Attachments
Executive summary
Responding to the needs of those affected by the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia was a turning point for the Georgia Red Cross Society (GRCS).
While the conflict brought many challenges, it provided the National Society with an opportunity to prove its capacity as a humanitarian actor and its immense potential as an auxiliary to the response of public authorities. Since that operation, GRCS has strategically invested in its auxiliary function, allowing the organisation not only to complement but, in certain circumstances, also substitute public services, addressing the urgent needs of thousands of households contending with the extensive consequences of conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate and weather-related disasters.
At the centre of GRCS’s strengthened auxiliary status have been investments in legislative and humanitarian advocacy, public relations and partnering with national, regional and local public authorities. These initiatives have provided the GRCS with the legal, relational and reputational channels necessary to supplement the efforts of public authorities in tasks such as search and rescue, the provision of food and non-food items, health promotion and general First Aid and community-based First Aid, assistance to people affected by disasters and conflict including the establishment of field hospitals, and the coordination of non-state actors engaged in preparedness, humanitarian response and recovery.
The special relationship between the GRCS, the IFRC, ICRC and sister National Societies has been key in supporting the GRCS in developing a stronger understanding of the parameters of its auxiliary role. It has also enhanced GRCS’s capacity in humanitarian diplomacy and international humanitarian law (IHL). The GRCS owes its ability to fulfil its auxiliary role to simultaneous investments in governance, management, branch and volunteer capacities. The support of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement (the Movement) – ICRC, IFRC, and the British, Danish, Estonian, Italian,
Norwegian and Turkish National Societies – and its donors has been instrumental in facilitating GRCS’s transformation, empowering the National Society to become a central pillar in Georgia’s humanitarian arena.
Commissioned by the IFRC, ICRC and British Red Cross, this case study forms part of a series of studies on National Society Development. The case study demonstrates how a better-defined and effectively leveraged auxiliary role allowed the GRCS to significantly contribute to the COVID-19 pandemic response and other disaster and emergency operations, and positively impact the lives of thousands of households.