A.      Title of agency or organization?
  International Rescue Committee

B.      Where is home base (city/state/country)?
There are two headquarters:
         1. New York, New York USA
        2. London, England, UK       

C.      Date founded?
1933

D.      Names of key spokespersons/officers

        New York Headquarters:
             -George Rupp
President and CEO
             -George Biddle
Senior Vice President
             -Edward Bligh
Vice President, Communications
             -Robert Carey
Vice President, Resettlement
             -Janet Harris
Vice President, Development
             -John Keys
Vice President, International Programs
             -Anne Richard
Vice President, Government Relations
             -Ellen O'Connell
Vice President, Administration and Board Relations
             -Patricia Long
 Vice President, Finance
             -Louise Shea
Vice President, Human Resources
             -Carrie Simon
General Counsel

        Europe Headquarters:
             -Sarah Hughes Director, IRC United Kingdom
             -
Gregory Brown Director, Geneva

E.       What/who is key constituency or audience?
The refugees that the committee helps.

F.       What are the agency’s main activities?
The main activity of the IRC is to help bring refuge to people affected directly by conflicts and oppression.  They bring the refugees into the US, in most cases, and help them establish a new life and provide them with a type of sanctuary.

G.      Mission statement? (you may quote mission statement if available; use quotation marks!)
“Refugee Relief, Respect, Renewal”

H.      What are the key im/migration issues of concern to this agency?
They are concern with the issue of helping refugees, who are affected by some sort of devastating in their home country, to become self-sufficient, educated, and to give them any needed medical attention needed.

I.        As best as you can determine, on what evidence/sources/research/community does this agency base its informational statements issued, press releases, reports, etc.?
From my understanding this organization bases is information on first hand experience.  They work in     over twenty five countries hand in hand with the actual refugees.

J.        Any publications? (what types, sample titles; if online, give links)

Videos:
-A video profile of the IRC, hosted by Paul Newman
-IRC tsunami relief profile, narrated by Tom Brokaw

Documents:
        -Psychological Care and Protection of Tsunami Affected Children: Guiding Principles
        -Famine Cry: Iraq             

K.      Give at least one citation about this agency from a newspaper article (preferably an Arizona newspaper). Use a citation index to research this e.g., Lexis Nexis, available from the Migration Course Web Page made by the Fletcher Library:  http://library.west.asu.edu/subjects/SOC/soc331.html  Briefly state what the article is about, and provide a quote from the article that includes the agency’s name and gives a good idea of this agency’s perspective on im/migration.  Note: not a quote from agency’s own web site!

This article deals with attacks on Humanitarian Organizations and the U.N. by insurgent groups within Iraq. (http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/iraq1005/8.htm)

“Other international humanitarian organizations followed suit. On November 9, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which had been in Iraq for eighteen months working on water systems, sanitation and health facilities, vaccinations and rebuilding schools, announced it was phasing its Iraq programs out by the end of the year. “Regretfully, we had to recognize the reality that due to security constraints, we are less and less able to address Iraq’s needs,” said IRC’s director for the Middle East and Asia, Mark Bartolini. “The deteriorating security conditions reveal a trend toward attacks against Iraqi civilians who associate themselves with international agencies, as well as against the international staff of those organizations.”

L.       Any other issues of interest about the agency?
They not only help bring refugees into the US to start another life but they also go to other countries and help rebuild communities, stop hunger, and help obtain clean, drinkable water.

M.     Is the agency noticeably pro or con immigration? (You may need to determine this from “reading around” in its position papers, press releases, news reports, etc)
Pro.  They want to help bring refugees into the US to better their lives.

N.      Web site? Give URL
http://www.theirc.org/