B43

The FATF definition of International organisations includes three criteria: [R1.1][R2.1] (1) the entity must be established by an international agreement which has the status of a treaty; (2) the entity's existence is recognised by law; (3) the entity is not treated as a resident institutional unit of the countries in which it is located. The 1993 agreement with the Swiss Federal Council confirms that the International Committee of the Red Cross has legal personality together with privileges and immunities. This means it satisfies parts (2) and (3) of the definition. This leaves only part (1) to consider. The International Committee of the Red Cross is constituted as a private association formed under the Swiss civil law rather than being created by treaty and may at first glance appear to fail the first part of the definition. This is however a special case because subsequent agreements give the statutes the functional status of a treaty. In addition, an international court has stated that 'by accepting to be bound by the Geneva Conventions, the States party to them have agreed to the special role and mandate of the ICRC.'[R13] It is important to note that the FATF definition includes the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in its list of examples[R1.1][R2.1]. The OSCE's founding documents are statements of intent rather than treaties and this supports the view that FATF intended the definition to be applied in a functional way and in a way that can include some entities not formed by treaties. Accordingly, the International Committee of the Red Cross has been assessed as meeting the FATF definition of International organisation.