ICRC News 13 / 13-Apr-00

** SHORT MENU....

Russian Federation/Northern Caucasus: ICRC surveys continue in Chechnya:
A team comprising four local ICRC employees and one Russian Red Cross staff
member carried out a further two-day assessment mission last week in
Gudermes, the second largest town in Chechnya and the new base for the
republic's authorities.

Angola:Training in war surgery at Huambo hospital:
Following an initial survey carried out by the ICRC in September 1999, a
programme has been set up to train the staff of the main hospital in Huambo
in war-surgery techniques.

Yugoslavia: ICRC donates plasma purification system:
The ICRC recently delivered a chromatography plasma purification system,
which is used to produce immunoglobulin and other plasma derivatives, to
the Blood Transfusion Institute in Belgrade.

Middle East:
Regional conference on the incorporation of law of armed conflict in
military training:
For the first time in the Middle East, high-ranking military commanders
from all over the region met recently to discuss the role of armed forces
in disseminating the basic principles of the law of armed conflict.

Mali: Information day for Malian civil society:
In cooperation with the Mali Red Cross, the ICRC organized an information
day on Red Cross activities and respect for international humanitarian law
in the Malian capital Bamako on 5 April.

** STORIES IN FULL...

Russian Federation/Northern Caucasus
ICRC surveys continue in Chechnya

A team comprising four local ICRC employees and one Russian Red Cross staff
member carried out a further two-day assessment mission last week in
Gudermes, the second largest town in Chechnya and the new base for the
republic's authorities. Official sources estimate the town's population at
80,000, compared with 100,000 before the current crisis. The humanitarian
situation appeared stable, with some 1,500 internally displaced persons
registered and nearly 4,000 particularly vulnerable persons (such as
invalids, handicapped children, and solitary elderly people)  identified.

According to information gathered by the Red Cross team in its meetings
with the local and regional administrations and with medical authorities,
the most pressing needs in terms of food, water, other basic necessities
and sanitation are in the south-west and south-east of the republic, the
regions hardest hit by the conflict. The general health situation remains
serious even though the main regional hospitals, with the exception of
those in Grozny and Shatoy, have started working again.

Discussions took place on ways to reactivate the bread distribution and
visiting nurses programmes run by the Chechen branch of the Russian Red
Cross in the main towns in the republic.

Basic ICRC medical assistance was provided to the 300-bed main referral
hospital in the Gudermes region. While this structure was not damaged
during fighting, it is in need of rehabilitation since it has not been
adequately maintained for several years.

This week, a follow-up mission took place in Achkhoy-Martan, west of
Grozny, during which the ICRC delivered medical assistance to the main
hospital, in particular to treat an increasing number of typhoid cases.

Further information: Suzanne Berger, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 23 07


Angola
Training in war surgery at Huambo hospital

Following an initial survey carried out by the ICRC in September 1999, a
programme has been set up to train the staff of the main hospital in Huambo
in war-surgery techniques. The first stage was completed last week and a
decrease in the rate of wound infections has already been observed. This
can be largely attributed to new treatment protocols and to an improvement
in post-operative care. Management and follow-up of patients have also been
improved, as has basic hygiene in the various wards.

In a six-week seminar led by an ICRC surgeon, hospital staff (surgeons,
physicians and senior nurses working in the operating theatre, intensive
care, the emergency room, the surgical ward and the orthopaedic unit) were
given thorough training and also had the opportunity to examine 75
practical cases. A further mission is planned for August. Until then,
technical support for the hospital will be reinforced by the presence of a
health delegate who will be responsible for supervising and reorganizing
emergency admissions.

Since January 1999, the hospital has been receiving medicines and medical
supplies under the supervision of an ICRC medical delegate. This
assistance, at first intended only for the war-wounded, has been extended
since May 1999 to all cases requiring surgery. In addition, repair work on
the hospital's sanitary facilities has been going on since January 2000.

Further information: Francoise Zambellini, ICRC Luanda, tel. ++24 42 364
454

Yugoslavia
ICRC donates plasma purification system

The ICRC recently delivered a chromatography plasma purification system,
which is used to produce immunoglobulin and other plasma derivatives, to
the Blood Transfusion Institute in Belgrade. The equipment and training in
its use are worth 250,000 Swiss francs.

The ICRC and the Blood Transfusion Institute have a long history of
fruitful cooperation. During the recent conflicts in the former Yugoslavia,
for example, the ICRC supplied the Institute with disposable materials
necessary for the handling of blood; and during last year's NATO air
strikes, it provided a generator and repaired the Institute's cold chain.

Quite apart from this donation, the ICRC medical programme in Serbia
continues according to plan. Surgical supplies for the first quarter of
2000 have been delivered to 35 hospitals and other medical facilities, and
the monthly distribution of basic drugs for chronic diseases to
humanitarian pharmacies is currently under way.

Further information: Gordona Milenkovic, ICRC Belgrade, tel. ++381 11 450
590

Middle East
Regional conference on the incorporation of law of armed conflict in
military training

For the first time in the Middle East, high-ranking military commanders
from all over the region met recently to discuss the role of armed forces
in disseminating the basic principles of the law of armed conflict.  The
two-day conference, held in Amman, was organized by the Jordanian Armed
Forces on the initiative of the ICRC, as part of their longstanding
cooperation on dissemination programmes in Jordan. It was opened by the
Chairman of the Jordanian Joint Chiefs of Staff. Among those taking part
were brigadier generals and colonels from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
Syria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, together with a representative
of the Palestinian Authority. Others attending the conference included the
Jordanian Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, the ICRC regional
training delegate for the armed and security forces, other resource persons
from ICRC delegations in the region, and officers from Jordan and Sudan
trained by the ICRC to give instruction in the law of armed conflict.

Following a presentation by representatives of the Jordanian and Egyptian
armed forces on their experiences in spreading knowledge of the law of
armed conflict, participants were divided into working groups that
discussed and agreed upon methods of disseminating and integrating this
body of law in training programmes of their various armed forces. They were
unanimous in requesting that the ICRC hold annual follow-up conferences
beginning next year. They also urged the ICRC to continue to provide
training materials and to advise them on procedures for implementing the
adopted recommendations.

Further information: Mu'in Kassis, ICRC Amman, tel. ++962 6 5688645


Mali
Information day for Malian civil society

In cooperation with the Mali Red Cross, the ICRC organized an information
day on Red Cross activities and respect for international humanitarian law
in the Malian capital Bamako on 5 April. This event was intended for
associations from civil society and mayors of communities in the Bamako
district.

Forty representatives of the media and of women's and youth organizations,
and the Bamako mayors, accepted the Red Cross invitation. The women and
young people spontaneously offered to join their National Red Cross Society
to give it new impetus. A dozen of the country's newspapers and private
radio stations suggested that they help the Red Cross make its concerns
known to the public and spread the message of humanitarian law.

This initiative is aimed at acquainting civil society with the activities
of the Mali Red Cross and the ICRC, and at extending discussion of
international humanitarian law beyond governmental circles to all sectors
of the population. Similar events will be held in several other regions of
the country.

Further information: Gilbert Delechat, ICRC Dakar, tel. ++221 8 241 293

During the weekend of 15 - 16 April 2000, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Chris Bowers, on  ++ 41 79 217 32 31