Talk:International Rescue Committee

Untitled
I have archived a couple of old comments from 2003 and earlier. Abhayakara (talk) 15:50, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Liz.go.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 00:39, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Clarity on dates: 1933 vs 1931
The introduction states:
 * "Founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association..."

In section History - Founding the article states:
 * "The International Relief Association (IRA) was founded in 1931 in Germany..."

Per sources [3] and [8], the IRA was founded in Germany in 1931. in 1933 the headquarters was moved to Paris and the American section was formed by Jay Lovestone.

If others can confirm, I suggest rewording to avoid the seemingly conflicting founding dates.

--AmanAhuja (talk) 22:28, 24 July 2019 (UTC)


 * The original associations started in 1931, and Nazi Germany started later, in 1933. Wisdood (talk) 08:48, 31 August 2023 (UTC)

Suggested sources, corrections and updates
Hello, here are a few reliable sources for information about the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and its work that might be useful to Wikipedia editors -- again, declaring my conflict of interest as an editor employed on the staff of the IRC:

“David Miliband on reacting to a global emergency and political comebacks,” Financial Times, May 27, 2018

“Sesame Workshop & International Rescue Committee Awarded $100 Million for Early Childhood Education of Syrian Refugees,” MacArthur Foundation press release, December 20, 2017

“Inside The IRC: How A Visionary Aid Organization Is Using Technology To Help Refugees,” Fast Company, Nov. 21, 2016

“Improving Humanitarian Aid: How to Make Relief More Efficient  and Effective,” Foreign Affairs, July/August 2015

Also -- the following are some basic updates and corrections noted for the page, with the best documentation I have:

'''Introduction section '''

1. Current: The IRC is currently working in over 40 countries and 28 U.S. cities

Proposed: The IRC is currently working in over 40 countries and more than 20 U.S. cities (The recent closure of the IRC’s Midland, TX office amid the sharp downturn in refugee arrivals under the Trump Administration makes it 27 U.S. cities as of June 2018.

Source: This recent update has been reflected on the IRC website, Rescue.org. I’ll share an external source that will confirm it, once I find one.

2. Current: "In 2016 alone, the IRC resettled 84,995 refugees from several countries around the world."

Proposed: “In 2016, 26 million people in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities benefited from IRC programs that help restore health, safety, education and economic well-being to those devastated by conflict and disaster.” (The current figure refers only to refugees assisted by the IRC in the United States, not to people assisted though the IRC's international programs.)

Source: FY 2016 990 (pending filing of FY 2017 document with the IRS ): https://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/document/1632/fy2016990.pdf (pls. see Schedule D - Supplemental Financial Statements attached to this doc, starting on p5)

'''Organization section '''

3. Current: "As of March 2010, the IRC had over 8,000 staff members."

Proposed: "The IRC's global workforce is approximately 11,000 employees."

Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/3065447/how-a-visionary-aid-organization-is-using-technology-to-help-refugees

'''Current work section '''

4. Current: The IRC is now at work in more than 40 countries and in 29 U.S. cities

Proposed: The IRC is now at work in more than 40 countries and 20 U.S. cities (per #1, above)

5. Haiti should be removed. The IRC closed programs there in 2016 (Source: https://www.rescue.org/article/earthquake-haiti)

The IRC’s FY16 Form 990, filed with the Internal Revenue Service, lists the countries where the IRC as working in FY16, along with details of international program work: https://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/document/1632/fy2016990.pdf. Pls. refer to schedule D, attached to this same document, starting on p5. Schedule O, also attached to the doc, details the IRC’s work in the U.S.

FYI, the latest list of countries where the IRC works can be found in the Where We Work menu on Rescue.org (N.B. this list does not include all countries where the IRC has SURGE offices in support of United Nations missions. More info at https://www.rescue.org/page/surge -- locations being updated)

'''Finances section '''

6. Current: “As of 2016, the IRC held roughly $175,835,000 in net assets, with most of its funding coming from donors and the federal government through the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. “

Clarification: U.S. government funding of the IRC’s programs in fact comes from several agencies: 1. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), 2. Bureau of Population Refugees & Migration (BPRM), the 3. U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as the 4. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)

Source: Full U.S., U.K., European and U.N. funding can be found listed in Schedule B attached to the IRC’s FY16 990 https://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/document/1632/fy2016990.pdf

Thank you for the opportunity to provide suggestions on this Talk page. This is my first time proposing changes to an article, and I’m mindful of Wikipedia’s COI policy. From reading about Wikipedia policies and asking experienced Wikipedia contributors, I understand that I may be able to make simple, factual updates and corrections like these if editors are unavailable to do so before a deadline. I am happy to make these changes and add citations by June 20, World Refugee Day. Many thanks for your forbearance while I am still learning the ropes.

Also worth noting, the Founding section has some mischaracterizations, as well as information about the IRC’s role during the Cold War era (when many humanitarian and other organizations received some of their U.S. government funding via the CIA) that has been given undue weight without historical context. I am doing some research and will post reliable sources I find here on the talk page.

Thank you. Kathleenhs (talk) 20:54, 15 June 2018 (UTC)

Introduction with disclosure
Hello and thanks to the WikiProject Organizations group and other Wikipedia editors for your interest and time spent in improving this page. Full disclosure of conflict of interest: I am a staff member of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and an editor of its website, Rescue.org. I am committed to following Wikipedia’s policies and guidelines, especially those about conflicts of interest and neutrality.

I hope that one of the ways I can be helpful to the Wikipedia community is by periodically flagging IRC and external resources with information editors of this page may find useful. To start, I wanted to note that the IRC's 2017 Annual Report was published online on June 5. In addition to previously published financials, the report includes impact stats from IRC programs worldwide.

Cheers, Kathleenhs (talk) 19:29, 14 June 2018 (UTC)


 * North Vietnamese defeat of the French what is this anyway? North Vietnam appeared only after the defeat of France from the first Indochinese war from the Vietnamese and therefore during the first Indochinese war there could not be a refugee and what kind of health care they started in Poland, in Poland, by that time, there was supposedly no health care or something ? Цйфыву (talk) 21:55, 6 November 2022 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:IRCAd.jpg
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BetacommandBot 01:43, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:IraqiChildren.jpg
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BetacommandBot 01:46, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Logo lrg.gif
Image:Logo lrg.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 05:43, 7 November 2007 (UTC) The USA

The pages states they are active in 40 countries, but I can only find 29 on their web-page. Which 40 countries are they working in? My suspicion is that the 40 number is the list of all countries they have EVER worked in, and that their current portfolio is the 29 listed on their website? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.99.210.236 (talk) 22:01, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

David Milliband - New CEO
According to BBC, David Milliband will be new CEO of IRC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21948903 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 160.5.227.196 (talk) 11:48, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 one external links on International Rescue Committee. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20100311181740/http://www.theirc.org:80/campaign/stop-violence-against-women? to http://www.theirc.org/campaign/stop-violence-against-women
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20100118182825/http://www.theirc.org:80/campaign/urge-president-obama-take-action-childrens-rights? to http://www.theirc.org/campaign/urge-president-obama-take-action-childrens-rights

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Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 05:19, 17 October 2015 (UTC)

To add to the introduction(?):
The International Rescue Committee is a non-profit organization that works in 27 cities around the United States and resettles around 10,000 refugees each year.[3] The IRC has a staff from 40 different countries and is considered a global organization.[4] They focus on health, education, economic wellbeing, power, and safety. It was founded in 1933 by Albert Einstein after he fled Nazi Germany. [5] Elleg13 (talk) 20:54, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110604223558/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/ny_local/2006/03/16/2006-03-16__inhuman_rights_immigration_.html to http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/ny_local/2006/03/16/2006-03-16__inhuman_rights_immigration_.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120313113634/http://www.rescue.org/program/overseas-processing-entity to http://www.rescue.org/program/overseas-processing-entity
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130329231645/http://www.rescue.org/news/david-miliband-appointed-IRC-president to http://www.rescue.org/news/david-miliband-appointed-IRC-president

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Citation Issues
Some cited sources are not scholarly sources/may be biased (i.e. CBS news, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service). Additionally, one of the links in the references section does not work: The 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa

Liz.go (talk) 00:55, 12 February 2018 (UTC)

Potential Reports section addition
Flagging a potential addition for the Reports section: (Un)welcome: the state of refugee resettlement in America (June 2018)

This International Rescue Committee report includes an analysis of the current Administration’s refugee resettlement policy and its impact on businesses and local communities, and an IRC-commissioned poll surveying Americans’ views on refugees and the country’s role in solving the refugee crisis.

Kathleenhs (talk) 20:34, 21 June 2018 (UTC)

David Miliband’s charity offers unpaid internships but he took home over £700,000
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/may/15/david-miliband-charity-unpaid-internships-international-rescue-committee

John Cummings (talk) 16:29, 15 May 2021 (UTC)