Humanitarian assistance
Foreign humanitarian assistance is an integral part of Czechia's foreign policy. Providing of humanitarian assistance financed from the Czech Government Budget is based on the Law on Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, which entered into force in 2010.
Czechia recognizes the key role of the United Nations in the global coordination of humanitarian action. Within the UN system, in particular, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) which mission is to strengthen the coordination among UN organizations that provide help in emergency situations. The Office seeks to reach consensus between different organizations of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) on the question of division of powers, the establishment of coordination mechanisms, sending fact-finding missions, preparation of uniform calls for assistance and sourcing.
Czechia also supports activities of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement based in Geneva. It is one of the oldest organizations in the world and its main field is the promotion of the International Humanitarian Law, which applies in times of armed conflict. It consists of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. It brings together national organizations in almost every country in the world – including the Czech Red Cross. Czechia is a contracting party of the Geneva Conventions on the protection of victims of armed conflicts of 1949, and all its three additional protocols and other agreements from this field. The National Committee for the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law has been established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to advise and assist the government in implementing and spreading knowledge of International Humanitarian Law.
Czechia is a contracting party of the Geneva Convention for the protection of victims of armed conflicts of 1949, all their three additional protocols and other contracts in this area. The National group for the implementation of international humanitarian law, which is a permanent coordination and advisory body of the Government, was established for domestic implementation of international humanitarian law under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
More information on humanitarian aid of Czechia can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
