ICRC News 20 / 23-May-01


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** SHORT MENU....

Yugoslavia: ICRC responds to crisis in southern Serbia
On Saturday 12 May fighting broke out between Yugoslav security forces and
ethnic Albanian armed groups who had taken control of the village of
Oraovica, outside the ground safety zone (GSZ).

Angola: Aid ends around Huambo
The ICRC has ended its distributions of food and garden-vegetable seed to
some 70,000families (almost 300,000individuals), the residents of
120villages around Huambo, as well as to displaced people living in camps
in the area.

Kenya: Water system handed over to the community
On Friday 18 May, a Red Cross team handed over a newly built gravity-fed
water-supply system to the residents of Kapsait, in the highlands on the
border between the districts of West Pokot and Marakwet.

Côte d'Ivoire: Red Cross assists displaced people in Bloéquin
sub-prefecture
>From 8 to 11 May, after a recent land dispute led to clashes between the
Ivorian and Burkina Faso communities in Bloéquin sub-prefecture, in the
west of the country, the ICRC and the Red Cross Society of Côte d'Ivoire
carried out an initial assessment of humanitarian needs.

Algeria: Colloquium on humanitarian law
The Algerian Red Crescent, with the support of the ICRC, held a colloquium
on international humanitarian law in the Palais de la culture, Algiers, on
19 and 20 May.

Colombia: Campaign to promote protection of civilians 
In an effort to raise awareness among those involved in the armed conflict
in Colombia of the imperative need to protect the civilian population from
the hostilities, the ICRC and the Colombian Red Cross are conducting a
nationwide information campaign.

** STORIES IN FULL...


Yugoslavia
ICRC responds to crisis in southern Serbia

On Saturday 12 May fighting broke out between Yugoslav security forces and
ethnic Albanian armed groups who had taken control of the village of
Oraovica, outside the ground safety zone (GSZ). On Tuesday the ICRC
evacuated six elderly people from Oraovica to Presevo and on Wednesday it
evacuated one pregnant women, one mentally handicapped person and three
elderly people from Gornja Susaja, a village inside the GSZ. All five were
taken to Presevo and reunited with their families. On the same day the
ICRC facilitated the hand-over of the bodies of three persons killed in
the fighting to their relatives. The village of Oraovica is now under the
control of the Yugoslav security forces again.

On 18 May the ICRC carried out a distribution of food and other items
(wheat flour, soap, washing powder, candles and school materials) to 184
families in Oslare, a village outside the GSZ in Bujanovac municipality.
Approximately 900 people, including 211 children, benefited from the
assistance.

Over the last six months, the ICRC has delivered about 140 tonnes of food
and 11 tonnes of other supplies to 25,000 civilians in 73 villages in the
municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac, Medvedja and Kursumlja, inside and
outside the GSZ. Surgical supplies were provided for the hospital in
Vranje and for the Presevo and Bujanovac health centres and dressing sets,
stretchers and other emergency medical material were distributed in remote
villages to help them cope with a possible influx of war-wounded. A mobile
clinic with health staff from the Presevo health centre and the ICRC paid
visits to several villages inside and outside the GSZ.

At the same time, the ICRC has been following up on reports of arrests and
abductions in the area and is regularly visiting people held in connection
with the crisis in several places of detention. Through its offices in
Bujianovac and Presevo, it is closely monitoring the humanitarian
situation a few days before Yugoslav security forces are scheduled to
enter sector B of the GSZ.

Further information: Daniela Cavini, ICRC Belgrade, tel. ++ 381 11 450 590
Vincent Lusser, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 41 22 730 24 58


Angola
Aid ends around Huambo

The ICRC has ended its distributions of food and garden-vegetable seed to
some 70,000families (almost 300,000individuals), the residents of
120villages around Huambo, as well as to displaced people living in camps
in the area.

Fierce fighting on the Planalto between government troops and UNITA forces
in late 1998 caused a food shortage affecting civilians living in the
Huambo area, and over 30% of the population eventually suffered from
severe malnutrition. To meet the resulting needs, the ICRC urgently began
large-scale food distributions. A considerable logistical effort made it
possible to bring into the area and distribute over 37,200tonnes of food
in all.


In addition, an agricultural rehabilitation programme was launched
involving regular distribution of seed and implements, production of
natural fertilizer, diversification of local seed varieties, clearing of
irrigation canals, etc. Some 3,200tonnes of seed (maize, sorghum and bean)
were distributed to farmers.

The situation today is quite different. Improved security conditions in
the region mean that people can once again work the fields and grow the
crops they need to live. An ICRC food survey carried out in March in the
villages around Huambo and Caala showed that the severe malnutrition rate
among the population had dropped to 2.2%. These remaining cases are due
more to endemic illnesses in the region such as malaria, parasitic
diseases and diarrhoea than to lack of food.

As a result, only displaced people with no access to arable land will
continue receiving food aid. The ICRC hopes that the relevant government
authorities will make additional efforts to find land for the displaced
and thus enable them to resume some semblance of normal life, though they
are far from home. Permanent village residents around Huambo will continue
benefiting from ICRC agricultural assistance. The next seed distribution
is scheduled for the end of the year.

Further information: Gianni Volpin, ICRC Luanda, tel.  ++2442 364 454


Kenya
Water system handed over to the community

On Friday 18 May, a Red Cross team handed over a newly built gravity-fed
water-supply system to the residents of Kapsait, in the highlands on the
border between the districts of West Pokot and Marakwet. The water system
was built in cooperation with the Pokot and Marakwet communities, who
provided the manual labour. It will supply 500 families from both
communities, who have fought each other in the past and whose lowland
counterparts are still involved in clashes.

Women and children in both communities have until now had to go deep into
the valley to fetch water and haul it up steep hills. During the handover
ceremony, the Pokot and Marakwet joined to thank the Red Cross for showing
them "the importance of working together to solve our problems". Marakwet
District Officer Yusuf B. Huka encouraged both communities to continue
cooperating and living together peacefully. Operational maintenance of the
water system will be jointly supervised by Pokot and Marakwet
representatives.

The ICRC is working in Kenya's West Pokot and Marakwet districts to assist
victims of the violence that has broken out periodically between these
communities, who live mainly from raising cattle. The Pokot and Marakwet
are traditional adversaries and have frequently raided each other for
livestock and fought over pasture and water in times of famine or drought.
Such raids have often led to the displacement of entire communities,
including women and children. The Kapsait residents resettled in the area
in August 1998, following a period of calm in the highlands.

The ICRC aid programme was drawn up together with the American Red Cross,
which is implementing it in cooperation with the Kenya Red Cross Society.
Its aim is to restore access to water, education and markets so as to help
the displaced regain a degree of stability and self-sufficiency. Thus far,
three schools have been renovated and handed over to the local
communities. In addition, roads have been graded, dams cleared of silt and
new wells sunk.

Further information: Jessica Musila, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++254 2 723
963/4/5, 728 387

Côte d'Ivoire 
Red Cross assists displaced people in Bloéquin sub-prefecture

>From 8 to 11 May, after a recent land dispute led to clashes between the
Ivorian and Burkina Faso communities in Bloéquin sub-prefecture, in the
west of the country, the ICRC and the Red Cross Society of Côte d'Ivoire
carried out an initial assessment of humanitarian needs. On 11 May, 17
boxes of emergency medical supplies for the wounded were delivered to the
regional hospital in Guiglo.

Last week the Red Cross registered 2,097 people displaced by the recent
inter-community violence. On 17 and 18 May, in cooperation with National
Society volunteers, the ICRC provided them with 22 tonnes of assistance
(12.5 tonnes of rice, 1,887 litres of cooking oil, 4.1 tonnes of beans,
157 kilos of salt, 315 cooking pots, 1,049 sleeping mats, 1,049 blankets
and 2,097 bars of soap).

The Red Cross hopes that this emergency operation will not only help the
victims of the recent strife but also contribute to reducing tension. From
its logistical base in Man, the ICRC is continuing to monitor humanitarian
needs in the region in cooperation with the local branches of the National
Society.

Further information: Gilbert Deléchat, ICRC Abidjan, tel. ++225 224 000 70


Algeria
Colloquium on humanitarian law

The Algerian Red Crescent, with the support of the ICRC, held a colloquium
on international humanitarian law in the Palais de la culture, Algiers, on
19 and 20 May.

This was the first humanitarian law event to be held in Algeria since
violence there started over 10 years ago. The colloquium's aim was
twofold: to pool the efforts of organizations concerned by humanitarian
law and humanitarian endeavour, and to emphasize the importance of
humanitarian rules that set limits on violence. Most Algerian speakers
stressed the close links between the country's history and humanitarian
values.

The colloquium was chaired by the President of Algeria and attended by
representatives of the authorities, NGOs and nationally and
internationally renowned Algerian humanitarian law experts, such as
Mohamed Bedjaoui, former Minister of Justice and member of the
International Court of Justice in The Hague, of which he is also a past
President. The ICRC sent a large delegation, led by Ms Anne Petitpierre,
one of its Vice-Presidents.

Further information: Vincent Lusser, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 41 22 730 24 58


Colombia
Campaign to promote protection of civilians 

In an effort to raise awareness among those involved in the armed conflict
in Colombia of the imperative need to protect the civilian population from
the hostilities, the ICRC and the Colombian Red Cross are conducting a
nationwide information campaign.

"Don't make civilians the target of your attacks" is the main message of
the campaign, which was officially launched in Bogotá on 25 April under
the title "Juegue limpio" (Play fair).

"The campaign is part of a broad strategy for spreading knowledge of
international humanitarian law which we have been implementing since the
early 1980s", explained Georges Cominos, head of the ICRC delegation in
Bogotá. "In this case, however, by invoking Article 13 of Protocol II
additional to the Geneva Conventions, we wanted to make a special appeal
to the various armed groups to respect civilians, who are increasingly
bearing the brunt of the conflict".

Both the written press and local and national radio and TV stations are
supporting the campaign by publishing articles and broadcasting spots on
this vital aspect of the situation in Colombia.

"It is a deplorable but undeniable fact that, directly or indirectly, the
civilian population continues to pay a heavy price for the fighting that
has been going on here for more than 35 years, and that it is the
principal victim", added Georges Cominos.

Further information: Carlos Ríos, ICRC Bogotá, tel. ++571 313 8630
Macarena Aguilar, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2101


For any information you may need on Thursday 24 May (holiday) please call
Vincent Lusser, duty press officer, on: 41 79 217 32 24 (mobile)
and
the weekend of 26 - 27 September please call Antonella Notari, duty press
officer, on: 41 79 217 32 80 (mobile)