ICRC News 28 / 19-Jul-01


** SHORT MENU....

Guinea: ICRC assists hospitals
Although the military clashes that rocked south-eastern Guinea early this
year have subsided, tension remains high in this area bordering on Liberia
and Sierra Leone.

Afghanistan: Water flows again
On 5 July community leaders held an official ceremony to reopen the Beni
Hisar water pumping station in district 8 of Kabul city.

Nepal: ICRC presents conclusions of visits to police stations
ICRC delegates met with the Nepalese General Police Inspector and some 30
senior police officers in Kathmandu on 13 July to present its initial
conclusions following 34 visits carried out by delegates around the country
in the first six months of 2001 to persons detained in police stations.

Marshall Islands: Move towards ratification of Geneva Conventions
A one-day information seminar on the scope and content of the 1949 Geneva
Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols was held in Majuro, capital
of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, on 5 July 2001.


** STORIES IN FULL...

Guinea
ICRC assists hospitals

Although the military clashes that rocked south-eastern Guinea early this
year have subsided, tension remains high in this area bordering on Liberia
and Sierra Leone. Last week the ICRC delivered medical supplies, including
medicines, worth 161,000 Swiss francs to five hospitals and surgical
facilities in Kissidougou, Lola, Yomou and Sanoyha.

In April the ICRC held two seminars on war surgery in Conakry and
Nzérékoré, enabling 70civilian and military surgeons to improve their
skills in caring for people wounded in armed conflicts. The following
month two ICRC specialists - a surgeon and a nurse anaesthetist - provided
further practical training at the Kissidougou hospital, the Sanoyha
medical and surgical clinic and the Camp Samory Touré military hospital in
Conakry.

Further information: Roland Sidler, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4422 730 2045

Afghanistan
Water flows again

On 5 July community leaders held an official ceremony to reopen the Beni
Hisar water pumping station in district 8 of Kabul city. The station,
which was recently repaired with help from the ICRC, provides 330,000
litres of drinking water a day for 11,000 people.

The pumping station was built in 1990 with the assistance of UNICEF. For
several years, however, it had been out of service, leaving the community
vulnerable to health risks and less able to cope with the ongoing drought.
After determining what needed to be done, an ICRC engineering team spent
two months carrying out major repairs.

Approximately 90 per cent of the total cost of the project was covered by
local residents in the form of labour. As for the ICRC, it provided
technical assistance, machinery parts and a 80 kVA generator. It also
trained two pump operators, showing them how to maintain the pump and
carry out minor repairs. The running cost of the pumping station will be
shared by the municipality and the local community.

Speaking at the ceremony, Gavin Mac Millan, ICRC water, sanitation and
habitat programme manager, praised the initiative and commitment of the
community and encouraged its leaders to show the same sense of
responsibility in managing the station.

The pumping station was reopened by a local boy named Hamid, who pushed
the button of the generator. Soon the well outside the station began to
fill up and excited children jostled one another as they rushed to fetch
water.

Since August 1996 the ICRC has been helping Afghan communities to raise
their standards of hygiene and clean up their environment. In 2001 the
ICRC decided to implement nine water and sanitation projects, four of
which have been completed so far. Further information: Mario Musa or
Tomoko Niino, ICRC Kabul, tel. ++ 873 761 242 260 Macarena Aguilar, ICRC
Geneva, tel. ++ 4122 730 2101

Nepal
ICRC presents conclusions of visits to police stations

ICRC delegates met with the Nepalese General Police Inspector and some 30
senior police officers in Kathmandu on 13 July to present its initial
conclusions following 34 visits carried out by delegates around the
country in the first six months of 2001 to persons detained in police
stations.

The detainees' living conditions and the practices of police officers were
highlighted during the presentation, which was followed by ICRC
recommendations.

"Such presentations are standard in our detainee-welfare work world-wide,"
remarked Jean-Luc Metzker, the ICRC's deputy head of operations for
Central and South Asia. "It's encouraging to see cases like this in which
they blossom into constructive discussion among the participants."

In the coming days, the ICRC will distribute to the officers a working
paper setting out both the organization's recommendations and the main
concerns raised by them.

Since 1999, the ICRC has maintained a constant presence in Nepal in order
to protect and assist the victims of the ongoing clashes between
government forces and the armed Maoist movement. The organization's team
of 14 expatriates visits persons detained in connection with the clashes,
spreads knowledge of international humanitarian law and supports the
Nepalese Red Cross Society in its work to restore family links.

Further information: Jean-Jacques Bovay, ICRC Kathmandu, tel. ++977 1 482
285
Macarena Aguilar, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2101


Marshall Islands
Move towards ratification of Geneva Conventions

A one-day information seminar on the scope and content of the 1949 Geneva
Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols was held in Majuro,
capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, on 5 July 2001.  The
seminar was organized jointly by the ICRC's regional delegation for the
Pacific and the Office of the Marshall Islands' Chief Secretary.  
Participants came from all government departments concerned with the
Conventions, including Members of Parliament, the Attorney-General,
representatives of the judiciary, including the Chief Justice, and members
of the Marshall Islands Red Cross Society, which is in the process of
being formed.

Opening the seminar, the Chief Secretary, the Hon. Phillip K. Kabua, stated
that current efforts "are expected to lead to ratification by the Republic
of the Marshall Islands of these important humanitarian treaties in the
near future".  The Marshall Islands is one of only two States members of
the United Nations or party to the Statute of the International Court of
Justice which have yet to accede to the four 1949 Geneva Conventions. 
Accession to the treaties is also an important step towards recognition of
the country's National Society by the ICRC and its admission to the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.   

Further information: Alfred Boll, ICRC Sydney, tel. ++61 2 9388 90 39
Macarena Aguilar, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2101


During the weekend of 21 - 22 July 2001, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Macarena Aguilar, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 64