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Questions and answers
Who could modify
the text of the Fundamental Principles?
The text of the Fundamental Principles is included in the Statutes
of the Movement. Therefore, if the text of the Fundamental Principles
were to be modified, a modification of the Statutes of the Movement
would be necessary. As a consequence, the International Conference
of the Red Cross and Red Crescent would have to decide on this matter,
because the Statutes of the Movement are adopted by the Conference.
What are the factors on which discrimination
could be based?
There are many possible factors for discrimination: gender, age,
race, colour, language, religion or belief, political or other opinion,
national, ethnic or social origin, wealth, birth, etc. The fact
that the Principle of Impartiality does not include all of these
criteria does not mean that a difference of treatment based on any
of these criteria is justified: it would indeed be discrimination
and therefore a violation of the Principle of Impartiality.
When a National society is acting as auxiliary
to the medical services of armed forces, is it a violation of the
Principle of Neutrality?
If the acts are only of a medical nature it is not a violation.
However, it does raise the issue of the image of the National Society
in such a case, especially in the context of a civil war. By undertaking
those functions, a National Society may not be seen as being neutral,
therefore putting its volunteers and staff at risk. This is why
it is of the utmost importance that all parties in a conflict understand
and respect the humanitarian role of a National Society.
Is the question of Red Cross Red Crescent
'independance' only related to the relationship between its components
and States?
No, this is a much broader issue. The independence of the Red Cross
Red Crescent is also related to its independence vis-à-vis other
forms of power, whether religious, political, economic, etc. So
the Red Cross Red Crescent needs to be independent from religions,
political parties, companies and so on.
Does the Principle of Voluntary Service
mean that no Red Cross Red Crescent person should be paid for their
work?
No, it does not. The word "volunteer" refers to someone who works
of his or her own free will, without external compulsion – and not
necessarily someone who is not paid. Whether it is done without
pay or with some form of acknowledgement or even modest remuneration,
the main thing is that it is not inspired by the desire for financial
gain but by individual commitment and devotion to the humanitarian
purpose, freely chosen or accepted as part of the service that the
Red Cross and Red Crescent render to the community.
Why is there only one National Society
in a given country?
There are several reasons for this:
- Efficiency of
work - this could be diminished if two or more Societies were
to co-exist in a given country;
- Focus - two or more Socieiteis may focus
in a disorganised manner on the same priorities, while forgetting
other fields, and have different modes of operation;
- Risk of confusion in the public mind
- difficulties could arise when attempting to decide which Society
would be the one to be represented at international level;
- Representation - there could be a risk
that each of these Societies would come to represent different
communities within the country, thus not building bridges between
communities.
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