ICRC News 39 / 12-Oct-00
ICRC News 39 / 12-Oct-00
** SHORT MENU....
Israel/Occupied Territories/Autonomous Territories: Red Cross / Red
Crescent responds to the crisis
In view of the prevailing situation in the region after days of intense
violence, some 20 ICRC delegates have been deployed in the Gaza Strip, the
West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Solomon Islands: Relief operation suspended following attack on Red Cross
team
The ICRC has decided to suspend its relief activities in the Solomon
Islands following an attack on its staff on the island of Marapa, in the
Marau Sounds off the Weathercoast of Guadalcanal, on 6 October, in which
one delegate was seriously wounded.
Iraq: Rehabilitation of primary health care centre
The ICRC has just completed the renovation of a primary health care centre
in the town of al-Huwaider (Diyala district), 100 km north of Baghdad.
Angola: Thanks to red cross message, two sisters find each other after 25
years
"Messages of hope" they may be, but for those who are anxious to receive
one the wait can be agonizing. Searching for a missing relative is one of
the cruellest ordeals of war.
Bulgaria: Eastern European initiative on small arms
>From 1 to 3 October, in Sofia, the Bulgarian Red Cross, in conjunction with
the Norwegian Red Cross and the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms
Transfers (NISAT), held a regional seminar on small arms for the National
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of south-eastern Europe.
** STORIES IN FULL...
Israel/Occupied Territories/Autonomous Territories
Red Cross / Red Crescent responds to the crisis
In view of the prevailing situation in the region after days of intense
violence, some 20 ICRC delegates have been deployed in the Gaza Strip, the
West Bank and East Jerusalem. Working closely with the Palestine Red
Crescent Society (PRCS), they are monitoring daily developments and
approach the authorities when necessary to ensure the safe passage of PRCS
ambulances through difficult areas. They are also keeping in close contact
with the Magen David Adom.
In response to the appeal made by the PRCS last week, a 5.5 tonne shipment
of ICRC medical assistance has been dispatched to the area with the support
of the German Red Cross, and the Norwegian Red Cross has sent six
ambulances.
Acting together with the International Federation, the ICRC is stepping up
its support for the PRCS. Most urgent needs in terms of medical supplies
have been covered, enabling clinics and health posts to cope with the great
number of wounded.
Meanwhile, the ICRC delegation in Beirut has requested access to the three
Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah last Saturday.
Further information: Suzanne Berger, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 2307
Solomon Islands
Relief operation suspended following attack
on Red Cross team
The ICRC has decided to suspend its relief activities in the Solomon
Islands following an attack on its staff on the island of Marapa, in the
Marau Sounds off the Weathercoast of Guadalcanal, on 6 October, in which
one delegate was seriously wounded.
A joint ICRC / Solomon Islands Red Cross team was distributing relief
supplies to the displaced population on Marapa Island when it was attacked
by partially uniformed armed men. An ICRC delegate was severely beaten and
food and other relief items covering the needs of some 50 families were
stolen at gunpoint. The delegate had to be evacuated to Australia, where he
was treated for head wounds.
The ICRC started distributing relief supplies in the Marau Sounds on 3
October and was to continue its operation in the remaining easternmost part
of the Weathercoast. A clinic for the displaced was also to be set up on
Marapa and a Solomon Islands nurse brought in together with the necessary
medical supplies.
Given the alarming events, Red Cross relief activities in the Solomon
Islands will not resume until renewed and credible security guarantees are
received from all parties to the conflict.
Further information: Corinne Adam, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 79 202 36 80
Thomas Gurtner, ICRC Manila, tel. ++63 2 891 8902 ; Pauline Wall, ICRC
Sydney, tel. ++61 2 9388 9039
Iraq
Rehabilitation of primary health care centre
The ICRC has just completed the renovation of a primary health care centre
in the town of al-Huwaider (Diyala district), 100 km north of Baghdad. The
centre was selected with around two dozen others to benefit from a
rehabilitation programme aimed at improving the health-care system in Iraq,
which has seriously deteriorated in recent years. It is the first of these
centres to have been rehabilitated so far.
The renovation of the centre, which started at the end of June, involved
masonry work, the improvement of the water-distribution and electrical
systems and the repair of doors and windows. Today, thanks to a sound and
functional structure, the centre can again serve its purpose for the
civilian population and will be able to provide up to 150 consultations a
day.
By the end of October, the ICRC will start training the medical staff of
two other primary health care centres in the same district so as to improve
the quality of the treatment given there.
Thanks to the joint efforts of the Iraqi Ministry of Health and ICRC
specialists, nine hospitals, totalling over 3,400 beds, and 26 health care
centres throughout the country will benefit from this programme, which
began last summer.
Further information: Suzanne Berger, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 2307
-240
Angola
Thanks to red cross message, two sisters find each other after 25 years
"Messages of hope" they may be, but for those who are anxious to receive
one the wait can be agonizing. Searching for a missing relative is one of
the cruellest ordeals of war.
Despite the difficulties of working in a country as vast as Angola (twice
the size of France), where so many people have been displaced and some
areas are off limits for security reasons, the ICRC has finally managed to
reunite two sisters who lost touch with each other 25 years ago.
Maria da Graca Palanca threw her arms up in the air several times,
speechless with emotion. She had just read a message from her sister
Maria-Margarida, from whom she was separated when she was only 18. Today
she learned that Maria-Margarida, fleeing the violence that broke out in
the country in 1975, had been able to fly to Norway and was still living
there.
The ICRC processes tracing requests and collects and delivers red cross
messages both in Angola and abroad, especially in neighbouring countries
where many Angolans have sought refuge and where ICRC tracing teams are
working in close collaboration with National Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies to help them find their missing relatives. A great number of
messages are currently being distributed by the ICRC in Huambo, Lobito,
Kuito and Luanda and by the Angolan Red Cross in other parts of the
country.
Further information: Gianni Volpin, ICRC Luanda, tel. ++24 42 36 4 4 54
Bulgaria
Eastern European initiative on small arms
>From 1 to 3 October, in Sofia, the Bulgarian Red Cross, in conjunction with
the Norwegian Red Cross and the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms
Transfers (NISAT), held a regional seminar on small arms for the National
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of south-eastern Europe. The purpose
was to discuss the problem of small arms proliferation both globally and in
the region and to examine how National Societies could best implement a
resolution on arms availability adopted by the 1999 Council of Delegates of
the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
"Unregulated arms availability can facilitate violations of international
humanitarian law, increase civilian suffering and impede assistance to
victims," said ICRC Mines-Arms Unit coordinator Peter Herby at the seminar.
Recently, regional efforts have been made to control the flow of arms from
and within Europe. "But there is a need to focus much more on the human
costs of small arms proliferation," said Herby.
The National Societies of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece,
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Yugoslavia took part
in the seminar, which was also attended by the Norwegian Red Cross, NISAT,
the International Federation and the ICRC. The participants expressed
concern about the effects of small arms circulation on communities in the
region and several National Societies showed an interest in developing
national or regional activities, especially with a view to raising public
awareness and promoting alternatives to a culture of violence.
Further information: Lena Eskeland, ICRC Mines-Arms Unit, tel. ++41 79 389
9932
Peter Herby, ICRC Mines-Arms Unit, tel. ++41 22 730 2729
During the weekend of 14 - 15 October 2000, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Corinne Adam, on (mobile) 41 79 202 36 80