A number of important questions have been raised regarding the possible recognition of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in the context of the forthcoming 29th International Conference.

Please find below both questions raised (Q) by the Red Cross European Legal Support Group (ELSG), and the answers (A) prepared by Mr Michael Meyer, Chair of the ELSG, and Head of International Law at the British Red Cross.

The recognition of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS)

Q1: What is the legal reasoning of the ICRC and the International Federation (on the basis of the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement for example) supporting the recognition and admission of the PRCS?

A: The reasoning is not based on the Statutes of the Movement per se. Rather, it is based on the Final Act of the Diplomatic Conference on the Adoption of the Third Additional Protocol. Numbered paragraph 15 of the Final Act records:

"The President [of the Diplomatic Conference] informed the Conference that, following the Informal Discussions among High Contracting Parties on 12-13 September 2005, Switzerland, as the depositary of the Geneva Conventions, had conducted intensive consultations. These latter led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and an Agreement on Operational Arrangements (AoA) between Magen David Adom in Israel (MDA) and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on 28 November 2005 in Geneva, which were concluded in an effort to facilitate the adoption of Protocol III and to pave the way for the admission of both societies to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement at the next International Conference of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent."

The above thus creates the basis for action by the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in June to invite the ICRC and the Federation, respectively, to recognise and admit the PRCS. It is, in effect, a request made by the States parties to the 1949 Geneva Conventions (or, more precisely, by the 144 High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions which participated in the Diplomatic Conference, which is a very clear majority of the States parties).

The International Conference itself cannot formally instruct the ICRC and the Federation to take such measures, these being the sole prerogatives of the ICRC and the Federation under their respective statutes and under the Statutes of the Movement (please see Statutes of the Movement, Art. 11(6)). However, the International Conference is able to assign mandates to the ICRC and the Federation within the limits of their statutes and the Statutes of the Movement, which both institutions are empowered to accept (Statutes of the Movement, Arts. 10(6), 5(2)(h) and 6(4)(l); ICRC statutes, Art. 4(h); Federation Constitution, Art. 3(1)(k).

Action on the basis of the Final Act will not create a precedent. In effect, it will waive the requirement to consider whether condition 1 of the Conditions for recognition of National Societies, that a National Society should be constituted on the territory of an independent State where the First Geneva Convention of 1949 is in force, has been met (Statutes of the Movement, Art. 4(1) refers). The International Conference has the sole competence to take a final decision on the interpretation and application of the Movement's Statutes (Art. 10(3)(b)), and consequently, such an action may also be considered an agreed interpretation of Article 4 of the Movement's Statutes in the specific case of the PRCS.


Q2: Does the recognition of the PRCS imply recognition of a Palestinian State by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement?

A: It is not within the competence of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to recognise a State; this is a matter for States, acting individually or collectively. An invitation from the International Conference to the ICRC to recognise the PRCS (and to the Federation to admit the PRCS to membership) will be an exceptional decision, and action by the ICRC and the Federation based on this International Conference decision will also be exceptional. It will not confer recognition of a Palestinian State, it will only formalise the existing close links between the PRCS and the Movement. Recognition/admission of the PRCS may also be seen as a practical agreement between humanitarian organisations, leading to improved co-operation in the field. It will not create a precedent.


Q3: If the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement recognizes the PRCS and the Palestinian State, is this action in accordance with one of the Fundamental Principles of the Movement: Neutrality? This latter Principle states that the Movement may not engage in controversies of a political nature.

A: The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement would not be recognising a Palestinian State; only States can do that (please see the response to Q2 above).

The Movement will be recognising the PRCS - or, more specifically, the ICRC will be recognising the PRCS and the Federation will be admitting the PRCS to membership, on the basis of a request from the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (please see the response to Q2 above). The members of the International Conference include delegations from all the States Parties to the 1949 Geneva Conventions (including all members of the UN Security Council, Israel and all EU member States), as well as from all the recognised National Societies, the ICRC and the International Federation (Statutes of the Movement, Art. 9(1)).

At the International Conference, representatives of the States Parties to the Geneva Conventions are present, in part, in support of the overall work of the Movement in terms of Article 2 of the Statutes of the Movement. Art. 2(4) provides: "The States shall at all times respect the adherence by all the components of the Movement to the Fundamental Principles." The International Conference has, as its first function, to contribute "to the unity of the Movement and to the achievement of its mission in full respect of the Fundamental Principles" (Art. 10(1)). All participants in the International Conference shall respect the Fundamental Principles (Art. 11(4)). Thus, the decision by the International Conference inviting the ICRC and the Federation, respectively, to recognise and admit the PRCS will be on the basis of the Fundamental Principles; put differently, State delegations, as well as those of the Movement, will be acting in respect of the Fundamental Principles. It may be said that States in particular will be putting humanitarian needs in the region before political considerations; they will be respecting the Fundamental Principle of Humanity, and the decision will not affect the question of a Palestinian State.


Q4: Will the recognition of the PRCS set a precedent for the recognition of other National Societies constituted on territories which are not considered as independent by the States?

A: Absolutely not. Recognition of the PRCS by the ICRC will be on the basis of an invitation from the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, which itself will be based on the Final Act of the Diplomatic Conference which adopted the Third Additional Protocol in December 2005. (Also see the response to Q1 above). It will arise from agreements signed between the Magen David Adom in Israel (MDA) and the PRCS in November 2005, aimed, inter alia, at paving the way for the adoption of the Third Additional Protocol and for the entry of both the MDA and the PRCS into the Movement. In short, recognition of the PRCS will be linked to the particular situation of the MDA and the PRCS in late 2005, and to adoption of the Third Additional Protocol. It will be unable to be extrapolated to other situations.