ICRC News 29 / 26-Jul-01


** SHORT MENU....

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: ICRC AID FOR CIVILIANS FLEEING
RENEWED CLASHES
On 25 July the ICRC distributed food and other emergency aid to civilians
who had fled their homes in the Tetovo area following the recent upsurge in
fighting between Macedonian forces and ethnic Albanian armed groups.

Central African Republic: ICRC phases out emergency aid for displaced
The ICRC is currently concluding its first emergency aid programme for
10,000 displaced persons near the capital, Bangui. The supplies distributed
comprised plastic sheeting, kitchen utensils, blankets and soap.

Afghanistan: On the air!
On the evening of 22 July, just after the local news and before a popular
youth programme, the Taleban-controlled Radio Shari'at Kabul broadcast the
first part of "In the fold of humanity", a weekly radio programme produced
by ICRC Afghanistan.

Nigeria: Red Cross aids thousands of displaced people in central regions
Over the past four weeks a series of intercommunal clashes in central and
northern Nigeria has left many dead or wounded and forced an estimated
65,000 people to flee their homes in Nasarawa, Benue, Bauchi and Kaduna
states.

United Nations: Small steps on small arms 
The first-ever UN conference on small arms and light weapons, which ended
in New York on 21 July, adopted a programme of action that proposes modest
steps towards addressing the grave consequences of unregulated arms
availability.


** STORIES IN FULL...

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
ICRC AID FOR CIVILIANS FLEEING RENEWED CLASHES

On 25 July the ICRC distributed food and other emergency aid to civilians
who had fled their homes in the Tetovo area following the recent upsurge
in fighting between Macedonian forces and ethnic Albanian armed groups.

In Skopje, the ICRC made two relief deliveries during the day to about 450
displaced people from the villages of Tearce, Lesok and Neprosteno who are
housed in a temporary shelter in the city. In a separate mission an ICRC
team, together with workers of the Macedonian Red Cross, travelled to
Zilce to take food, hygiene and baby parcels to some 500 people from the
same villages near Tetovo. This follows an assessment mission carried out
the previous day, when delegates who arrived in Zilce within hours of the
new influx found the displaced families in a state of distress, many of
them having left all their belongings behind.

Around 1,800 people from the Tetovo area were registered by the Macedonian
Red Cross in the first 48 hours following the outbreak of fighting and all
of them will soon receive relief supplies donated by the ICRC and
distributed by the National Society.

The ICRC office in Tetovo continues to receive urgent requests from
civilians wishing to be evacuated from villages affected by the clashes.
Several attempts were made to reach the area on Tuesday 24 July, but the
team had to turn back for security reasons. Later in the day delegates
were able to evacuate five people from Tearce, including one who was
seriously injured. The ICRC will continue to try, as a matter of urgency,
to reach trapped civilians as soon as the security situation allows.

Further information: Amanda Williamson, ICRC Skopje, tel. ++390 2 371 951
or 00 390 70 340 492


Central African Republic
ICRC phases out emergency aid for displaced

The ICRC is currently concluding its first emergency aid programme for
10,000 displaced persons near the capital, Bangui. The supplies
distributed comprised plastic sheeting, kitchen utensils, blankets and
soap.

The coup attempt in Bangui at the end of May forced thousands to flee the
areas where the worst fighting occurred. Many took refuge in the suburb of
Ouango and the villages of M'boko and Sandimba, to the east of the
capital.

Some of the aid went to about 5,000 people who had already returned to
their homes, only to find them looted, burned or destroyed.

Further information: Roland Sidler, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 20 45


Afghanistan
On the air!

On the evening of 22 July, just after the local news and before a popular
youth programme, the Taleban-controlled Radio Shari'at Kabul broadcast the
first part of "In the fold of humanity", a weekly radio programme produced
by ICRC Afghanistan.

The programme consists of updates on the organization's activities
throughout the country and includes interviews with the beneficiaries and
ICRC staff. Each week, the focus is on a special theme such as health,
relief, visits to detainees or restoration of family links. International
humanitarian law and mine-awareness spots are also given air time. The
highlight is an episode of the drama called "Help", which tells the story
of the people of two villages torn by war, and of the ICRC's efforts to
assist those in need. Each episode is narrated by Afghan professional
actors and is followed by a conversation between a father and his son
commenting on what they have just heard. The entire programme lasts 15
minutes. It is produced in the two national languages and is repeated the
following day.

"As in all of our dissemination programmes, the aim is to present ICRC
principles and working procedures, and the basic rules of combat", said
Mario Musa, ICRC communications coordinator for Afghanistan. "Combatants
are therefore our priority audience." The radio programme began as a pilot
project in Mazar-i-Sharif three months ago and will soon be broadcast in
Jalalabad and Kandahar. According to Mr Musa, "In countries like
Afghanistan, where the conflict and the political and geographical
situation make it difficult to reach combatants and the general
population, radio is a particularly effective means of communication".

Further information: Mario Musa or Tomoko Niino, ICRC Kabul, tel. ++873 761
242 260
Macarena Aguilar, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 2101


Nigeria
Red Cross aids thousands of displaced people in central regions

Over the past four weeks a series of intercommunal clashes in central and
northern Nigeria has left many dead or wounded and forced an estimated
65,000 people to flee their homes in Nasarawa, Benue, Bauchi and Kaduna
states. Working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society, since the beginning
of July the ICRC has distributed relief supplies such as blankets,
buckets, soap and mats to a total of 22,500 displaced people living in
improvised camps.

In Nasarawa state, fighting broke out between members of the Tiv and Hausa
communities after the killing of a Hausa traditional ruler on 12 June.
This prompted large sections of the population to seek refuge in the state
capital Lafia, while many more fled to nearby Benue state. The Nasarawa
branch of the Nigerian Red Cross responded rapidly, collecting the dead,
evacuating the wounded to hospital and helping hospital staff to cope with
the influx of casualties. The Nigerian Red Cross was also instrumental in
setting up a camp for the displaced in Lafia, where Red Cross workers
remain in charge of monitoring the situation and providing displaced
families with assistance.

Despite efforts deployed by the government, there is still a serious
shortage of food for the displaced people, and the ICRC and the Nigerian
Red Cross are currently organizing a food distribution for 2,000 of them
in Lafia, due to take place during the last week of July. At the same time
food distributions are being set up for some 15,000 displaced people in
Bauchi, where fighting erupted between members of the Sayawa and
Hausa/Fulani communities in the last week of June.

In Kaduna, food will be distributed to the 1,000 displaced people
currently taking refuge in various locations in Lere local government area
after the communal clashes that erupted on the last day of June between
members of the Christian and Muslim communities.

In addition to food and other relief supplies, the Nigerian Red Cross is
providing basic health care for the displaced.

Further information: Roland Sidler, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2045


United Nations
Small steps on small arms 

The first-ever UN conference on small arms and light weapons, which ended
in New York on 21 July, adopted a programme of action that proposes modest
steps towards addressing the grave consequences of unregulated arms
availability.

"Although we had hoped for a stronger programme of action, the ICRC
welcomes the political commitments made with respect to strengthened
control over transfers of small arms and light weapons. We are also
pleased that the international community has explicitly recognized the
important role that uncontrolled arms availability plays in undermining
respect for international humanitarian law and in impeding the provision
of humanitarian assistance to victims of armed conflict", said Peter
Herby, coordinator of the ICRC's Mines-Arms Unit, who attended the UN
conference. In addition to delivering a statement to the conference on the
human cost of unregulated transfers of small arms and light weapons
(available on http://www.icrc.org), the ICRC, together with the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,
organized a special briefing for delegates on the issue.

The ICRC considers that far more is needed to effectively address the
serious problems in humanitarian terms caused by both licit and illicit
transfers of small arms. "If we really want to keep weapons from getting
into the hands of people who are likely to violate international
humanitarian law, we will have to be prepared for years of sustained
efforts at the national, regional and global levels, both by governments
and civil society", said Mr Herby. The ICRC and the International Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movement as a whole will continue to build the
public awareness and political will needed to achieve this.

Further information: Peter Herby, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2729 or 
Lena Eskeland, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4179 389 9932


During the weekend of 28 - 29 July 2001, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Vincent Lusser, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 24