Foreign Affairs committee  The leadership of the Syrian Red Crescent tells us that when they sit in these private government-to-government meetings, sitting with bureaucrats, and saying, we need to access this area and that area, they are actually able to use these resolutions and statements. Some bureaucr

Foreign Affairs committee  The UN is on the ground in Syria, and they're negotiating access all the time. There's been a lot of talk about these corridors, which the Red Cross is not particularly in favour of because they tend to mask the problem, they tend to create a convergence where refugees may flow t

Foreign Affairs committee  It's difficult to tell. On a per capita basis, probably many of the richer nations can do more. We hope they do more. The ask is still out there for a lot more money and a lot more support.

Foreign Affairs committee  The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which is Geneva-based, issues an appeal, essentially a request for funding, and a plan of action for things like Syria. Member Red Crosses and Red Crescents contribute financially towards that appeal. Some memb

Foreign Affairs committee  We're hoping that the most practical interpretation for this would be negotiated ceasefires that allow humanitarian access to goods, and people to move through, evacuation of the wounded, access for people who want to escape certain regions, and so on. Longer term, we're hoping i

Foreign Affairs committee  It is not like Haiti where you have this flood of NGOs for various reasons: security, lack of funds, proximity. It's not easy to get to that region. Also, Syria is very controlled inside. The Syrian Red Crescent—being almost the only relief organization that is functional and th

Foreign Affairs committee  The way the Red Crescent is structured in Syria, with 14 branches and 70 sub-branches, they're present on the ground all the time, pre-conflict and post-conflict, in all those affected areas; the volunteers are there, the system is there. They may not have the supplies, and perha

Foreign Affairs committee  In the past two years, we have received, as the Red Cross movement outside of the ICRC, about $9 million in support that we have channelled to inside Syria and the surrounding crises.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes. It comes as a funds transfer to the Canadian Red Cross and we manage those funds based on specific projects, and so on. It's pretty straightforward and a pretty efficient way. We work through our partners in the region, which are the local Red Crosses.

Foreign Affairs committee  We have not in this context because the UN and other agencies have set up the camps. However, for example, in a camp in Jordan, we as the Canadian Red Cross with three other Red Crosses in Europe are providing the medical facilities. We have set up a field hospital in one of the

Foreign Affairs committee  Briefly, inside Syria we work primarily through the Syrian Red Crescent. They lead on the ground. They are the lead agency in the language we use and they send their volunteers and convoys and so on. Our support to them has been by providing them with either material or cash to b

Foreign Affairs committee  I don't have the details, but there are reports out there that go into a bit more detail than what we have at the Red Cross. On your second question, it depends. In Lebanon and in other parts of that region, the true first responders are always the local Red Cross or Red Crescen

Foreign Affairs committee  Absolutely. There are reports of that as well. Again, it's under-reported. It's very difficult to get to the bottom of this. But it is certainly an area the Red Cross and other NGOs are paying close attention to. To the extent possible, they are working with the local authorities

Foreign Affairs committee  On the second question, we are also getting reports of sexual exploitation. It's certainly a taboo subject in the region and therefore it's very difficult to get to the bottom of this. It's a problem that is of serious concern to us. Often these things manifest or show up in the

Foreign Affairs committee  In our contacts with our colleagues at the Syrian Red Crescent, they certainly highlight the difficulties and the day-to-day, sometimes hour-to-hour, changes on the ground. They remain extremely flexible in how they respond, and extremely honest about the challenges they face. Fo