A URCS ambulance
On October 8, 1965, taking into account the lessons learned from the first 100 years of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the 20th International Conference of the Red Cross gathered in Vienna, formulated and adopted seven fundamental principles.
The principles of Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity, and Universality are grounded in International Humanitarian Law and on the pillar that human suffering doesn’t discriminate, and neither should humanitarian assistance.
For 60 years, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has relied on these principles to build trust and deliver humanitarian assistance while exercising the unique auxiliary role to public authorities, in restoring dignity, hope, and responding to humanitarian crises all over the world.
The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS), just like in the rest of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement around the world, is always one of the first organizations that responds to humanitarian crises.
This is made possible by the common passion to extend humanitarian assistance swiftly and safely, whether in times of emergencies or armed conflicts. URCS has dedicated thousands of staff, volunteers, and members to extending humanitarian assistance in Uganda.
URCS emergency teams evacuate accidents victims to hospital
It successfully negotiated humanitarian access during the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency in Northern Uganda, carried out safe evacuations and medical transfers during the COVID-19 and Ebola outbreaks, responded to landslides in the Elgon and Rwenzori region, and continuously reunited families separated due to conflict among others.
Today, now more than ever, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Fundamental Principles, although a reflection of not only the history, but the future of humanitarian assistance globally, are constantly under threat from the unpredictable conflicts and changing global landscape, undermining the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Violence targeting humanitarian workers has risen alarmingly in recent years. In 2024, the Aid Worker Security Database recorded 383 fatalities, a 31 per cent increase from the previous year and the highest number ever documented.
Disturbingly, the upward trend continues, with 265 deaths already reported by mid-August 2025. Humanitarian Aid, in many armed conflicts, has been weaponized, made conditional, and subject to political alignment and geostrategic interests.
This may be blamed on governments and armed groups that constantly manipulate humanitarian aid for political and military advantage, downplaying the humanitarian assistance architecture, creating a ray of uncertainty, and making it difficult to alleviate human suffering.
Deliberate and targeted misinformation campaigns aimed at disparaging the humanitarian assistance have eroded trust in humanitarian assistance globally. These campaigns have compromised the security of humanitarian workers, making it difficult to execute their duties ably.
Despite having the obligation under the Fourth Geneva Convention to ensure humanitarian access, the parties to armed conflicts have blocked food, medication, and other supplies crucial for the survival of civilians, creating a very hostile environment for the operation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Humanitarian response is never a luxury; it is the difference between life and death! Our plea to the government and all actors is to foster a culture that respects the Red Cross and Red Crescent Fundamental Principles and ease the application of humanitarian assistance today and in the future. Humanity needs you!
The author is the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Focal Point at the Uganda Red Cross Society.
mtusubira@redcrossug.org
