenges Facing the Organization and Factors Tied to Them

Accessing victims of various situations of violence remain the largest challenge by ICRC. In many cases, perpetrators of violence and powerful people of organizations fear being exposed (International Committee of the Red Cross, 2006). They relate any form of intervention with international humanitarian law to punish the perpetrators. Therefore, ICRC has problems convincing both the perpetrators and those of power that there is a neutral body.

ICRC has built a reputation in most parts of the world. Therefore, its intention to intervene in any conflict creates a lot of expectations among the local people. Meeting the expectations remain a challenge because of logistical and resource capacities. Relieving the suffering of individuals affected by the armed conflict is essential in enhancing ICRC’s acceptance and support by the local people (Bugnion, 2004). However, these individuals expect that the organization will alleviate all their problems, including those that are not related to armed conflict.

Security of ICRC staff remains a challenge in many regions around the world. The organization has been intervening in ongoing conflicts where the assailants are still pursuing the victims (Forsythe, 2005). ICRC employees and those of its partners may become targets in such situations. Thus, the organization may not fully meet its mandate due to fear.

Potential Areas of Transformational Change in the Organization

In the contemporary world, humanitarian response has grown into a multi-faceted sector. The number of needs of conflict victims has increased, and this has attracted multiple actors (World Health Organization, 2009). ICRC can Despite the potential that this process presents, it should be conducted with caution since relations with certain organizations may depict the organization as partisan thus inhibiting is effectiveness.

Advancements in science and technology have a great potential of improving efficiency in any organization if incorporated into into its operations. One of the most crucial challenges explained above is the security of the staff. Limiting the staff numbers while employing more technology will help in alleviating this risk. For instance, functions such as education of the masses on their rights can be conducted remotely using technology. Collection of information and data can also utilize latest technologies.

References

Bugnion, F. (2004). The International Committee of the Red Cross and the development of international humanitarian law. Chi. J. Int’l L., 5, 191.

Dahlgren, A. L., DeRoo, L., Avril, J., Bise, G., & Loutan, L. (2009). Health risks and risk‐taking behaviors among International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expatriates returning from humanitarian missions. Journal of travel medicine, 16(6), 382-390.

Forsythe, D. P. (2005). The Humanitarians: The International Committee of the Red Cross. Cambridge University Press.

Forsythe, D. P., & Rieffer-Flanagan, B. A. (2016). The International Committee of the Red Cross: a neutral humanitarian actor (Vol. 117). Routledge.

 Hafner-Burton, E. M., Kahler, M., & Montgomery, A. H. (2009). Network analysis for international relations. International Organization, 63(3), 569.

International Committee of the Red Cross. (2006). Challenges faced by ICRC and international humanitarian law (IHL): Speech delivered by Jakob Kellenberger, President of the ICRC, at Georgetown University, Washington. Retrieved from https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/statement/kellenberger-statement-191006.htm

International Committee of the Red Cross. (2017). The ICRC’s mandate and mission. Retrieved from https://www.icrc.org/en/mandate-and-mission

Stibbe, M. (2006). The internment of civilians by belligerent states during the First World War and the response of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Journal of Contemporary History, 41(1), 5-19.

World Health Organization. (2009). The Movement. Retrieved from http://cdrwww.who.int/hac/events/tsunamiconf/presentations/2_14_non_governmental_actors_budstedt_doc.pdf