Joe Lowry in Kiev
“We must start by knowing who we are. If we do not know who we are, how can we face the outside world?”
That was the question posed by IFRC President Tadateru Konoé, who was visiting the Ukrainian capital Kiev. His question answered itself, as he was able to get to know 12 National Societies from Eastern Europe and Central Asia in an intensive series of meetings, as well as paying visits to the Ukrainian parliament and presidential offices.
But what seemed to move President Konoé most was a visit to the Ukrainian National Chernobyl Museum, shortly after he got off the plane from Amman, from another exhaustive series of meetings, en route from seeing the devastation wrought by the floods on Pakistan.
President Konoé wrote a long inscription in the visitors’ book at the museum, after spending nearly an hour reliving the world’s worst civilian nuclear disaster. Coming from a country which experienced nuclear attack, the subject held special interest for the president. Ukraine Red Cross presented one of its mobile diagnostic laboratory teams to Mr Konoé. The teams are responsible for scanning residents in the affected zone for thyroid cancers – Mr Konoé received the all-clear after his scan from team leader Dr Vladimir Sirt.
It was down to business the next day, with a discussion on the evolution of Federation support to National Societies in the Eastern part of the europe zone, followed by official meetings with the highest levels of the Ukrainian administration.
First President Konoé met the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Volodymyr Litvin, where he was able to thank parliament for passing legislation on the emblem and status of the Red Cross in Ukraine. He then met with the head of the presidential administration, Andrii Goncharuk, who invited IFRC to participate in an international conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster in Kiev next April.
He was accompanied on his visit to the administration by Dr Ivan Usichenko, President of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, and Anitta Underlin, Director of the IFRC’s European zone office.
The International Committee of the Red Cross joined the main meeting for a discussions on National Society statutes and to assist with preparations for next year’s International Conference in Geneva. During an evening reception, President Konoé welcomed guests from embassies, media and ministries. This provided another opportunity to meet National Societies, and also allowed them to meet with the new Undersecretary General for humanitarian diplomacy, Goli Ameri.
The meeting concluded with the formulation of draft undertakings by National Societies to engage with their governments leading up to the 31st International Conference, update their statutes, build on cooperation agreements, and support a Russian language centre. The ICRC and the IFRC committed to provide all necessary support to enable these to become a reality.