ICRC moves cyber hub to Luxembourg
The ICRC is setting itself up as a global laboratory for technical innovation in cyberspace, but has chosen Luxembourg instead of international Geneva.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is reinventing itself digitally in the face of cyber warfare and attacks on humanitarian organisations. The ICRC is making this digital transformation at the time of a financial crisis.
The ICRC’s cyber transformation will be coordinated from Luxembourg. This decision triggered controversy as the ICRC and Red Cross movement in general are the symbol of Switzerland with the headquarters in Geneva.
The article from the Swiss journal Republik discusses technical and legal aspects of the decision to allocate ICRC’s digital centre in Luxembourg. There are no major legal reasons as Swiss law provides a flexible system of diplomatic immunity.
The ICRC is also beneficial of diplomatic immunities that can be extended to the digital realm. The article also covers other technical and policy aspects of choosing Luxembourg as the digital hub of the ICRC.
It concludes that this move is a missed opportunity for Switzerland as it aims to become a global digital hub.
You can consult the original article in German in Republik and translation in English at Global Solutions.
About author
DW Team
The GIP Digital Watch Observatory team, consisting of over 30 digital policy experts from around the world, excels in the fields of research and analysis on digital policy issues. The team is backed by the creative prowess of Creative Lab Diplo and the technical expertise of the Diplo tech team.