Humanitarian Values

Back Ground

Since its inception the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) has been providing essential services to communities affected by disasters, both natural and manmade. For over five decades SLRCS has been responding to floods, landslides, drought and cyclonic storms Tsunami and assisting victims of the conflict through mobilizing its volunteers and staff according to the seven principles and humanitarian values of Red Cross.

Principles and Values

Volunteers of the Sri Lanka Red Cross have been actively engaged in humanitarian services since its inception while adhering to the movement’s fundamental principles and respecting long standing cultural values. Volunteers, both men and women of different religions and ethnics, work together in the communities without discrimination. However disharmony in the community and violent conflict between different ethnicities due to various reasons has cost thousands of lives throughout the country during the last three decades.

The need for the promotion of humanitarian values through humanitarian programmes and volunteer service is an urgent need to restore harmony in all communities. Whilst adhering to the movement fundamental principles, various integrated and standalone programme will be conducted in each district.

Advocacy in behalf of vulnerable groups, promotion of non-discrimination, gender sensitization and respect for human being are planned for implementation.

HV in SLRCS

The department of Humanitarian values of SLRCS has been conducted and trained three Volunteer Dissemination coordinators from 25 branches all over the country to carry out RC disseminations and to promote Red Cross Principles and Humanitarian Values at branch level and trained 6 training of trainers to conduct dissemination sessions in local languages. And also having experience sharing workshops to create a platform for all Volunteer Dissemination coordinators from all 25 branches who are involved in the dissemination activities to meeting each other and to share the good practices, lessons learned, and build up a strong sense of team spirit & unity as well as to develop their own capacities as Leaders. This will also provide a means of establishing strong inter-branch contact and networking.

The programme will be implemented by the Department of Humanitarian Values of SLRCS with the financial and technical assistance of International Committee of Red Cross Sri Lanka Delegation.