1. Implementation of Global Agenda Goal 3
1.1 The Commission reviewed the current status of the implementation of the “Global Agenda Goal 3” which propels the IFRC to “Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability”. It welcomed the discussion paper commissioned by the Secretariat which contains in-depth analysis. In reference to my report to the Board in June 2006, I would like to reiterate the concern that we still face with the disparity, both in the understanding of Global Agenda goal 3 and its relationship to the other three goals.
1.2 The Development Commission requested the Secretariat to work further on practical guidance for easy interpretation of the Goal 3 based on the realities of National Societies. It decided to share the discussion paper reviewed by the Commission with the Governing Board for its attention.
1.3 The Development Commission is requesting the Governing Board to review the following simple and measurable indicators to monitor our progress towards achieving Goal 3:
• The total number of NS local-community-based units at the end of the year. The increase/decrease since last year. Percentage of local communities having NS units.
• The total number of volunteers in NS grassroots units contributing 150 unpaid service hours or more in the year. The increase/decrease since last year.
• The total number of beneficiaries directly served on a regular basis by NS grassroots units during the year. The increase/decrease since last year.
2. The Federation Volunteering Development Programme
2.1 The Commission reviewed the current situation as well as the key milestones during the period 1999 – 2007 on volunteering development work of the Federation. In 2007, two key developments have been the Federation Volunteer Accident Insurance scheme and the study on Volunteers in Emergencies with focus on four emergency operations in Asia Pacific.
2.2 As it was highlighted in my report to the Governing Board last year, we need to take more concrete initiatives to deal with NS membership issues and clarify the differences of NS members and volunteers. This is a sensitive issue because of right to vote and to be elected and eventually of power distribution within the National Society.
The Development Commission requested the Secretariat to undertake as urgent priority to:
• initiate a process to review whether a further distinction between members and volunteers is needed in the Volunteering Policy adopted in 1999
• start a process of collecting data on the current number of RC/RC volunteers and members who are associated with the National Societies
For me personally, it is clear that in the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement we can have two kinds of member: paying members and active members, and we call the active members “volunteers”. In my National Society volunteers are also paying members, even if they pay half of the other non active members’ annual fees.
2.3 The Commission requests the support of the Governing Board Ad Hoc Group on Volunteering to provide further guidance and support to address these two long standing questions. I would like to remember that voluntary service is a core issue and not an optional for our Movement, being one of the Fundamental Principles.
3. Capacity Building Strategy for Africa
3.1 The Commission welcomed the work being done by the Secretariat on the follow-up to the decision of the extraordinary session of the Governing Board early this year on the development of the Capacity Building Strategy for Africa. For the Capacity Building strategy to be effective, it was noted that African National Societies should own it and in order for ownership to take hold, it was requested that the strategy development process be wide and inclusive. The current initiatives to involve networks such as NEPARC and PACT should continue and existing meetings of the National Societies and networks in the region should be utilised for further consultations.
3.2 For the strategy to be useful and a living document, it should be tailored to sub regional and country context. Emphasis should be put on country level planning and strategy implementation should be linked to the new support modality such as the intensified capacity building (ICB).
3.3 The common consensus was that there is the need to address the National Society leadership issue as a prerequisite for a national society’s development. Success in all other areas such as attracting competent staff, mobilising resources and effective delivery of services will depend on strong leadership.
4. Micro financing/micro credit
4.1 The Commission reviewed the question of micro credit/micro financing. It was briefed on the independent study on the possible forms of cooperation between the Federation and the Grameen Bank , which looked at the relevance and feasibility of incorporating micro-credit work in Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) programmes in Africa. Prof. Luisa Brunori of the University of Bologna was invited to give further highlight on micro credit. Her contribution was in the sense that micro credit initiatives go beyond pure financial schemes and involve group dynamics.
4.2 The Commission was informed of the issues raised in the Grameen Bank report, namely, cautiousness about the term micro-credit as it is a subset of the broader term micro financing, which includes many different aspects in helping poor people which the Red Cross and Red Crescent’s work is already embedded.
4.3 It was also noted that, despite the fact that some National Societies utilize micro credit instruments in their programmes, generally speaking the RC/RC Movement does not have the expertise in this field and therefore little or no technical capacity to support these types of programmes. The report tables several risks in working in the field of micro-credit; legal, reputation as well as the risk of dedicating too many limited resources of NS into this area rather than in areas of competency and comparative advantage.
4.4 In view of the earlier mentioned study and the presentation of the University of Bologna Professor, the Commission noted that interested NS could form groups and do feasibility study on how to make this work.
5. Rome Consensus on Humanitarian Drug Policy
5.1 The Commission took note of the two Rome Consensus on Humanitarian Drug Policy, which were signed by 44 National Societies in December 2005 and March 2007, and stresses the important role National Societies can play in the field of drug abuse, both from the advocacy and action point of view. Drug abuse is increasing worldwide, and it is not only a health problem, but it also affects economies and development of entire societies.
6. Other issues
The Development Commission also reviewed and appreciated the report on networks and reference centres, and noted that networking and the new decentralized system of zones are complementary and not in contradiction. The Commission also stressed the importance of maintaining the historical memory of the Federation through systems such as FedNet. Throughout its deliberations, both at the joint session and the individual meeting, the Commission highlighted the importance of respect for diversity of NS, as Federation tools are often Anglo-Saxon based, especially when referring to acronyms (PATS, PAS, PCM, PRISM, SMART…).
7. The future of the Commissions
The Commission recognises the strategic value of Commissions to the Board and the IFRC as a whole. It unanimously agreed that since the meetings of the Commission are not frequent, ways and means of communication more should be explored.
Thank you Mr President