Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill [HL] 2024-25

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill [HL] is a government bill that would change the status of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) so the government could treat them in a similar way to international organisations of which the UK is a member. This would mean that the government may confer privileges and immunities on the organisations and certain personnel through an Order in Council. Before an Order in Council is made, the proposed order would be subject to the draft affirmative procedure in Parliament. 

The bill was introduced in the House of Lords in July 2024.  It has had cross party support throughout its Lords and Commons stages thus far and the measures in the bill remain as introduced.

The remaining Commons stages of the bill are tabled for 18 December 2024.

There is longstanding support for a change in status for the CPA, and there have been several previous attempts to change its status through Private Members Bills.  The CPA is currently a registered UK charity but has been seeking to become “an international, interparliamentary organisation,” arguing that charitable status is inappropriate for an international organisation and limits its work.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an independent organisation that works to provide assistance for the victims of conflict and other violence. The ICRC’s mandate is enshrined in the 1949 Geneva Conventions, their Additional Protocols, and the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. In over 110 states the ICRC has negotiated for certain legal immunities and privileges, either through “status agreements” or through legislation.  The explanatory notes to the bill explain that conferring these privileges and immunities is:

critical to enable it to operate in the UK in accordance with its international mandate, maintaining its strict adherence to the principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence and its working method of confidentiality.

The measures in the bill were previously introduced in a Private Members Bill, the  Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill 2023-24, by Maria Miller.  The bill had cross party support but did not complete its parliamentary stages before Parliament was dissolved for the 2024 general election.