General Assembly
The General Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). It takes place every two years and sets the overall policy and vision for our network.
About the General Assembly
The IFRC General Assembly convenes representatives from all 191 member National Societies to vote on IFRC-wide strategies, policies, plans and budgets.
The General Assembly is the supreme governing body of the IFRC. It shapes the collective response we, as a network, want to provide to humanitarian challenges already affecting our communities or that may affect them in the future.
Each National Society delegation has equal rights expressed by a single vote—meaning we are truly run by our members, for our members.
The General Assembly is also an opportunity for members to celebrate our collective achievements and connect with one another.
National Societies around the world take turns hosting the General Assembly in their home country. When it is held in the same year as the International Conference, the main convening of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the General Assembly is hosted in Geneva, Switzerland.
You can read the functions of the General Assembly in Article 23 of our Constitution.
Extraordinary session, 11 December 2023
The President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Francesco Rocca, sent to all the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies a notice convening an extraordinary session of the IFRC General Assembly, which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, at the Centre International de Conference Genève (CICG) on 11 December 2023.
23rd session of the IFRC General Assembly, Geneva 2022
The 23rd session of the IFRC General Assembly took place in Geneva, Switzerland from 19 to 21 June 2022. Members gathered to explore the ways in which the world’s largest humanitarian network can scale up our efforts to tackle the most pressing humanitarian issues confronting the world today.
The 2022 theme was ‘local action, global reach’—with members discussing themes such as trust and integrity, localization, volunteering and investing in National Societies.
Elections were held for the IFRC President, Vice-Presidents, and Governing Board members for the next four-year term. Francesco Rocca secured a second four-year term as President of the IFRC.
You can read more about the 2022 General Assembly on the Red Cross and Red Crescent Statutory Meetings website.
The General Assembly was immediately followed by the 2022 Council of Delegates from 22 to 23 June—full details of which are available here and in this press release.