ICRC News 27 / 12-Jul-01


** SHORT MENU....

Afghanistan: ICRC helps build sewage system
An official ceremony to mark the completion of a new sewage system was
held in Kabul on 4 July in the presence of ICRC delegates, local
authorities and community leaders from the Tai Maskan neighbourhood.

Georgia: ICRC highlights persisting needs
The ICRC published a special report on 10 July on its activities in
Georgia and its humanitarian concerns as a result of the situation there.
Georgia has undergone drastic changes in the past decade.

Bosnia-Herzegovina: ICRC signs agreement on identification of remains
The ICRC was one of those who signed a memorandum of understanding on 10
July to facilitate identification of the mortal remains of people from the
Republika Srpska who went missing during the conflict in
Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Pacific: Inaugural Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Court
Competition
A team from the University of Queensland has won the inaugural Red Cross
International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition held in Canberra
from 29 to 30 June during the annual meeting of the Australian Law
Students' Association (ALSA).


** STORIES IN FULL...

Afghanistan
ICRC helps build sewage system

An official ceremony to mark the completion of a new sewage system was
held in Kabul on 4 July in the presence of ICRC delegates, local
authorities and community leaders from the Tai Maskan neighbourhood. Tai
Maskan, an overcrowded complex of 24 apartment buildings, was put up in
1978. Today, about three-quarters of its inhabitants are internally
displaced persons. The ICRC assisted in the construction of seven septic
tanks for 11 buildings housing more than 2,000 people.

Before the ICRC stepped in, "backed-up sewage seeped above ground, forming
stagnant pools of foul-smelling water", recalled Noori, an elderly man
from Tai Maskan. The residents, especially children, were highly exposed
to the risk of diseases such as dysentery. This was the major concern of
those who turned to the ICRC for assistance.

Following a survey, the project got under way in February 2001 with a
budget of approximately 10,000 US dollars. Nearly 10 per cent of the total
cost was contributed by residents in the form of labour. During the
ceremony, Gavin Mac Millan, ICRC water, sanitation and habitat programme
manager, thanked the community for its precious assistance.

The ICRC started a major water, sanitation and habitat programme in
Afghanistan in August 1996, with the construction of latrines in Kabul.
The programme, which targets densely populated areas and medical
facilities, is aimed at improving living conditions and preventing the
spread of disease.


Further information: Mario Musa or Tomoko Niino, ICRC Kabul, tel. ++873 761
242 260
Macarena Aguilar, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2101


Georgia
ICRC highlights persisting needs

The ICRC published a special report on 10 July on its activities in
Georgia and its humanitarian concerns as a result of the situation there.
Georgia has undergone drastic changes in the past decade. In the wake of
independence, three separate internal conflicts tore the former Soviet
republic apart just as it was struggling to establish itself as a
sovereign State. Today it is a country stripped bare.

War has wrecked the lives of countless Georgians and the ensuing state of
unresolved conflict continues to have devastating consequences. In its 10
years of work there, the ICRC has striven both to assist individuals and
to address problems affecting the entire population as a result of the
catastrophic economic situation.

In the region of Abkhazia, for instance, where only four humanitarian
organizations are active, a host of particularly vulnerable people have no
one but the ICRC to turn to for food and other basic items. Over a third
of the ICRC's 22,000 beneficiaries - sick, elderly and destitute people -
would starve without this assistance.

Health-care standards have plummeted frighteningly. The spectre of a major
public health disaster looms as water and sewage systems near breakdown,
especially in urban areas. In a country impoverished by violence, the
disabled face particular hardship. Only two limb-fitting and orthotic
centres are functioning in Georgia today, both financed and otherwise
supported by the ICRC since 1994.

Tuberculosis is a major problem. The ICRC is committed to decreasing the
incidence of this disease and to this end is conducting an extensive
programme in the country's prisons, in close conjunction with the
authorities. Since its launch in 1998, the programme has treated 1,300
detainees suffering from tuberculosis, with a cure rate of 70-75% for
those who completed their course of treatment in prison.

In 2000 the ICRC appealed for 26,940,400 Swiss francs for this year's
operations in Georgia. Contributions pledged and received as of 30 April
2001 amount to only Sfr2,592,600. This leaves unmet requirements, adjusted
for the situation encountered in the field, of Sfr26,780,400. The ICRC is
urging donors to come forward with the funds needed for the programmes and
activities described in its special report, which is available at
http://www.icrc.org/eng/news.

Further information: Vincent Lusser, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 41 22 730 2458


Bosnia-Herzegovina
ICRC signs agreement on identification of remains

The ICRC was one of those who signed a memorandum of understanding on 10
July to facilitate identification of the mortal remains of people from the
Republika Srpska who went missing during the conflict in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The agreement is in line with efforts being made by
the organization throughout Bosnia to support families in the long and
painful search to find out what has happened to missing loved ones. A
total of 17,440 individuals remain unaccounted for in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The project to be set up under the agreement will involve publishing a
series of "Books of Belongings": albums containing photographs of personal
possessions and clothes found with some 750 exhumed bodies currently being
stored in Banja Luka, Lukavica and Nevesinje.

Apart from the ICRC itself, the memorandum was signed by the Republika
Srpska's Commission for Tracing Missing and Detained Persons, Dr Zeljko
Karan (the official pathologist appointed by the Republika Srpska's
Ministry of Justice), the Republika Srpska Red Cross, and the Republika
Srpska's association of the families of detained soldiers and missing
civilians.

The books will be prepared by Dr Karan using computer equipment provided
by the ICRC. The first are expected to be published in October 2001.

At the signing ceremony, the ICRC donated a four-wheel-drive vehicle to
the Commission for Tracing Missing and Detained Persons to facilitate its
difficult but indispensable day-to-day exhumation work. This donation is
an example of the ICRC's material support for those with the task of
exhuming and identifying remains in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The ICRC fully endorses the authorities' efforts to speed up the
exhumation and identification process. It has nevertheless reminded them
of their obligation under the Dayton Peace Agreement to provide
information on missing persons to the ICRC's tracing services for
forwarding to the families.

Further information: Jessica Barry, ICRC Sarajevo, tel. ++ 387 33 652 407


Pacific
Inaugural Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition

A team from the University of Queensland has won the inaugural Red Cross
International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition held in Canberra
from 29 to 30 June during the annual meeting of the Australian Law
Students' Association (ALSA).

Sixteen teams from universities across Australia took part in the
competition, which was organized by the Australian Red Cross, the ICRC and
ALSA to encourage law students to gain a greater understanding of the
importance of humanitarian law in protecting victims of armed conflict and
limiting means and methods of warfare. 1 Students were required to prepare
both a prosecution and a defence case relating to an imaginary defendant
accused of war crimes including rape, torture and the murder of civilians.
They did not know until two hours before the moot whether they would be
prosecuting or defending.

"The competition is a great opportunity for law students to hone their
case presentation skills and at the same time learn about international
humanitarian law," said Jim Backwell, acting manager of humanitarian law
at the Australian Red Cross.

The preliminary rounds and semi-finals were held at the Australian
National University in Canberra and were attended by lawyers from the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Defence Department and the
Attorney General's Department, as well as by academics who gave up their
time to take part in judging.

The final between the University of Queensland and Monash University was
held at the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court and was presided
over by Justice Terry Connolly of the Supreme Court.

Mr Backwell said that interest in the competition had been phenomenal,
proving that young Australians were keen to learn more about this area of
the law.

"With the ever-changing face of conflict in the world today, international
humanitarian law is more relevant than ever," said Alfred Boll, ICRC
representative and legal adviser for the Sydney office of the ICRC
regional delegation for the Pacific. "It is encouraging to see so many
young Australians expressing an interest in this vital area of the law."

Further information: Thomas Gurtner, ICRC Suva, tel: ++ 679 302 156	
Alfred Boll, ICRC Sydney, tel: ++ 612 9388 90 39


During the weekend of 14 - 15 July 2001, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Darcy Christen, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 31