The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its disappointment by the decision of the Governing Board of the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies (IFRC) concerning the Russian Red Cross (RRC).
We are obliged to note that that the text of the decision fails to assess properly the unlawful presence and activities of the Russian Red Cross in parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine as well as in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation.
As the Ukrainian Side stressed on many occasions, the RRC`s unlawful presence and activities in the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation constitute serious violations of the Constitution and laws of Ukraine as well as international law.
The above RRC`s actions also constitute grave breaches of the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the IFRC Constitution, particularly the principle of unity, which stipulates that there can be only one Red Cross or Red Crescent Society in any one country, as well the duty of national societies to respect the territorial integrity and independence.
The decision of the IFRC Governing Board runs contrary to the resolutions of the UN General Assembly 68/262 of 27 March 2014, entitled “Territorial Integrity of Ukraine”, and ES-11/4 of 12 October 2022, entitled “Territorial integrity of Ukraine: defending the principles of the Charter of the United Nations”, which call upon all States, international organizations and United Nations specialized agencies not to recognize the attempted annexation by the Russian Federation of parts of the territory of Ukraine, and to refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognizing any altered status of those territories.
It is particularly noteworthy that the decision of the IFRC Governing Board fails to address the activities of the so-called “Donetsk red Cross” and “Luhansk Red Cross”, which act as auxiliaries to the occupying authorities of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, and the RRC`s role in establishing and supporting those illegal puppet structures.
The Ukrainian Side on several occasions has provided the documentary evidence proving the role of the aggressor state in supporting and financing the unlawful activities of the Russian Red Cross aimed at establishing its offices in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as the facts of the illegal seizure of movable and immovable property of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS).
We reiterate that the Ukrainian Red Cross Society is the only recognized Red Cross Society, which carries out humanitarian work throughout the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and has the right to establish local Red Cross branches. The URCS Donetsk and Luhansk regional branches are the integral parts of the URCS’s structure and continue to be operational, though they were compelled to temporarily relocate from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, fleeing persecutions of the occupying authorities of the Russian Federation.
Ukraine fully respects the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as the independent, non-governmental and non-political humanitarian organization. In this connection, we would like to stress that Article 4 of the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement clearly stipulates that national societies should respect the fundamental principles of the International Movement and be guided in their work by the principles of international humanitarian law. No imperatives can serve as justification for gross violation of the fundamental principles and international humanitarian law, which clearly define the legal regime of the occupied territories and the relevant obligations of the Occupying Power and national societies.
We emphasize that the RRC has been inflicting profound and long-term reputational damage to the International Federation by grossly violating international law and the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. There is nothing more important for the Red Cross than trust. A blow to the credibility of the entire International Federation is the worst consequence of the illegal actions of the RRC.
Ukraine expects that the IFRC will continue to monitor and provide an objective and unbiased assessment of the ongoing unlawful activities of the RRC in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.