ICRC News 15 / 27-Apr-00

** SHORT MENU....

Ethiopia: Food relief arrives in Gudis
ICRC convoys with urgently needed food were due to arrive Thursday in the
village of Gudis, whose population has been hard hit by the drought that
has devastated south-eastern Ethiopia.

Sierra Leone: Red Cross starts agricultural aid
The ICRC and the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society have begun distributing
seed, tools and other relief to some 40,000 farm families averaging six
members each. After a thorough survey of needs in four districts of Sierra
Leone, the first convoys left Freetown and Kenema on 20 April.

Sudan: New limb-fitting capacity
The ICRC signed a new agreement on 20 April covering orthopaedic work in
Sudan. The accord, worked out with the ministries of Defence and Social
Planning, extends for three years the organization's support to the
National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics (NACPO) in Khartoum.

Republic of the Congo: ICRC brings together former foes
An unusual meeting took place in early April in Kindamba, in the Pool
region north-west of Brazzaville.

Senegal: Humanitarian law competition in Dakar
>From 25 to 28 April the ICRC is organizing, in cooperation with the
students' association of the Human Rights and Peace Institute at Sheikh
Anta Diop University in Dakar, a competition based on international
humanitarian law.


** STORIES IN FULL...

Ethiopia
Food relief arrives in Gudis

ICRC convoys with urgently needed food were due to arrive Thursday in the
village of Gudis, whose population has been hard hit by the drought that
has devastated south-eastern Ethiopia.

A recent ICRC survey of the village, in the Imi district about 200
kilometres west of Gode, revealed alarmingly high rates of malnutrition,
particularly among women, children and the elderly, with a correspondingly
high death rate. Arranging rapid aid for Gudis was therefore high on the
organization's list of priorities.

As the district is virtually inaccessible from Gode by land transport, the
ICRC has set up an airlift from Nairobi to Dire Dawa, from where the food
is being transported by road. Though the route is long, it is the only
effective and speedy way to ensure that the food reaches those who need it.
A separate airlift is already under way into Gode airport.

The relief operation, being operated jointly by the ICRC and the Ethiopian
Red Cross Society, aims to distribute food to a population of 188,000
people in four districts: Imi, Denan, Adaadle and Gode. In addition,
surveys are being carried out in the district of Fik, an area also thought
to be badly affected. The operation is planned to continue at least until
late June. If the rains fail for the fifth season in a row, the risk is
great that the area will suffer major famine. In that case, distributions
might have to continue until the end of the year.

The first phase of the operation is intended to stabilize the situation,
which is now critical, by providing the entire population of the districts
concerned with regular food consisting of carefully balanced nutrients.
This is an essential first step before therapeutic feeding centres are
established because if sufficient food is not generally available, people
treated at the centres and then released can find themselves relapsing into
malnutrition and having to return for further treatment.

The relief provided by the ICRC and the Ethiopian Red Cross consists of
pre-cooked high-protein food - an essential supplement to the wheat being
delivered by the government's Disaster Preparedness and Prevention
Commission.

Plans for seed distributions are also being drawn up, and the ICRC and the
Ethiopian Red Cross are stockpiling shelter material and other emergency
items that could quickly become necessary if the long-awaited rains do
begin to fall.

Further information:
Helge Kvam, ICRC Gode, tel. ++873 761 845 835
Amanda Williamson, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 2678


Sierra Leone
Red Cross starts agricultural aid

The ICRC and the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society have begun distributing
seed, tools and other relief to some 40,000 farm families averaging six
members each. After a thorough survey of needs in four districts of Sierra
Leone, the first convoys left Freetown and Kenema on 20 April.

The distributions, which will initially cover the Tonkolili and Kenema
areas, will expand in early May to the districts around Kailahun and
Pujehun. Focusing on the poorest people, the Red Cross has registered some
13,000 families in Tonkolili, 13,000 in Kenema, 8,700 in Kailahun and
almost 5,300 in Pujehun. Among the beneficiaries are internally displaced
people and refugees returning to their homes and farmers who never left but
lost everything during the war. Each of the 40,000 families will receive 40
kg of swamp and upland seed-rice (a distribution requiring 1,600 tonnes in
all), 10 kg of groundnuts, six varieties of imported vegetable seeds, three
types of local seeds, and hoes. In addition, some 30,000families will
receive plastic sheeting, blankets, sleeping mats, buckets, kitchen sets
and soap.

Barring obstacles such as bad weather and poor road conditions, the
distribution will be completed by the beginning of June.

Further information: Priska Spoerri, ICRC Freetown, tel. ++ 232 22 230 954


Sudan
New limb-fitting capacity

The ICRC signed a new agreement on 20 April covering orthopaedic work in
Sudan. The accord, worked out with the ministries of Defence and Social
Planning, extends for three years the organization's support to the
National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics (NACPO) in Khartoum. The
signing was followed by an inauguration ceremony to mark the completion of
work that had been in progress since 1998 to upgrade the Centre's
facilities.

The new agreement results from a decision by the three parties to step up
and coordinate their activities to help mine victims and other war
amputees. The aim is to enhance the quality of the prostheses and other
orthopaedic appliances manufactured by the NACPO and to boost production to
900 units per year. To do this, the ICRC will strive to develop and
modernize the local technology by providing standard-quality components
made of polypropylene. It will also hold advanced training courses for
technicians from Khartoum and other parts of the country.

The renovation of several parts of the NACPO, financed by the ICRC, will go
a long way to attaining these objectives. One of the newly renovated
buildings houses the production unit for prostheses and orthoses and the
training room. The other now has improved facilities for the rehabilitation
process and for physiotherapy. Separate premises for men and women have
been set up and dormitories are available for those who come from other
areas of the country. This is an important step towards ensuring access for
amputees and other disabled people who travel to Khartoum from far away,
both those who have made the journey at their own initiative - and often
have very little money - and those brought there by the ICRC from the
conflict zones.

Cooperation between the ICRC and the Sudanese authorities in the physical
rehabilitation of war-wounded and other disabled people began in January
1990. The ICRC also operates a limb-fitting workshop for victims of the
Sudanese conflict in Lokichokio, across the border in Kenya.

Further information: ICRC Khartoum, tel. ++ 249 11 476 464



Republic of the Congo
ICRC brings together former foes

An unusual meeting took place in early April in Kindamba, in the Pool
region north-west of Brazzaville. Coinciding with the launch of a food-aid
programme in the area, the ICRC has been working to familiarize combatants
with international humanitarian law. Seven courses have so far been
organized for some 350 government soldiers. The last of those courses had a
difference: along with the 68 government soldiers present were over a dozen
"Ninjas", members of a militia opposed to Congolese President Sasso
N'guesso.

The Pool region is the Ninjas' bastion. The militia's leader, the Reverend
Ntoumi, who helped negotiate the cease-fire agreement in late December, has
his base along with a strong force in the forests near Kindamba.

The Ninjas had never before been official participants in an ICRC event to
promote knowledge of the law and the organization's activities. Including
them in the event was possible thanks to an initiative taken by the local
government military commander. As a result, the ICRC had to adapt the
presentation to account for the fact that the audience was made up of
mutually hostile forces - a rare event.

The Ninjas expressed complete satisfaction at the end of the session, which
was held in a crowded classroom in which the attentive audience asked a
steady stream of questions. The Ninjas - dressed in civilian clothes but
recognizable by their beards and their "dreadlocks" - sat in front while
the government soldiers - clean shaven and in uniform - sat behind them.
Such a thing would have been unthinkable only a few months ago.

When the session was over and a Ninja was thanking the ICRC for inviting
them, one could almost say that a certain fraternal spirit was palpable
between the ex-adversaries. Encouraged by the results, the ICRC organized
two further mixed sessions, which were held last week.

Further information: Laurent Colassis, ICRC Brazzaville, tel. ++ 242 81 12
08



Senegal
Humanitarian law competition in Dakar

>From 25 to 28 April the ICRC is organizing, in cooperation with the
students' association of the Human Rights and Peace Institute at Sheikh
Anta Diop University in Dakar, a competition based on international
humanitarian law.

Six teams from the universities of Saint Louis and Dakar, the Ecole
nationale d'administration, journalism schools and the national police
force will take part in this event, the first of its kind to be held in
Africa. In addition to receiving 20hours of instruction in international
humanitarian law itself and the working methods of the main humanitarian
agencies (the UNHCR, UNICEF and various non-governmental human rights
organizations), the 24participants will confront the problems of "East
Bellitia", a subcontinent beset by a crisis with major political and
humanitarian ramifications (civil war, indiscriminate bombing, ethnic
cleansing, foreign mercenaries, etc.).

In the course of the competition, the future civil servants, journalists
and policemen will play the role of ICRC delegates attempting to gain
access to victims of war, or that of members of a reconciliation commission
discussing the need to try war criminals at the end of a conflict. By
simulating a real-life situation, the exercise will bring them into contact
with the substance as well as the limits of humanitarian law. Opening the
competition, the head of the ICRC delegation in Dakar wished the
participants good luck and reminded them that the decisions they take, the
words they write or perhaps even the way they use their weapons will either
help make the world a more humane place or add to its misery.

Further information: Vincent Bernard, ICRC Dakar, tel. ++221 824 12 93


During the weekend of 29 - 30 April 2000, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Corinne Adam, on (mobile) 41 79 202 36 80