 Hello and welcome to this Open Doors event at the ICRC's headquarters in Geneva. This is your chance to put your question live to the ICRC's director-general Yfdakor. I'm delighted to say that we've actually had hundreds of questions and comments already. We've had questions from places from all over the world, from India to South Africa, from China to Lebanon. We've really been very impressed by the number and the quality of the questions and the interests that's been shown today. And of course, it's not too late. You can still send in your questions via the Facebook page, or indeed you can tweet us on at Ask Yve. So please do keep your questions coming in. We're going to try to get to as many of those questions as we can. Obviously, we have limited time today, so if you don't hear your question answered, do go back to the Facebook page and we're going to try to get to as many as we can over the next few days. So about today, today is in fact the first time that the ICRC has opened the doors of its Geneva offices, of headquarters to the local community here, and it's one of many events that are going on to mark the 150th anniversary of the organisation. And we're really delighted to see so many people who've given up their Sunday to come along here today and learn a bit more about an organisation which really is so much part of their local community. So if you hear music going on outside, that's part of the general activities that are going on around us today. I know you've been out and about today Eve. It's been a wonderful day. Would you like to tell us a bit about your impressions and what you've been doing today? Great impression, because always when you do this kind of open day, you never know exactly what to expect. And it's great to see how so many people have been there with us, interested, joining us, asking questions. And I think we learn a lot from that type of dynamic, so I'm really very pleased. And I'm also very pleased to have the chance to finish this open day with you here, because I think it's great to not only be in connections with the local community, but also with all the people. So I'm very grateful to be here with you right now. This is really a chance, yes, for you to join in this day with us. Okay, and Eve, perhaps I'm going to start with a casual question, perhaps not so casual, but can you tell us a little bit more about your role as the director general, what you do on a daily basis, what your big challenges are? What I do is very clear. I'm leading, in fact, the executive team of the ICSE. So my job is really to make sure that in a way all what we do makes sense together. I have a lot of very, very good people working with me. It makes my life much more easy, and I'm happy about that, but I'm really the one who's trying to bring that together. Because, as you know, at the ICSE, we're working in so different places. We have to do also some very operational work, some diplomatic work, some work regarding law, and all that at the same time need to make sense and need to be brought together. So that's my first role. And then, of course, I have a role by making sure that we have the right means to do the job in terms of money resources, human resources, and being sure that also we bring the right support to our colleagues. We have colleagues in 82 countries in the world, so it makes life extremely interesting and challenging. And right now my biggest challenge, if you ask me, one is remain right now these days regarding, I would say, the situation in the Middle East and especially in Syria, I think. We are rather nervous as everybody about that, and that's a big challenge right now. Well, I think that really does bring us to the first question. I mean, we've had a lot of questions about Syria. It's not really surprising. Anybody who's been following the news, I mean, we're all shocked by this humanitarian catastrophe that's unfolding there. So let's get straight to that really tough question. We've had a number of questions, but one here from Petra in the USA, who says, what is the ICSE doing in the light of new developments in Syria, and of course with particular reference to the alleged use of chemical weapons? Can you give us your thoughts? With pleasure. Thanks for the question because I think it's a very important question for all of us. Right now you have to know first what we're trying to do even today is to make sure that what we do in Syria makes sense and is relevant. We have right now teams in Damascus but also in Tartuws in Aleppo and trying to reach also to other places. So I think we need to make sure that we are able to do what we should be able to do. We can do a lot of work when it's about water and sanitation, for example. There's an enormous need in water in the type of situation like in Syria. A lot of work also related to economic security and we're trying hard to do work on the medical issues and what we call detentions and protection. I must say sometimes it's very frustrating because the needs and you mentioned that the needs in Syria are extremely heavy and I don't have the feeling that the situation for the Syrian population is getting better right now. So what we have done also is to equip our team to be able to deal with any situation including chemical weapons we need to be able to do so and of course to do all the diplomatic work and all the bilateral work also together with our colleagues from the Syrian Red Crescent with the government but also with the opposition and of course around the world to prepare ourselves for the next phase of this conflict. And of course as you said it must be at times extremely frustrating when you see how much needs to be done. It is certainly right now if you would ask any ICSE colleagues people will tell you Syria is certainly one of the most frustrating context because the needs are enormous. I think we are also very nervous because we don't see any solutions even political solutions for Syrian right now and at the same times we have to take a lot of risk to be able to do what we can do and we would like to do more. We do a lot already and it's much better now that a year ago so we've improved our response but it's still far from what we would like to do. So I think there is an enormous frustration. We are working hard. We had also just to give you an example 22 colleagues of the Syrian Red Crescent which were killed the last two were killed in Homs three days ago it gives you the impression of what it means right now to be able on the spot to try to bring assistance, protections to people. And of course the latest developments are not very encouraging because we don't see any political solutions and yes in that case solution should come to the for the Syrian population and for the region also. Well let's look at the chemical weapons issue because again that's something that concerns so many of us. I mean what is the ICLC's position on that? And why has the ICLC perhaps been a little quiet on what's happening in Syria over the last days? Three elements, one really clearly is chemical weapons or any weapons of that sort are absolutely strictly forbidden under international law very clearly. They are convention they cannot be used let's be very clear in any circumstances. There is no exception for that that's one. And the ICLC we do our diplomatic bilateral work including with the Syrian government and different stakeholders to really repeat that make sure that there is a clear understanding that it's absolutely strictly forbidden. That's one. Be I think regarding Syria itself and the situation in Syria we are very careful about any allegations without by ourselves seeing it. It's very careful and we see also to let's be honest how much the information sometimes is used or misused to push one or two solutions. We have to be very careful and we really make sure that we have the right information and then we use it by that tree to try to influence the different stakeholders. Three, we are of course prepared to intervene if necessary and I think we these days are talking a lot about strike about responsibility. I think we sometimes forget that there is hundreds if not thousands of people who are wounded or killed by chemical weapons. They should be our focus, the focus of our response and make sure that they are treated. Well yes, we are really a tough area for the ICRC and for many people at the moment as they grapple with what's going to happen in the days ahead. But let's move on now to a question another equally hot topic if you like. We have a question here from Esmatullah in Afghanistan and I don't know whether that's he or she. Esmatullah is asking what's the future of your action in Afghanistan following the attack on your offices? You should know that Afghanistan is I think really a place, a country and I think Afghan people which are very close to the heart of the ICRC. We have more than 30 years of presence there, continuous presence. I think Esmatullah you are referring to the attack we had against an ICRC office in Jalalabad in May which killed one of our colleagues. As always when we have the situation like that we reassess the situation. We always do two things. We try to understand why, what's the problem, what's the purpose, what is the message behind an attack like that. But we also try to always assess the relevance of our response. It's very important, especially these days in Afghanistan which is going through a bit of a transition time I would say between the time where international troops are forcing to leave and elections and all that makes it very difficult right now. So we have reassess our response. We have closed three office out of 17 so we've maintained 14 office in Afghanistan. And we absolutely are ambitious with all the humility you have to go when it's about security but we are ambitious to be able to carry out our humanitarian response in Afghanistan in the entire country so we are absolutely willing to maintain and I do think that the ICRC will be even more needed in the coming months and year and with the support of the Afghan request. So yes, very strong commitments towards Afghanistan. And of course we do have such a history in Afghanistan. We've been present there for so long. This must make our commitment even more serious that we have to stay there. I would say so but I think it's also, let's be also very clear, we have also an history together so we know very well the country and I think Afghan people also know very well the ICRC and the Afghan request. So that gives it in a way a very strong base to be able to continue even if the situation will be very difficult. It is difficult and will continue to be very difficult in the coming months. I have no doubt on that one but the commitment is there and we will absolutely do our best to carry out a very meaningful operation in Afghanistan. Well, we are moving quickly from Afghanistan to Israel and occupied territories, ILOT. Masadi is asking, the situation in ILOT has been going on for years. Why are you not denouncing the situation? There's a tough one. No, it's another tough one. It's absolutely legitimate questions, I would say. If you look at ILOT situation, but I must say honestly between, I would say us, the fact is if you look at ICRC where we operate, most of the places we have been there for decades and that makes sometimes the situation very complex. I'm looking at Sudan, Congo, we mentioned Afghanistan and of course ILOT is all 40 years of presence, that makes it sometimes very difficult. Why are we not denouncing? We have denounced several times. We have recently, our president was in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv, in Ramallah and he was very clear that yes, they are very serious a violation of international and international law that there are very specific consequences, humane consequences to that. Now, is that enough to impact the situation on the ground? We don't think so. We think we need to be clear direct, sometimes public, but first and foremost bilateral because we need to make it clear towards the different stakeholders responsible. We can be public also, we've been public. Our president made an important speech at the university, at the university to really be clear on what we think about the legality of some of the behavior of the Israeli authorities. But also to link it with our own oppression. I think we have absolute responsibility to try to find solutions and to bring the United Nations in the region, both in the occupied territory but also in Gaza. And that's very important. I hope the situation will improve, but it's true, it's remained a very big focus for the ICSE. OK, we've got a lot of questions here. So let's move on. This is a general question. JB from Germany is asking, do you think we need to adapt IHL, international humanitarian law to contemporary challenges? What do you think about that, Yf? The answer is yes, but let's put it that way. I think if you look at international and humanitarian law and in general international public law it's a branch of law which are adapting themselves constantly. If you look at the Geneva Convention for example, if you look at the protocol they are adapting themselves. And I think that's important to look at that and of course as an organization who has a mandate to develop international and humanitarian law we are trying constantly to adapt or to clarify notions. Because I think we have to agree that the way war sometimes fought needs to be understood and we need to clarify. So typically we need to clarify what it means today to be a combatant or not. What is a civilian today in some conflict? How do we manage it? How are we helping in fact to be sure that we are talking about civilian and combatant? So what we call the direct participation to hostilities have been something we have looked very carefully. We have looked carefully about the notion of occupation also. But we are also developing sometimes new treaty for new weapons. We have looked carefully on land mine we know that but also all the different weapons we are looking at. So constantly we need to adapt that but on the other hand agree that the Geneva Convention are a bedrock very solid rock of the international and international law and we want to maintain that and that is very important. So yes we need to adapt. We need to be aware also of the customary law which is very important of international law and make sure that we really maintain responsibility to implement international law but also we are sure about the fact that impunity doesn't exist and maybe that's the big issue because international law is interesting only if of course it is implemented by the party themselves and that's where we are very carefully looking at. And I think that really relates to the previous question we had from ILOT about being vocal or denouncing when for example civilians are attacked and IHL is not respected. I mean there has to be some follow up there have to be repercussions when IHL is not respected. I mean how does that play into this whole idea of IHL is solid it stays at the core of what we do but when it's denounced when it's actually ignored what is the next step? Can I just say first and I'm really thinking about that I'm of the opinion that the fact to have low regulated war are absolutely critical for humanity not only for the ICSE for humanity I mean this is really fundamental and without this law the situation will be just a disaster because at least we have a reference we have a common language between all of us around the world of what is a load and what is not a load be we know that just public denunciation let's be very clear won't make a difference public denunciation are sometimes very useful to put pressure but it's only one part of it I think we think more and more in the world of today that it's also very important to engage people face to face including government including non-state armed group on the spot have a discussion you need to be close to where it's happening and last but not least I'm really of the opinion that if you want international middle law to be respected it needs to be two elements one it needs to be understood thought through education but it needs also sanction so if there is no sanction there will be no implementation and the only way to have sanction is really make sure that in the regulation in the commitment of all the people they are convinced that's the way to go and I think that's very important to look at so it cannot just be the ICSC role we have to be very careful we have to responsible allies armies, governments, non-state armed groups around the world well we've got music and sound going on in the background you can really hear the open day going on as we speak but let's move on now we've got a question here about the whole scope of the way ICSC is working now Bairiol from United Arab Emirates I hope I've pronounced your name correctly there Bairiol is asking what's the biggest challenge in helping people now in war-torn countries as opposed to efforts say 10 years ago I received two major challenges one is really to get access to the people affected I think access for humanitarian for anganisation like ICSC which is willing to really go where it's happening including in the most difficult places access has become more difficult no doubt on that one you can see that humanitarian action is also maybe less welcome than it was 10 years ago maybe some people think that humanitarian cover a different agenda that's worrying and we see that for us the negotiation part the transaction part I would say with a lot of different people from non-state armed group government but also people in the street has become more complex right now to get access to be there to stay that's one I think the second things which has changed over the last 10 years is that people themselves, people affected have much more opinion and they are much more forceful about what they would like from us that they were 10 years ago 10 years ago my sense was that people were sometimes maybe receiving our help, our aid without really challenging us today they are much more challenging and to be honest I found that challenging and difficult but sometimes very positive because it allows us to adapt ourselves it has really obliged over the last 10 years to professionalize our services to bring standard things to the people like that, people are with specific needs so they are more demanding about what they want yeah and they have opinion and they know what you can do or not and what is certainly very new is mobile phone mobile phone over the last 10 years has changed totally the way people are connected to each other they are comparing they are watching what we do in Somalia what we do in Sudan it's a very interesting dynamic so the relationship towards with people affected is much so overtime and what is interesting it has also changed the type of service we are providing give you an example 10 years ago we didn't have at all any forensic service at the ICSU or any psychological support we have discovered the last 10 years dealing with people being under pressure sometimes that yes there was an enormous demand to manage missing people for example that women in the family household were asking us please help us to find for example our husband one step further we think it's not enough just to do some family message please could you provide us with specific service in forensic we did it we had to do it same when there was questions on sexual violence for example we had to understand the problems and not just say oh there's a big problem but to propose new response and that's challenging but very positive okay linked to that really is Adam from the Occupy Territories is asking how can the ICRC cope with the increasing number of protracted crises I mean that is linked to how things have changed but also how things have not changed in many places it's a very good question and I would say if you would look over the last 20 years what has changed I would say if we celebrate 150th anniversary what has dramatically changed in our history is that I would say a few decades ago ICRC would come in in a war and leave almost like a fire brigade today when do you come in in Sudan, in South Sudan in Israel Occupy Territories or in Afghanistan or in Colombia I mean the problem is when does the war end maybe the situation can calm down a little bit but we realize that we need to be able to stay to understand and to be much more connected with the coping mechanism of the people because one thing when we dealing with protracted conflict you need to understand the dynamic you need to understand what are the needs of the people and sometimes the needs of the people are a different type of layer of problems look at Mali for example we have a major crisis in Mali but it's a crisis linked with violence, conflict but also on the other hand nothing to do with it which is then problems of food of climate change which has totally changed the dynamic within the country so you need when you respond and maybe this is the most challenging we need as an organization try to understand the needs and then try to be able to respond as much as possible to what is important for the people and that's sometimes not easy at all and how do you get away from just creating dependence I mean this must be one of the problems in these very long protracted conflicts the longer you're there the longer you create you do that by adapting your response you cannot standardize the response I mean you have to be very careful that you just don't provide food for example this time is over but in a specific situation what you need to be able to do is to understand what are the needs and what are the coping mechanism of the people you're trying to help and then you need absolutely to make sure that you're providing support let me give you an example in the region of the Sahel what we've done over the last years is to really provide a maximum of veterinary vet services to animals there because in fact the animals are central to cope with the system it was not something we were doing with 20 years ago but we have to adapt and that's the type of response we need to look into that knowing that as you mentioned the solution is with the people that's very clear and we need to be aware of that Natalie from Indonesia is asking do you think the ICRC is doing enough to provide assistance for those in need and what are the challenges of doing enough where do you start I know what your question is going to be the answer is it's a mixed answer on one hand you would always say no if I look at the needs I must say over the last few years the sense is that there is more pressure on the people overall almost everywhere we see more poor people we see more violence situation is more difficult and maybe we see less humanitarian people because there is less money so in a way you want to do more and I think we are striving to do more but then the limit is very clear we have a limit which is linked with our resources and our human resources and our competencies so we don't throw money we are very careful that people we are trying to find a right balance between our own competencies having the right people out there listening trying to find the right solutions so there are some limits very clearly so what we are trying to do more needs is also to be more open to partnership and we are trying to work differently with organisations like Metsas en Frontière or some national red cross sometimes when we combine that together the response is bigger and the impact is bigger so maybe that is one of the options we will have to look in the years to come so perhaps being less of an isolated island which maybe the times ICRC has been accused in the past already reaching out and working in partnership I had the feeling that we were an island because you are constantly in connections with so many people so I don't think I don't see us at all as an island but maybe what you say is can we in our response do a bit more partnership locally and internationally connect ourselves maybe differently with also some strong local organisation the answer is yes we could do more changing the subject a little bit now we have had a number of questions relating to the ICRC's own staff and in fact humanitarian staff working for the very many other organisations throughout the world a very important question here and it is something that is on all our minds from Terry in Nigeria who is asking how can we stop attacks on humanitarian workers and before I get you to answer that one a related question that has come in is the suggestion that somehow we should create some kind of an international body that will protect aid workers what do you think of that is that a feasible idea? I would have some doubt about that because I think you will be useful to look at why do we have attack against humanitarian worker I would first start to say we should not focus only on humanitarian actors I think we should also look at what is happening to journalists what is happening to civilians so there is a trend here and it's not just about humanitarian actors and very clearly I think it's one of the reasons because war and conflict are sometimes more about people and within a populated area which makes it also sometimes very very complicated but if I look at specifically humanitarian actors the first element to say is the people who are paying the price are first and foremost local humanitarian actors across red president our local colleagues or from local organization and we should never forget that I think that's a critical element Would an international body help us to deal with it? I'm not sure I'm not always sure that new rules and new body will help I think the question would be much more are we able to create a culture of accountability which will then really bring the responsible of this attack in front of justice or what they do and this is maybe the big issue right now and we need to find solutions and be careful about that on the other hand let's also be careful I'm also expecting us humanitarian to also be careful and to behave well I think there is also sometimes about also us and let's also carefully look at are we talking about a targeting attack or are we also looking at humanitarian which are not always perfect and not always doing a great job so my expectation is also a very very I would say committed but also smart humanitarian which are taking into consideration the environment in which they operate Okay well again staying on the subject of humanitarian workers and attacks on humanitarian workers Abnan in Pakistan and in fact a few other people have put this question very directly when are you reopening your health clinic in Peshawar I don't know if you can answer that or give us some idea perhaps in the wider scale of what ICSC is going to be doing in that region I could be very straight forward it's a very good question we don't know in fact when the dates we are willing of course to carry out a very very meaningful health I would say operation in the region if you look at Pakistan but also Afghanistan I mean there is a massive needs of reinforcing the health response there I would say not only ICSC and Peshawar clinic is an important place for us absolutely now we have also agree with the Pakistani authorities especially the new Pakistani authorities we have new government to discuss with them to make sense of what do they need what do we need to be able to reopen the clinics and what I'm interested in is also to have a very clearly well functioning Peshawar clinic so specific date no but we are on the ambition let's say to really have a very meaningful response in the region and we need to find solutions in Peshawar or somewhere else but I really would like to be able to improve and even reinforce our health response in the region yes So while we are talking about the health response I mean I think it brings up this one of ICSC's big concerns at the moment is the healthcare in danger campaign and we are talking perhaps about responsibilities of healthcare workers obviously but where is that going at the moment and how are we seeing you know more action being taken to to protect health workers throughout the world whether part of ICSC part of any other NGO or indeed part of as you mentioned before local health workers who of course are bearing the brunt of attacks in conflict I think there is one good news and some concern the good news is I think that a few years ago ICSC we had the feeling that there was something going on in the world in a conflict which were related to health worker but we were not sure you know was it our own feeling or was it something more serious and I think we have been over the last two or three years being able to really monitor, measure give arguments and we've seen a lot of different organization being humanitarian but also medical organization which join us and told us yes there is a big issue yes if healthcare is not protected then we have a major issues we were talking about internationally in the know before and for me I'm absolutely of the opinion that if hospitals are not respected in war time and in general then and health workers are not protected then it's really really humanity which is at stake I mean we need to make sure this is really the idea of what we did 150 years ago which is wounded soldiers need to be protected they need to be treated whatever side they are so I think coming back to these ideas and seeing that this is not respected was a real worry I think our second worry so the good news is there is I think tractions over the idea there is more people willing to reach out and willing to push an agenda I'm even hoping that maybe the post millennium development goal to give you one example the 2015 I would really would like to have one goal you know for the entire community who says we need to protect more health worker so it should not be something which is just owned by the ICSE it is really something which is larger than the ICSE so expect us to contribute to push it and our concern is still there if I look at Syria if I look at other places but Syria is a good example I still feel that the health care the protection of health care is not where it should be at all so expect us also to really be adamant to come to to really try to mobilize as many people as possible in Syria and in the neighborhood I think it's absolutely critical it's a big issue and I think the commitment is a very strong one what I'm happy to say is that we're not the only one to push it it will take time I'm convinced but I'm also convinced that people will remember that was also during these years that we started the operation and I think it's great to know that so I really feel that there is attraction and we will be able to I hope achieve some result well just in case you've just joined us this is a reminder this is a live Q&A with the international committee the Red Cross's director general Eve Dacor it's your chance to put your question live to the director general so if you have questions you can send them into us on our Facebook page or on the you can tweet us on at ask eve we may not get to all your questions during this hour but we will be responding to them on Facebook in the days ahead still talking about volunteers, staff, humanitarian workers generally this is quite a surprising one actually from Samir in Egypt she's asking why aren't you hiring volunteers from the countries where you work this is particularly in relation to local capacities Sudan, Pakistan an interesting one because well yes go ahead we do hire we do hire a lot of locally I would say grown people and people who know well the region our local staff, we call it our resident staff they are absolutely critical to our response now what we don't do and it is maybe the question we don't then have volunteer working with us of course we have professional staff so we hire people from from a place and we keep them it's very important for our response to be able to really have a long term commitment now what we do we then work with the local volunteers from the national Red Cross or Red Cross or local organization yes we do a lot but within our organization we hire people locally but then we really retain them as professional that's what we do and we've seen that over time that it's in a way useful for our ability to respond for the commitment also for the quality of the response but then we also work very much with the volunteers from the national Red Cross and Red Cross so volunteers are critical for us as a very strong based of workforce but we don't then when they join us then they become professional that's the way we deal with so in fact the answer is yes we already do but when the case of volunteers we don't work necessarily with somebody within our organization certainly within the national societies and the countries we work very very closely with them we know and we know also typically again if I look at Syria but I can speak about Libya or Mali we know how much it's important to have volunteers coming from the different communities that's critical that's fundamental not only to our response but to the response of the Red Cross or Red Crescent yes Moving on now to a different topic we've had of course a number of questions about the funding of the international committee the Red Cross particularly looking at the global financial crisis that many organizations are struggling with I have a question here from Xinghua in the Cameroon who is asking how does the global financial crisis affect your funding and how are you ensuring your resources this is the question right and I think a lot of us are struggling with finding the right support for in fact an increasing needs and being able to increase our response roughly speaking the big effect we've seen the effect on two elements one on people first before us on people we see more people getting less support around the world a lot of government had to cut their social help if they had one a lot of economic crisis around the world so you see more people truly not receiving the support they received before so I think the gap is bigger so of course that affects in a way the type of response because there is more expectation towards us that's one the second element is there is a much larger volatility our donors are mainly government they are party of the Geneva Conventions state party of the Geneva Conventions and they finance the ICSE but we see that most of the government right now are under enormous economic pressure so they are not able anymore to give us clear perspective for the next two or three years they have a perspective from times three months so the type of discussion we have with them is sometimes more complex but what I found interesting that this year for example we have been despite of a very difficult economic situation financial situation around the world we've been able to manage in way the increase of our spending to also increase our income and that's something which I'm very pleased and very proud it's complex, it's difficult but it's great to see some country new country also joining us supporting the response of the ICSE and that's very important so how do you ensure that funding to your donors keep giving the countries that support ICSE remain convinced that it's the right organization to be putting their money into how do you really ensure that are there steps that you take that are particular to ICSE it's not just doing a good job in the field but how do you really but it starts with doing a good job in the field I am of the opinion that as an organization the challenge is very big on us because we are a big organization global, I would say of big organization so we are distinct from other organizations so of course people are watching us and they are really and they expect us to be good so first our access our relevance in difficult places is still the first element that people will look so are you doing a good job yes or no, I think and you have to know donor country, they have a lot of people on the ground so they don't even listen to me and say oh you told us if you are doing a good job thank you, they really are going and measure that in the field so they go out there and they go out and they really measure, so really the first element is really doing a good job I am still convinced and having the right access and the right response the second element for us very critical is the ability to to engage donors at different level the political level but also I would say the civil servant level they are important, they do a lot of jobs they need to be able to find the right balance between able to talk to them giving them the right argument about why they should find us because they have to convince themselves their own people at home especially the parliament and other places so they need to be convinced that we are doing a good job so the way we measure our performance has evolved so we are also able to talk about performance what are doing good or not and three we are also transparent we are also very open when it doesn't work when we have limits the fourth element we have been very careful when we do any appeal you would look at Syria as a good example or Congo you would see ICSE when we do an appeal like that we look at the needs of the people the United needs but we also always look at our own ability to cope with it so when we launch an appeal we don't launch an appeal that says the needs are this and this this billion and what not we think the needs are enormous but one we can cover are this one and we are very honest about it so when we launch an appeal we are transparent and very realistic about our ability or not to cope with the situation and that helps so how do you get over this kind of competition that perhaps people sometimes talk about in this humanitarian world there must be a plethora of organisations working in a place like DRC or perhaps not in Syria but how do you manage that and the difference between partnering and competing it's an interesting overlap isn't it? How do you deal with that? I think can I just say if you look around the world or if I look at the 82 countries where we are right now operating you would not see that many competitions sadly competitions are only in key places which are very visible everybody wants to be or to speak about maybe Syria right now in the region and maybe in one or two countries very few people right now in some of the places like even Mali there is not that many people if I look at that Somalia there is virtually not an international organisation except ICSE as an example and we can talk on and on if you go in Central Asia for example very few people so I would say competition is not everywhere competition is really in some key places which are very visible that's one so the first element for us is to make sure that we don't put our resources everywhere and we think impartiality we also think about our ability to treat the needs in the same way around the world I think this is a very important element the second one I think we have a different approach depending on the situation and depending on you met an actress we have a very privileged relationship with Red Cross and Red Crescent around the world for good reason depending on the context also so here the partnership is very strong in context like Afghanistan for example the Afghan Red Crescent is absolutely central to our response last but not least we are always very careful about our ability to cooperate and we are very careful also to cooperate with professional you might have actions like UN organisation or big international NGOs they are very very powerful they are very interesting and at the same time we are also careful not to be part of something which blur the line we are different we are the ICSE we are really specifically and radically neutrally impartial and independent we are working in tough places we talk to everybody so we have to be careful not to be put into the same pot kind of a big pot called humanitarian so collaboration yes coordination with but never by we want to absolutely maintain our independence of thinking and action Osama in Algeria has asked a question which perhaps you've covered a little bit in your first question on the money and on the funding where do your funds come from perhaps you would give a very brief response to that it's rather easy I mean the funding comes at 90% from government then if you look at the 10% you would say 3% come from private sources and the rest come from national red cross and red crescent and other resources so the large majority comes from government and if you look at the government what you would have you have European government the European Commission also you have United States of America Japan co-wait among the key donors of the ICIC the key element for us is also not only to receive money of course it's very important and receive the right support but it's also to receive what we call quality money for us it's critical that the money is not too much earmarked to one specific country one specific project because situations sometimes change very quickly we need to be able to engage the money and of course people, donors need to follow that closely but we need to be able to engage money where they are the needs and very quickly and sometimes the need are not the one we foresee immediately so important for us to have non-earmarked money as much as possible from our donors, that's a critical element and how important is private funding for you at the moment? private funding is important but in terms of a month of money the person putting their hand in their pocket to give to it's also the corporates organisation, if you look at corporate organisations they can do private people I am of the opinion that it's important because it creates a very strong relationship fundraising is not just money, it's also about relationship we do have that with state it's important that they have a stake in the ICSE same with private people the limits and I think we have a big limits and we want to maintain a limit one is private fundraising is also about investment and we want to be careful not to have an investment too big we have to invest one franc to get four we are careful about that really we are careful and be a lot of national red cost and red question society they have a very strong private fundraising base so when we want to go into that we have to really cooperate and be very complementary to their strategy so I would say over time if I look at the next 10 years we suddenly want to increase a little bit of private fundraising but it will remain under 10% of the review so I think state will remain very very central to our fundraising over the next years absolutely we have got a few questions now which are perhaps a bit more personal in nature Josie Pablo is asking I am not sure where he is from we don't have the location for Josie Pablo but he is asking what is your biggest goal or ambition as director general as a person as a director general well take it as you will as director general yes up to you that is an open question I would say my biggest goal as a director general I would say clearly it is very simple it is clearly to be able to contribute to have an ICSE which is totally relevant today and tomorrow because I feel that the world in which we are all is changing very fast at least some part of it and it is not granted your relevance is not granted anymore so you really need to be careful on one hand maintaining very strong principle approach but then to be able to understand what is happening sometimes even look at ahead of you try to bring that within the organization so the big goal is to make sure that we maintain even reinforce our relevance that is if you would say that is critical because I think we have a special role to look into that that is an absolutely big big goal as a director general now as a person I can see that which is a bit different I really would like to as a big goal I really would like and be humble on that I really would like to be able to to contribute to to a world which is able to cope a bit better with all this contradiction I think we are going through a world which is changing I mentioned that the dynamic is changing both at the social level the political level if I look at the big issue and I think we know very well as a director general at the ICIC that most of the big issue cannot be treated alone even not within the country we need to find global solutions both for refugees for all the migration questions the violence the social questions and I would like being able myself with people to contribute to a world and maybe to see a world which is able to understand that and find solutions I found that very strongly also with my children I have three daughters and I really hope that they will be in a position to act and operate in a world that will we left them not too damaged I think that's what I think about so that's my personal I would say goal Well Nikki from New Zealand is asking perhaps the other side of that question she's asking what do you think is your greatest accomplishment as a person and with the ICRC what do you think in terms of your achievement again coming at it from two directions as a person I think is to be the person I am right now there is a part of luck I was very fortunate to be loved by my parents to be well educated I still think but also to capitalise on that to be prepared for what I'm doing right now and to be able to manage a very intense and demanding job together with my family and my life I think that's certainly what I consider right now the biggest accomplishment it could change tomorrow but it's a very vivid and dynamic accomplishment so giving that work-life balance correct in order to be able to perform well but positively also in all the different functions I have in terms of jobs there is plenty but if there is one is clearly around people in my organisation I think I have contributed so far to two things one, collectively not alone I've certainly contributed a better balance between gender in my organisation and that's critical in my executive team I have 50% male 50% women it looks a bit silly but I'm absolutely convinced that makes a hell of a difference for the ICC response in the field really to have this right balance in a team of women and men it helps to understand the problems really of a lot of people around what makes a team much more careful, much more sensitive gives different perspective on the same issue and that's absolutely central so that's something I've contributed together with my colleagues of the executive team we've really put target really have push to bring that into life and that's happening my other, I would say, accomplishment still to be seen and I'm happy to answer your questions in few years but right now is to have also be more willing to push the human resources our human capital at the centre of the organisation especially bringing also the international dimensions from our expatriate international staff together with what we call our resident staff so if we are able to bring the right balance really bring human resources human capital at the centre of the organisation even more so that would be something I would be very proud of yes so that's to be seen the push is there and the priority has been changed the change is coming you have always to look at because you don't change that so easily what exactly, what is the gender balance throughout the organisation, I mean you're talking about the changes you've brought about here but do you know what it is if you look across the organisation we have a rather good gender balance across the organisation typically as all organisations when you then move up in the rank then suddenly this balance is a bit diverse we have over the last 5 years put a lot of emphasis to have also a good balance minimum 40% of men or women being at the level of top managers and it has really paid off and I'm very pleased with that not just for the sake of it because I mentioned to you but also because it has clearly shown to be better for our response across the world and that's something I've then very clearly accomplished and I'm very pleased with that we've just got a few minutes left now for this live Q&A with the Yve Dacor director general of the ICRC but of course you will be able to follow this on Facebook and if your question hasn't come up today it will be there on the Facebook page in the days ahead still on the personal level Yve there's a question here from Gorell in Sweden and the question is I think one that perhaps concerns a lot of us who work for this this organization I know I feel I've been moved by this but let's see how you deal with it you travel around the world you see how people suffer from acts of war and disasters how do you deal with seeing so much pain and not distance yourself not become very detached from what's going on and keep your empathy it's a very good question and sometimes a question I'll ask myself I think I would be very nervous and I would start to feel slightly worried if I would be cynical and I think that's the worst that could happen as a humanitarian for me the two things will help me one is my colleagues when I'm travelling in the field closely connected with the teams the ICIC teams around the world and the way they work the dynamics really gives me frankly a lot of hope so I don't see always the problems or only the problems I almost always see the solution even if the solution is very partial but it helps me and I think the second element is in most of the places where we are even in the toughest place right now let's say Somalia for example Syria or whatever I have a feeling that even if it's very small we are always trying to find solutions and we can it's sometimes very difficult sometimes very frustrating but I feel that we are trying and we are able sometimes to find solutions to open doors to propose something new and that gives me a lot of strength so I know that there is always people in the organisation trying to find solutions that's something which is very positive what I found very difficult to deal with is the situation where there is no solution that might be most more difficult than just suffering the suffering there is always response sometimes but when there is just no solutions over time that's maybe the most difficult one to deal with we've just had a question that's come in from Jason in Ontario I think prompted by the discussion on funding he's just sent us a question through Facebook and he's asking how do you maintain neutrality when 90% of your funds come from governments a good question it is a good question yes I think we maintain neutrality by in fact managing our response very carefully if you would look at so far we are absolutely an organisation who has demonstrated our ability to maintain our independence by the way and neutrality by the way we are engaging all party to the conflict Afghanistan is a good example we have not discovered the Taliban yesterday we have worked with the Taliban discussed with them with all the difficulties as well with the Afghan government the international troops even at the moment where some government told us no don't speak to these people no we spoke to these people we are speaking to these people we are engaging them because we base this engagement on the fact that's the only way to be able to make sure that a united response will reach the place they occupy that we can also discuss the conduct of hostilities so it's by demonstrating our neutrality our impartiality by engaging all the parties that we are absolutely able to show to all the country who are supporting us that we are serious we are careful also but they know that if there are problems they will see us and be also straightforward we are straightforward with also all the parties so each parties know that know that the way we treat them is the same whatever is happening that has given us a lot of ability to deal with the problems of the pressure of funding I think we are probably coming up to our very last question Imran from Pakistan is asking this and indeed many people have asked this question perhaps not such a tough one for you to answer here is how can we join the ICRC how can we do something ourselves to help this organisation you do a lot already that's my sense just joining us if I just follow Twitter or Facebook I think what I see the type of question the type of dynamic you're creating is really helping us already to really find the way but the best way for me if there is one request I have join us for the healthcare in danger campaign because I think it's a specific campaign it's something specific respecting healthcare respecting hospital is something which goes beyond our organisation and maybe you have yourself in Pakistan or in India or in the US or in Australia you do have a response maybe very small but you will reach out you will use your ability to manage social media to connect with people make sure that your young sister or brother or your friends try to understand I'm of the opinion that we have not seen the beginning of a real public opinion the way public opinion will be connected in the years to come it will be very different and I think public opinion with you connecting to each other in a very different way managing a crisis, an issue will make a hell of a difference help us, if you can at least for me it makes an enormous difference I'm afraid we're running out of time I'd just like to say a huge thank you to all of you who've sent in questions who've joined us today and who've really committed yourselves engaged with some of the dilemmas and the issues that the ICRC and the people who work for the organisation are trying to deal with on a daily basis it's been great to have to have your interest and to have your questions and if your question was an answer today keep looking out for our facebook page and we will get to those questions in the few days ahead it's been a fantastic day for us here in Geneva with our open doors day we will be putting together a little video with the highlights of the day on there so do look out for that on facebook too to have a real taste of what went on here in Geneva over these last 24 hours I think that's it for us for now I think we're going to go back and join some of those open day activities and if you would like to reply from me Jan Powell and I don't know if you would like to make one last comment to the people who have been contacting us today No thanks first of all I really enjoy to spend this hour it makes it a little bit difficult to know if you find it useful because I'm used to have a lot of interactions with large audience but directly live so it's a bit of a premiere for me I hope it was useful for you I think it's fatal Facebook, we'll get the comments coming back Please comment I found it useful, do we do it right I think it's important, thanks for your question thanks for your interest also and keep staying in touch I think that's something important and thanks for your support really that was great to have you with us in Geneva here Thank you