icrc-annual-report-2013

in 11 countries, recording positive developments in Brazil, China,the Islamic Republic of Iran and Mexico.Media interest remained intense on the ICRC’s work in prioritycontexts, such as Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and the occupied territories,Mali, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan and Syria, andon priority topics, with the organization providing footage andphotos for broadcast and online articles to spread awareness ofhumanitarian issues and illustrate the ICRC’s response.SHAPE THE DEBATE ON LEGAL AND POLICY ISSUESRELATED TO THE ICRC’S MISSIONThe ICRC aims to bring its expertise to bear and make its voiceheard in a timely and effective manner in both traditional and newfora, constantly expanding its network of contacts. This will helpenhance respect for the lives and dignity of people affected by armedconflicts and other situations of violence and for the ICRC’s neutral,impartial and independent humanitarian action.The ICRC continued to make substantial progress in respect ofthe “Strengthening IHL” process. During four regional meetings,98 States tackled detention-related questions. States were also consultedon the possible functions of an IHL compliance system.Key stakeholders were updated on the ICRC’s legal and operationalconcerns and priorities in multilateral fora such as the UN,regional intergovernmental organizations (e.g. African Union,Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) and movements (e.g. Non-Aligned Movement). The ICRC influenced developments in thehumanitarian sector through its participation in humanitariancoordination meetings.disposal a newly established Individual Development programme,offering external training, coaching, and career development.New databases deployed in the framework of the InformationManagement programme aimed to organize and share informationand to process requests, while a Business Intelligenceprogramme was established to strengthen the ICRC’s ability tocapitalize on available information to make appropriate and timelymanagement decisions. The organization also began to look intothe range of activities and services carried out at headquarters andto examine different options in terms of structure/organization;this included the completion of a study about corporate services.While continuing to develop reference frameworks for resultbasedmanagement at programme level, the Directorate decidedto launch the field planning and monitoring tools project after theoperational result-based management project finished definingthe scope and requirements for new field planning and monitoringtools.In line with the Funding strategy 2012–2020, the ICRC continuedto work on broadening its donor base among governments,National Societies and private sources; progress on donor diversificationnevertheless remained slow. Although a number of governmentsstruggled to maintain their level of contributions to theICRC, governments overall provided a higher level of support in2013 than in the previous year, with the response to the Syrianarmed conflict attracting a high level of funding.Through its Health Care in Danger project, the ICRC continuedto highlight the insecurity of health care in armed conflicts andother situations of violence, working closely with Médecins SansFrontières, WHO and the World Medical Association. Experts fromacross the globe, including representatives from over 30 NationalSocieties, participated in five workshops discussing the challengesfaced by health/medical services and how to deal with them.Public communication and events, including online, organizedas part of the “150 years of humanitarian action” initiativemarking the ICRC’s anniversary and other key dates, mobilizedpeople worldwide and stimulated awareness of humanitarian issues.A first online IHL course was readied, and the new online IHLtraining centre was due to be launched for external audiences atthe beginning of 2014.OPTIMIZE THE ICRC’S PERFORMANCEThe ICRC aims to meet its objectives and fulfil expectations, safeguardingconsistency across the organization while maintainingoperational flexibility.The People Management programme continued to be implemented,the priority being job grading and rewards projects. TheHuman Resources (HR) Department refined the new HR servicedelivery model, clarifying the responsibilities of HR managersin the field. A first-ever global survey of both resident andmobile staff provided input for this process. Following successfulpilot sessions, the first module of the ICRC HumanitarianLeadership and Management School was ready for roll-out.By 2014, specialized mobile and resident staff will have at theirICRC ANNUAL REPORT DIRECTORATE 2013 | 57