Red Cross decides not to close Russian branch despite violation of neutrality rules - media
Kyiv • UNN
The International Red Cross Movement decided not to suspend the activities of the Russian Red Cross, despite potential violations of the rules of neutrality identified during the investigation, instead deciding to create an oversight body to address these issues.
The International Red Cross Movement has decided not to suspend the membership of the Russian Red Cross, despite potential violations of the rules of neutrality revealed as a result of an investigation by a group of international media. This is reported by The Guardian, according to UNN.
Details
The investigation revealed numerous violations of the Red Cross charter by the Russian organization since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has the right to suspend membership in an organization that violates the principles of neutrality and independence of the ICRC, which was done in relation to the Belarusian branch last year.
However, after a four-day meeting of IFRC officials in Geneva, it was decided not to suspend the Russian Red Cross, but only to create a supervisory body and ask it to "address the identified problems and alleged violations" of integrity.
The investigation, published last month by a group of publications including the Guardian, was partly based on a series of leaked Kremlin documents that appeared to show plans to fund Russian Red Cross branches in the occupied Ukrainian territory.
It was also found that high-ranking officials in the regional branches of the Russian Red Cross spoke of the need for war against "Ukrainian Nazis," and uniformed Red Cross employees often attended military training events for children. Earlier this year, the Russian Red Cross signed a memorandum of cooperation with Artek, a youth camp in annexed Crimea where some children deported from Ukraine were sent. The head of Artek, Konstantin Fedorenko, has been subject to US and EU sanctions.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets accused the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) of "turning into a lawyer for Russian criminals".
