ICRC News 06 / 24-Feb-00

** SHORT MENU....
Sri Lanka: Families visit detainees on hunger strike:

On 23 February, 28 close relatives of 15 servicemen (13 from the army, two
from the  navy)  who are currently in the custody of  the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and have been on a hunger strike for two weeks were
escorted by the ICRC to Puthukkudiyirippu, in northern Sri Lanka, where
these men are being held.

ANGOLA: Reducing infant mortality:
The ICRC is this week launching a water and sanitation programme in camps
for displaced people in the Angolan city of Kuito. In response to an
alarming rise in infant mortality in the second half of 1999 (according to
information gathered in January, 2.6 children out of 10,000 were dying each
day), the ICRC, Medecins sans frontieres and other humanitarian
organizations carried out nutritional, medical and sanitary surveys to
identify the cause.

Bangladesh: Symposium on international humanitarian law in Dhaka:
On 12 February the ICRC and the faculty of law of the University of Dhaka
jointly held a one-day symposium in Dhaka on international humanitarian law
and various issues relating to its scope and implementation.


** STORIES IN FULL...

Sri Lanka
Families visit detainees on hunger strike

On 23 February, 28 close relatives of 15 servicemen (13 from the army, two
from the  navy)  who are currently in the custody of  the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and have been on a hunger strike for two weeks were
escorted by the ICRC to Puthukkudiyirippu, in northern Sri Lanka, where
these men are being held. The visit, which was organized by the ICRC with
the cooperation of the government and the LTTE, is scheduled to last for
two days so that the detainees can spend some time with their families,
whom they have not seen for over six years. ICRC delegates are visiting the
detainees daily and are closely monitoring their health.

The ICRC has been present in Sri Lanka since 1989. It has 48 expatriates
and 300 local staff based at its delegation in Colombo and its 11 offices
in the north and east of the country.

Further information: Harasha Gunawardene, ICRC Colombo, tel. ++ 941 503 346


ANGOLA
Reducing infant mortality

The ICRC is this week launching a water and sanitation programme in camps
for displaced people in the Angolan city of Kuito. In response to an
alarming rise in infant mortality in the second half of 1999 (according to
information gathered in January, 2.6 children out of 10,000 were dying each
day), the ICRC, Medecins sans frontieres and other humanitarian
organizations carried out nutritional, medical and sanitary surveys to
identify the cause. They concluded that the main problems were the shortage
and poor quality of water, poor hygiene and the under-use of existing
health-care facilities.

The ICRC has therefore begun distributing 121,000 litres of water daily in
the four biggest camps. This amounts to four litres per person per day. The
supply will be continued until work has been completed by other
organizations to sink wells.

The ICRC's response to the hygiene problems combines drainage work, the
building of 1,000 latrines (with the help of the displaced people
themselves), a monthly distribution of soap to 20,000 families and a
sanitary education programme carried out in conjunction with the Angola Red
Cross. A study will also be carried out to determine why more use is not
being made of health-care facilities.

Since December 1998, Kuito has faced a massive influx of displaced people
- some 116,000 so far - who are living in 18 camps, for the most part
situated on a hill that makes for particularly poor hygiene conditions
during the rainy season.

Further information:
Juan Martinez, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 22 81, or mobile
++41 79 217 32 17
Francoise Zambellini, ICRC Luanda, tel. ++24 42 364 454


Bangladesh
Symposium on international humanitarian law in Dhaka

On 12 February the ICRC and the faculty of law of the University of Dhaka
jointly held a one-day symposium in Dhaka on international humanitarian law
and various issues relating to its scope and implementation. The first such
event to take place in the country, it was attended by academics, NGO
representatives, officers of the armed forces and members of the Bangladesh
Red Crescent Society and other humanitarian organizations. The symposium
helped raise awareness of the provisions of humanitarian law and their
relevance to the protection of civilians in modern conflicts. Since
Bangladesh is one of the two South Asian countries to have ratified the
1977 Protocols additional to the 1949 Geneva Conventions (the other country
being the Maldives), national implementation was a focal point of the
discussions. The symposium also provided the National Society with an
opportunity to present the structure of the International Red Cross and Red
Crescent Movement and the Movement's efforts to promote humanitarian law.

Further information: Savita Varde-Naqvi, ICRC Delhi, tel. ++ 9111 462 23 38


During the weekend of
26 - 27 February 2000, for all information please call the press officer on
duty Juan Martinez, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 17