Protection risks worldwide are immense, and growing. The “centrality of Protection” to all humanitarian work is increasingly emphasised. Addressing those increasing risks is crucial for the Movement to be true to its mission. Protection work throughout the Movement has increased, improved and evolved over the past decade.
However, our full potential to address growing protection risks has not been fulfilled. Within the Movement, there was a lack of common understanding of “Protection”, limiting coordination and preventing protection of people at risk.
A Protection Advisory Board was established to address these issues in 2018. Following six years of consultations, the resolution on “Protection in the Movement” was adopted unanimously by the Council of Delegates in 2024.
The resolution marks a significant step forward, reaffirming our shared responsibility as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to protect individuals and communities affected by armed conflict, disasters and other emergencies. It clarifies the scope of protection work within the Movement and the complementary roles and responsibilities of its components
The resolution commits us to develop a practical and forward-looking roadmap, one that translates our collective ambitions into concrete and actionable results that we can measure. We are now preparing to launch this important process
- Establishes a common understanding of Protection in the Movement - adopting the Movement Protection Framework as common guidance.
- Acknowledges the broad scope of existing Movement efforts.
- Establishes what the Movement seeks to achieve collectively; promoting National Societies’ capacity to contribute to protection outcomes as local humanitarian actors
- Positions a coordinated & coherent protection response externally.
- Not directive, not operational guidance - start of a process with commitment to develop a roadmap for implementation.