Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent months on average. The Standing Commission has nine members, five elected from national societies but serving in a personal capacity; two from the International Committee of the Red Cross (one of whom serves as President); and two from the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). There is also a permanent administrative Secretariat located at the ICRC Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Previous and current elected members of the Standing Commission The Henry Dunant Medal is the highest award of the Red Cross Movement and is presented and awarded by the Standing Commission of the Red
International Committee of the Red Cross to related organizations like Doctors Without Borders and Amnesty International who are more willing to expose abuses and apply public pressure to governments. The ICRC reasons that this approach allows it greater access and cooperation from governments in the long run. When granted only partial access, the ICRC takes what it can get and keeps discreetly lobbying for greater access. In the era of apartheid South Africa, it was granted access to prisoners like Nelson Mandela serving sentences, but not to those under interrogation and awaiting trial. After his release, Mandela publicly praised the Red Cross. Some governments use the