9 - Humanitarians and Business

Summary

Focusing on the relationship between the ICRC and the business world, the chapter notes that the ICRC was sustained in its first decades by Swiss corporate donations. There is also passing note that two of the early basic beliefs of ICRC leaders were the value of religion and private property. The ICRC governing board has always been well stocked with business leaders but not labor leaders. That board, aka the Assembly, has not been well constructed in recent decades, but there is little firm evidence that business leaders on the board have affected ICRC field operations or active diplomacy in significant ways. In recent years the organization has created a Corporate Support Group to recognize major business donors, who remain mostly Swiss, some of whom are controversial. Overall the financial contributions to the ICRC from the business sector constitute a small percentage of the total today, although the organization contracts with a number of for-profit entities to sustain its activities.