ICRC News 33 / 23-Aug-01


** SHORT MENU....

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia:  ICRC continues to help conflict
victims
This week the ICRC delivered emergency aid to thousands of villagers who
remain isolated in the Tetovo area of the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, some of whom have been cut off from their traditional supply
lines for many months now by the conflict.

Sierra Leone: Combatants trained in humanitarian law
On 18 August the ICRC concluded a series of training sessions on
international humanitarian law for over 1,000 soldiers of the Sierra Leone
Army (SLA) at their main base in Benguema.

Indonesia: Seminar and workshop for 40 Indonesian army officers
>From 23 to 25 July, in Cisarua (West Java), the ICRC delegation based in
Jakarta and the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) permanent working group on
international humanitarian law jointly hosted a seminar and a workshop for
40 TNI officers.

Argentina: Strengthening international humanitarian law
On 16 August a seminar on strengthening international humanitarian law was
held in Buenos Aires to mark the anniversary of the adoption on 12 August
of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.


** STORIES IN FULL...

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
 ICRC continues to help conflict victims

This week the ICRC delivered emergency aid to thousands of villagers who
remain isolated in the Tetovo area of the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, some of whom have been cut off from their traditional supply
lines for many months now by the conflict.

The ICRC continues to be concerned about the plight of civilians in this
area which has been directly affected by the fighting and whose
inhabitants have had serious difficulty obtaining food, medicine and other
basic necessities. Although military activity has significantly decreased
there since the signing of the peace agreement, supply lines have not yet
been restored.

ICRC teams are especially worried about the precarious situation of
pockets of ethnic Macedonians, mainly elderly people, who remained behind
when the other villagers fled in late July and who can no longer rely on
the support of their local communities. The ICRC has already reunited more
than 150 such vulnerable people with their families and this week
delivered food and other essential items to the others.

Food was also delivered to villages in the hills above Tetovo where the
resident population, predominantly ethnic Albanians, has been isolated
since March. It was the first time the ICRC had been able to bring such
assistance to the civilians there, who were facing shortages of food and
other basic supplies. Needs continue to be assessed in the area, to which
many villagers who earlier fled to Kosovo have recently returned. These
people could place an additional burden on the community, whose stocks
have been used in recent months by those who stayed behind.

Further information: Amanda Williamson, ICRC Skopje, tel: ++ 3892 371 951
or ++ 389 70 340 492


Sierra Leone
Combatants trained in humanitarian law

On 18 August the ICRC concluded a series of training sessions on
international humanitarian law for over 1,000 soldiers of the Sierra Leone
Army (SLA) at their main base in Benguema. The combatants were taught the
basic rules governing the conduct of hostilities in international and
non-international armed conflict, with emphasis on key concepts such as
the obligation to protect and respect civilians and wounded, sick or
captured fighters no longer taking part in the hostilities. In the past
year more than 8,000 SLA soldiers have received such instruction.

The ICRC conducts similar sessions on the law of armed conflict and the
role of the Red Cross for other armed forces present in Sierra Leone.
During the same period hundreds of officers of the United Nations Mission
in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) have been briefed, as have commanders of the
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and Civil Defence Forces.

Supporting States in their efforts to raise awareness of humanitarian law
is part of the mandate conferred upon the ICRC by the 1949 Geneva
Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols. Sierra Leone is one of
the 189 States party to the Conventions, which are designed to prevent and
alleviate human suffering in times of war.

Further information: Abu Bakr Gamanga, ICRC Freetown, tel. ++233 162/233
172


Indonesia
Seminar and workshop for 40 Indonesian army officers

>From 23 to 25 July, in Cisarua (West Java), the ICRC delegation based in
Jakarta and the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) permanent working group on
international humanitarian law jointly hosted a seminar and a workshop for
40 TNI officers. The participants included assistants for operations and
the heads of the legal sections of all the military commands and of the
Special Forces Unit (Kopassus) and the Army Strategic Reserve Command
(KOSTRAD). Four officers from the airforce and the navy were also present.

The seminar and workshop were officially opened by Maj. Gen. Kiki
Sjahnakri, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Indonesian army. In his speech,
the major general stressed how important it was for members of the army to
act professionally and to implement the law, using examples to show that
it was to their advantage to do so.

Maj. Gen. Sjahrir, Assistant for Operations to the Army Chief of Staff,
gave a presentation on command responsibility, Brig. Gen. P. Sihombing,
head of the Legal Bureau of the Ministry of Defence, discussed the rules
of engagement and two law professors gave talks on "Minimum humanitarian
treatment in internal disturbances" and "State responsibility from the
viewpoint of international law".

The seminar was attended by the ICRC regional delegate to the armed forces
in Bangkok, who gave a presentation on civil-military cooperation and
introduced a role-playing exercise dealing with problems of international
humanitarian law. Case studies were also discussed during the workshop.

Further information: Arista Idris, ICRC Jakarta, tel.: ++ 6221 720 7252


Argentina
Strengthening international humanitarian law

On 16 August a seminar on strengthening international humanitarian law was
held in Buenos Aires to mark the anniversary of the adoption on 12 August
of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

The seminar, organized jointly by the ICRC and the Argentine Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, was attended by some 140
participants from government, parliamentary, judicial, academic,
diplomatic and military circles. The discussions centred on recent
developments and challenges in the fields of humanitarian law and
humanitarian action. Special emphasis was placed on international criminal
responsibility and ICRC initiatives concerning restrictions on the use of
certain conventional weapons.

Also attended by the Secretary of State for Worship and the
Under-Secretary of State for External Policy, who gave the closing
address, the seminar included presentations by the Legal Adviser to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ICRC regional delegate, the Chairman of
the Preparatory Committee in charge of defining the crime of aggression in
the Statute of the International Criminal Court, a professor of
humanitarian law from the University of Buenos Aires and a senior
representative of the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the armed
forces.

Further information: Maria Ines Peytrignet, ICRC Buenos Aires, tel.:
++5411 43 28 77 71


During the weekend of 25 - 26 August 2001, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Antonella Notari, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 80