Red Cross entities unite

Prince Albert has joined a gathering of the entire Red Cross Movement in Geneva for a conference that is taking place under the theme: ‘Acting today to shape the world of tomorrow’.

The Prince headed a Monegasque delegation composed of representatives of the government and the Monegasque Red Cross on Monday 9th December. He attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, which is currently being held in Geneva until 12th December.

The conference, held every four years, brings together the entire Red Cross movement, including national societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross (CICR), the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and members of the Geneva Conventions, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Through this conference, the various groups are able to reflect and make decisions on major humanitarian issues.

At the opening ceremony, HE Carole Lanteri, Ambassador of Monaco to the United Nations Office at Geneva, was elected Chairperson of the commission ‘IHL as an instrument for the protection of persons in armed conflicts’. “This election, a first for Monaco, is a sign of the movement’s confidence as a whole with regard to the Principality and recognition for its commitment to strengthening respect for international humanitarian law,” said the Prince’s government in a statement.

Prince Albert inaugurating the Red Cross stand © Gaetan Luci / Prince’s Palace

Together with Frédéric Platini, General Secretary of the Monaco Red Cross, Prince Albert also inaugurated a new building that will be used jointly by the Monaco Red Cross and the Burkina Faso Red Cross. The building is the former Monaco Pavilion from the World Expo Milan 2015. It has been entirely dismantled and reassembled at Loumbila, near Ouagadougou, and now serves as a multipurpose training centre for the Burkina Faso Red Cross.

On the sidelines of the conference, HSH Prince Albert II visited the new premises of the IFRC, which is celebrating its centenary this year, and met with the President of the Federation, Francesco Rocca, and his Secretary-General As Sy.