ICRC News 35 / 06-Sep-01


** SHORT MENU....

Rwanda: ICRC helps unaccompanied children

The ICRC has restored contact between 64 unaccompanied children in a camp
in Mudende (Gisenyi province), which was opened on 20 June by the National
Unity and Reconciliation Commission, and their families.

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Aid for 8,200 families in northern
Katanga

An ICRC Hercules landed on an unpaved airstrip near Kabalo, in northern
Katanga, in the morning of 29 August. Volunteers from the Red Cross
Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo immediately began to
unload sacks of seed and other goods from the cargo plane, as part of a
relief operation on behalf of 8,200 families (some 50,000 people) in the
north of Katanga province.

Colombia: Aid for the displaced

As part of its ongoing programme to bring aid to persons displaced by the
armed conflict in Colombia, on 23 July the ICRC distributed relief
supplies to more than 5,800 people who had sought refuge in Peque
municipality in western Antioquia department.

Mexico: A safe return home

A total of 332 displaced persons journeyed more than 12 kilometres through
mountains on 28 August to return to their home villages in the southern
region of Chiapas. All but the youngest and the elderly had to make the
trip on foot. The group was accompanied by ICRC and Mexican Red Cross
staff, who provided logistical support and medical assistance.

Peru
Training seminar for staff of National Penitentiary Institute

On 27 and 28 August a training and refresher seminar for senior
professional and technical staff of the Peruvian National Penitentiary
Institute (INPE) was held in Huancayo, in the department of Junín. The
event was organized jointly by the INPE and the ICRC.

** STORIES IN FULL...

Rwanda
ICRC helps unaccompanied children

The ICRC has restored contact between 64 unaccompanied children in a camp
in Mudende (Gisenyi province), which was opened on 20 June by the National
Unity and Reconciliation Commission, and their families. Most of these
minors - including in particular a group of highly vulnerable child
soldiers - had been without news of their loved ones for years because of
the Rwandan conflict and genocide and their aftermath.

Some 1,600 military personnel and civilians who surrendered to or were
captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Army are in the camp. Of these, 141
minors under 18 years of age were immediately given the opportunity to
write Red Cross messages to their families. At the request of the Rwandan
authorities and in order to respond to the growing need to restore family
links, the ICRC is now making its Red Cross message network available to
everyone in the camp. A total of 384 messages have thus far been sent and
195 replies have already been received.

The ICRC is pursuing efforts, which complement those of UNICEF, to restore
family links that it had already undertaken on behalf of 233 minors who
were recently transferred from the Mudende camp to a re-education centre
in Gitagata (Kigali Ngali province). A total of 63 more minors have
recently arrived in the camps in Mudende and Nkumba (Ruhengeri province),
where ICRC visits also continue.

Further information: Florian Westphal, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++25 42 723 963



Democratic Republic of the Congo
Aid for 8,200 families in northern Katanga

An ICRC Hercules landed on an unpaved airstrip near Kabalo, in northern
Katanga, in the morning of 29 August. Volunteers from the Red Cross
Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo immediately began to
unload sacks of seed and other goods from the cargo plane, as part of a
relief operation on behalf of 8,200 families (some 50,000 people) in the
north of Katanga province.

The shipment was then transported to a Kabalo warehouse. Later, ICRC and
National Society teams distributed hoes to beneficiary families together
with seed kits containing beans, maize, peanuts, and other vegetable
seeds. Each family also received supplies such as blankets, cooking pots
and soap.

The local authorities stressed that this aid would help boost economic
activity. For more than three years, the Kabalo population, which lives
from agriculture and fishing, had to be self-sufficient in terms of food
and ultimately it consumed its seed reserves. In addition, the conflict
hit the region hard: the railroad linking Kabalo and Lubumbashi (the
second-largest city in the country) was cut by the front line, part of the
town's infrastructure was destroyed and commercial activity on the river
Congo decreased.

The day after landing in Kabalo, the Hercules touched down in the
neighbouring community of Nyunzu. The small town of Manono should be next,
and all of the aid distributions should be completed by the end of the
first week in September.

Further information: Florian Westphal, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++25 42 723 963



Colombia
Aid for the displaced

As part of its ongoing programme to bring aid to persons displaced by the
armed conflict in Colombia, on 23 July the ICRC distributed relief
supplies to more than 5,800 people who had sought refuge in Peque
municipality in western Antioquia department.

This population movement began on 23 June, when an armed group imposed an
economic blockade on the region so as to prevent members of an opposing
group from having access to food. A few days later the same armed group
gave the region's inhabitants five days to leave their homes.

"As ICRC delegates maintain regular contacts with the armed groups
operating in the country's hot spots, we are able reach the thousands of
people needing our assistance very quickly", explained Georges Comninos,
head of the ICRC delegation in Colombia.

On 30 August the ICRC provided aid for 2,666 people displaced from the 10
districts in the zone known as LaMontaña in El Carmen de Bolívar
municipality (northern Bolívar department). After conducting a needs
assessment survey, delegates also distributed food and hygiene items to
467 families displaced following an incursion by one of the armed groups
active in this region.

"As well as carrying out this type of emergency operation in response to a
crisis, our delegates deal every day with individual cases of
displacement", said the head of delegation. "For us, the challenge is the
plight of tens of thousands of displaced people once the emergency phase
is over."

The ICRC has been working in Colombia without interruption since 1980.
Through its 16 offices all over the country, it conducts protection and
assistance activities for civilians suffering the effects of the armed
conflict.

Further information: Carlos Ríos, ICRC Bogotá, tel. ++571 313 86 30



Mexico
A safe return home

A total of 332 displaced persons journeyed more than 12 kilometres through
mountains on 28 August to return to their home villages in the southern
region of Chiapas. All but the youngest and the elderly had to make the
trip on foot. The group was accompanied by ICRC and Mexican Red Cross
staff, who provided logistical support and medical assistance.

"There were no incidents during the journey - only minor injuries from the
walking that were treated by first-aid workers of the Mexican Red Cross,"
said Martin Bissig, an ICRC delegate in San Cristóbal de las Casas,
Chiapas. "The entire day and in particular the ceremonies were extremely
moving and touching."

The returnees had had to flee their homes owing to incursions of armed
groups and had been living in camps for the past four years. The ICRC had
already been providing assistance in the camps, where 7,000 people are
still living, in the form of medical care, water and sanitation facilities,
and food and hygiene items when needed.

"Some weeks ago, when the return was being planned, both the government
and the members of the community that we accompanied - known as "Abejas" -
approached us seeking our participation," explained Bissig. "With the
support of the Mexican Red Cross, we put together a team of three
delegates, five local employees, 30 Mexican Red Cross staff and 15 Red
Cross vehicles to accompany the convoy."

More such returns are expected to be organized during the coming months.
The ICRC will continue to provide support if requested to do so by the
parties involved.

The ICRC has been present in Mexico since January 1994, when the Zapatist
uprising began. Since then, the ICRC has carried out protection and
assistance programmes on behalf of the victims in Chiapas.

Further information: Ernesto Herrera, ICRC San Cristóbal, tel. ++52 9678
4047




Peru
Training seminar for staff of National Penitentiary Institute

On 27 and 28 August a training and refresher seminar for senior
professional and technical staff of the Peruvian National Penitentiary
Institute (INPE) was held in Huancayo, in the department of Junín. The
event was organized jointly by the INPE and the ICRC.

Sixty staff - prison directors, heads of multidisciplinary rehabilitation
teams, lawyers, doctors, etc. - of penitentiary facilities under the
responsibility of the INPE's Directorate for the Central Region attended
talks on subjects such as human rights and the penitentiary system,
reprieve and the right of pardon, the ICRC's work in prisons, health in
the Peruvian prison environment, the importance of keeping proper
epidemiological records, and matters relating to inmates' security and
hygiene. The talks were given by representatives of the Ministry of
Justice, the INPE and the Ombudsman's office and by ICRC delegates.

This seminar is part of the joint effort being made by the INPE and the
ICRC to upgrade the training of staff and improve conditions of detention
in the country's prisons.

Similar events have been held in the past in the towns of Tarapoto and
Chiclayo, and two more are due to take place in Lima and Cuzco before the
end of the year.

Further information: Graziella Leite Piccolo, ICRC Lima, tel. ++511 460 27
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During the weekend of 8 - 9 September 2001, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Darcy Christen, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 31