The Department of International Law of People’s Friendship University of Russia (PFUR), the Regional Representation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Russia and the Russian Red Cross have organized the study session “Model IFRC General Assembly” held on 12 April 2014 in frames of 12th Annual International Conference (Blischenko conference) “Current Issues in International Law”.
The General Assembly constitutes the supreme body of the IFRC that gathers delegates from all 189 member National Societies of the IFRC. The purpose of the study session is the dissemination of the fundamental principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement among youth while familiarizing them with the principles of work of the General Assembly, its mechanisms of elaboration and adoption of resolutions as well as providing a better understanding of the activities and roles of National Societies and the IFRC itself.
Students and Ph.D. students of the International Law Department of PFUR represented the National Societies form Albania, Bangladesh, Burundi, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Ecuador, Georgia, Nigeria, Iraq, Russian Federation, Serbia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine as well as observers.
Under the Chairmanship of the President of the IFRC (Alexandra Koneva), the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (Nika Buzaladze) and the Secretary General of the IFRC (Alexandra Pavlova) the participants debated the following issues on the agenda of the General Assembly:
· respecting and protecting healthcare in armed conflict and other situations of violence;
· strengthening the normative frameworks concerning disaster mitigation, response and recovery.
The study session of the General Assembly resulted in the adoption of two resolutions:
1. Health care in danger: respecting and protecting health care in armed conflict and other situations of violence
2. Strengthening normative frameworks and addressing regulatory barriers concerning disaster mitigation, response and recovery.
In the conclusion of the event the organisers decided to elaborate the manual on the study session “Model IFRC General Assembly” with the aim of disseminating the knowledge and experience in holding the abovementioned Model in the CIS countries which would allow to raise the interest of the young generation in the humanitarian activities and enhance the engagement of the youth in the work of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
