Red Cross in black after ‘drastic’ cuts

ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric says traditional donors have provided invaluable support in absorbing this year’s deficit © Keystone / Martial Trezzini

The Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), now in the black according to its president Mirjana Spoljaric, will cut a total of 4,000 jobs this year and next.

Cuts have had to be made in some missions, while several countries, including Switzerland, have stepped up their support.

“In view of the improved financial situation, I’m sleeping better now,” Spoljaric said in an interview published in Le Temps on Wednesday. The financial situation had now “stabilised”.

Until now, the organisation had been talking about cutting 3,000 jobs by 2023. Last September, however, it announced further significant cuts for 2024.

“I’ve never worked in an organisation that has cut staff numbers so drastically in such a short space of time,” Spoljaric said, referring to cuts of an “existential” nature.

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The programmes for 2024 have in particular been reduced in Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine and South Sudan, a spokeswoman, Fatima Sator, told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-ATS. The organisation’s budget has been reduced to CHF2.1 billion ($2.47 billion), 13% less than the revised budget for this year. Some 18,500 people will still be working for the ICRC worldwide next year.

In the interview, Spoljaric says traditional donors have provided invaluable support in absorbing this year’s deficit. China, Brazil and European countries such as Croatia and Slovenia have stepped up their support.

She also highlights the “major effort” made by the European Commission. South Korea has also joined the group of donors, while cooperation with the Gulf States has been strengthened. She also draws attention to the support of Switzerland (a one-off contribution of CHF50 million was released this year) and the City of Geneva (an extraordinary payment of CHF4 million voted for last October).

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Spoljaric also noted that a return to the negotiating table seems to be taking shape with regard to the hostages in Gaza. The organisation is conducting a dialogue at a “very high level” with the parties in order to convince them to act in favour of a release.

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The head of the ICRC, who recently visited Gaza, Israel and the West Bank, said she welcomed this possible return to the negotiating table. So far, around a hundred hostages have been released, out of the 250 who were captured by Hamas during the attack on Israeli soil on October 7.

She stresses that the organisation is working “at the limit of the level of risk that the ICRC generally tolerates in the field”. “Despite this, we remain fully committed and have no intention of leaving the enclave,” Spoljaric said, adding that two local staff had died in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes on the territory.

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