ICRC News 45 / 23-Nov-00
ICRC News 45 / 23-Nov-00
** SHORT MENU....
Yugoslavia
ICRC responds to the crisis in detention places in Serbia
On 6 November mutinies broke out in the three largest prisons in Serbia, in
Sremska Mitrovica, Pozarevac and Nis, where the majority of people detained
in connection with the Kosovo conflict and visited by the ICRC were being
held.
Russian Federation / Northern Caucasus
Preparing for winter in Chechnya
Although open hostilities have subsided in the past six months, living
conditions remain extremely harsh for the Chechen population. In Grozny,
where the fighting in late 1999 destroyed most of the remaining
infrastructure, a majority of the inhabitants (estimated at 100,000 for the
city and its surrounding area) will have to survive yet another winter
living in badly damaged buildings without heat, electricity, running water
or any sanitation system.
Croatia
Training of police forces
On 20 November, in Zagreb, the head of the ICRC regional delegation in
Budapest and MrSime Lucin, Minister of the Interior of the Republic of
Croatia, signed a memorandum of understanding on the incorporation of
international human rights law and international humanitarian law into the
training programmes of the Croatian police forces.
Sri Lanka
Floods in Batticaloa district
Since 17 November the entire district of Batticaloa, in the conflict-ridden
Eastern Province, has been affected by floods due to heavy rain. In many
places the roads are under water and some western areas are virtually
inaccessible by land.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
ICRC publishes addendum to its "Book of the Missing"
The ICRC has recently published an addendum to the fourth edition of its
"Book of the Missing". The book, which first appeared in 1996, contains the
names of more than 20,000 people who disappeared between 1992 and 1995,
during the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and for whom tracing requests
have been submitted by their families.
** STORIES IN FULL...
Yugoslavia
ICRC responds to the crisis in detention places in Serbia
On 6 November mutinies broke out in the three largest prisons in Serbia, in
Sremska Mitrovica, Pozarevac and Nis, where the majority of people detained
in connection with the Kosovo conflict and visited by the ICRC were being
held.
ICRC teams immediately travelled to the areas concerned to talk with the
prison authorities and the inmates, ensure that the Kosovo Albanian
detainees were safe and respond to the urgent needs for assistance arising
from the situation. These direct contacts were maintained throughout the
crisis and meetings were also held with high level authorities in Belgrade.
Owing partly to security concerns and partly to the destruction of living
quarters in the three places of detention, the authorities transferred a
number of people held in connection with the conflict in Kosovo and other
conflicts to prisons that could accommodate them. Of the 640 detainees whom
the ICRC had visited in Sremska Mitrovica, Pozarevac and Nis, over 270 were
transferred to seven other prisons. The ICRC, which was notified of the
transfers, was able to visit the detainees in their new places of detention
and offer them the possibility of contacting their families by means of Red
Cross messages. It has also supplied the prisons concerned with mattresses,
blankets and hygiene parcels.
After order was restored in the prisons affected by the mutinies, the ICRC
talked to all Kosovo Albanians held in Nis and to the representatives of
those held in Pozarevac, and it informed their families that they were in
good health. The detainees confirmed that they were receiving the
assistance provided by the ICRC.
Meanwhile, the ICRC has continued to transport released detainees to their
homes in Kosovo. Since 6 November, 18 people have received this kind of
help and two family visits have been facilitated for detainees in Zajecar
prison.
As a result of the serious damage inflicted on prison kitchens, storage
facilities, hospitals and pharmacies, there has been an urgent need for
medical and other kinds of assistance from the outset of the protests. The
ICRC has responded by providing food (20 tonnes, in addition to 20,400
ready-to-eat meals), a mobile kitchen, kitchen sets, clothing, mattresses
and hygiene articles, as well as a wide range of drugs for both chronic and
acute diseases. Given the scope of the damage, the ICRC will continue to
provide assistance.
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Further information: Gordana Milenkovic, ICRC Belgrade, tel. ++ 38 111 45
05 90
Russian Federation / Northern Caucasus
Preparing for winter in Chechnya
Although open hostilities have subsided in the past six months, living
conditions remain extremely harsh for the Chechen population. In Grozny,
where the fighting in late 1999 destroyed most of the remaining
infrastructure, a majority of the inhabitants (estimated at 100,000 for the
city and its surrounding area) will have to survive yet another winter
living in badly damaged buildings without heat, electricity, running water
or any sanitation system. Following the reopening of the ICRC office in
Grozny at the beginning of October, ICRC local staff, working together with
the local branch of the Russian Red Cross, have been stepping up their
activities in order to meet the basic needs of the most vulnerable groups
in preparation for the coming cold season.
Last week, ICRC local staff began distributing sugar, oil and soap in
Grozny and Achkhoy- Martan to supplement the daily bread rations which
15,000 needy people in the main Chechen towns are receiving under an
ICRC-supported programme. Gas heaters are also being installed in the homes
of elderly bedridden people who are being cared for by local Red Cross
staff under the visiting nurses programme (560 heaters will be provided in
all). Furthermore, as part of an assistance programme for hospitals,
schools, orphanages and old-age homes, distributions of kitchen sets,
plastic sheeting and blankets have been under way since October. The
reconstruction work on pumping station No 1 in Grozny has now been
completed, enabling part of the city's population to have access to clean
water starting this week. The ICRC-supported pumping station had already
been rehabilitated once before.
Since security conditions still prevent the ICRC from permanently deploying
expatriate staff in Chechnya, Daghestan or Ingushetia, assistance
programmes are being conducted out of Nalchik (Kabardino-Balkaria) with the
cooperation of the local Red Cross branches and ICRC local staff.
Further information: Suzanne Berger, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 41 22 730 23 07
0
Croatia
Training of police forces
On 20 November, in Zagreb, the head of the ICRC regional delegation in
Budapest and MrSime Lucin, Minister of the Interior of the Republic of
Croatia, signed a memorandum of understanding on the incorporation of
international human rights law and international humanitarian law into the
training programmes of the Croatian police forces. This is a first step in
support of the Ministry's efforts to ensure that the provisions of
international law are taught to the police, especially at the operational
and tactical levels.
At the signing ceremony, which was held at the Ministry of the Interior in
the presence of the dean of the Croatian Police Academy and representatives
of the media, the two parties carried out a symbolic exchange of documents.
An initial meeting between the ICRC and the Croatian Police Academy to
discuss implementation of the memorandum is scheduled for mid-December.
Further information: Nina Zeckovic Ivanjek, ICRC Zagreb, tel.: ++ 3851 30
94 808
Sri Lanka
Floods in Batticaloa district
Since 17 November the entire district of Batticaloa, in the conflict-ridden
Eastern Province, has been affected by floods due to heavy rain. In many
places the roads are under water and some western areas are virtually
inaccessible by land.
The Batticaloa branch of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS), whose
volunteers are scattered throughout the district, is currently monitoring
the situation. On the morning of 20 November it was informed that marooned
people in villages in the western areas had to be evacuated as their lives
were in danger.
An ICRC team, including a mobile health unit, immediately set off for
Kinnaiyady, near Valaichenai. In the afternoon a joint ICRC/SLRCS rescue
operation was launched using three boats. Altogether, four trips were made
and about 235 people, mostly women and children, were brought to safety.
Fifty-two of them were ill and they were treated on the spot by the mobile
health unit. The SLRCS arranged for the evacuees to be housed in a school
in Sunkankerny and provided them with food for the night.
0A similar operation was carried out on 21 November by the SLRCS with ICRC
assistance to evacuate marooned people in the villages of Saravely,
Murukkantivu and Pirampaditivu. Three boats were used to bring 131
residents to safety. Most of them were women, children and old people.
The ICRC has been present in Sri Lanka since 1989. It currently has 48
expatriates and 300 local staff based at its delegation in Colombo and in
its 11 offices in the north and east of the country.
Further information: Harasha Gunawardene, ICRC Colombo, tel. ++ 941 50 33
46
Bosnia-Herzegovina
ICRC publishes addendum to its "Book of the Missing"
The ICRC has recently published an addendum to the fourth edition of its
"Book of the Missing". The book, which first appeared in 1996, contains the
names of more than 20,000 people who disappeared between 1992 and 1995,
during the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and for whom tracing requests
have been submitted by their families.
The names of the missing, who come from all over Bosnia-Herzegovina, are
listed both alphabetically and by place of disappearance. Other details
include the person's date and place of birth, his father's name and the
date on which he was last seen.
The addendum contains 563 names of missing persons submitted to the ICRC
since the last edition of the book was put out, in June 1998. It includes a
further 469 names of people who reportedly died but whose mortal remains
have not yet been found.
The publication of the addendum coincides with the fifth anniversary of the
Dayton peace agreement, which brought an end to the conflict in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Under the terms of the agreement, and in accordance
with international humanitarian law, the former warring parties have a
responsibility to provide the ICRC with information on persons unaccounted
for so that their families can learn what happened to them.
To date, the fate of only 3,083 persons whose names appear on ICRC records
has been elucidated.
"We are not working for the dead, but for their families", said the head of
the ICRC delegation in Sarajevo, Balthasar Staehelin. "Throughout the whole
of Bosnia-Herzegovina people are anxious for news, and it is crucial that
they be given answers rapidly. They have already been waiting too long."
Further information: Jessica Barry, ICRC Sarajevo, tel. ++ 387 33 652 835
During the weekend of 25 - 26 November 2000, for all information please
call the press officer on duty Darcy Christen, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 31