IMRA Newsletter
International Committee of the Red Cross: Magen David Adom Membership frozen due to Violence
The Jerusalem Post
June 2, 2004
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1086152909463&p=1078027574097
Magen David Adom's entry and full membership in the International Committee of the Red Cross is currently frozen because of the ongoing violence in the region, a senior International Red Cross Official said.
"There must be a positive atmosphere for a consensus on this issue, and it is difficult to build a new consensus on this issue at the present time," said ICRC Director for International Law, Francois Bugnion in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. Bugnion added that the results of a vote now among the nearly 200 nations who are signatories to the Geneva Conventions would be unpredictable. "If we force a vote, and it gets through fine, but if it fails then the issue is absolutely frozen," he said, noting that he would be "important" to seek Palestinian approval for the move - even though the PA is not a party to the Geneva Conventions.
His remarks stand in contrast to those of American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha Evans, who said Wednesday in a telephone interview from Washington that the group "remained steadfast" that the MDA should be admitted into the ICRC as a full member "instead of some pseudo-membership."
She also mentioned progress on the issue at an international meeting in Geneva in December, and said she was hopeful that Switzerland will convene a diplomatic conference to resolve the issue shortly.
However, the Swiss government, which must give six months notification about such a meet, has given no indication when it would act, she said.
The American Red Cross has withheld $25 million in administrative funding for the ICRC since 2000 because of the dispute over MDA's exclusion from the movement, a move initiated under the leadership of Evan's predecessor, Bernadine Healy, who was a leading and passionate advocate of MDA's full entry into the ICRC.
Relations between Israel and the Geneva-based ICRC have been strained for decades during which Israel's Magen David Adom was excluded from full ICRC membership and voting rights because the ICRC does not recognize MDA's symbol, a red Star of David.
Bugnion noted that the group had come very close to reaching a solution in 2000, and had drafted a protocol to the effect, but the resolution was scuttled by the outbreak of Palestinian violence that fall.
He said that "a certain number" of governments, including Arab and Islamic governments, felt that with the region immersed in violence, "the time was not right to discuss this issue."
But the director of the Foreign Ministry's International Organizations department, Daniel Meron, said that the MDA's "long-overdue" entry into the ICRC is now "more urgent than ever" as Israel fights terrorism, and to indefinitely postpone the MDA's entry into the ICRC because of current wave of violence is mixing politics with humanitarian needs.
"The current events show us the urgency for a solution to be found," Meron said. "This should not be a political issue, since we are dealing with a humanitarian organization that does not differentiate between Israelis and Palestinians," he said.
MDA first applied for ICRC membership in 1949, while today, nearly six decades later, although ties have warmed considerably, the MDA is still relegated to observer status.
Magen David Adom's foreign liaison with the ICRC, Haim Dagan, said Wednesday that the Swiss government "must be convinced" that if they convene the conference, the protocol, which is supported by the ICRC, will pass.
Earlier this year, senior Red Cross leaders told Magen David Adom officials that diplomatic progress between Israel and the Palestinians would help them persuade member countries to approve MDA as an official member and to recognize its symbol.