ICRC News 40 / 11-Oct-01


** SHORT MENU....
Afghanistan
Medical aid for a threatened population
An ICRC convoy arrived in Kabul on Saturday, 6 October with badly needed
medical supplies to replenish stocks in hospitals and first-aid posts in
and around the city.

Kenya
ICRC Nairobi supporting relief operation in Central Asia
The ICRC's logistics centre in Nairobi has begun shipping a range of
relief items, so far valued at some 700,000 dollars, to Central Asia in
support of the organization's work for Afghanistan.

Nepal
Policemen released
Following two rounds of talks and prior to a third one, the government and
the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) have embarked on a series of mutual
confidence-building measures.

Kenya
A major step forward in promoting humanitarian law
The Attorney-General of Kenya, the Hon. S. Amos Wako, officially
inaugurated Kenya's National Committee on the Implementation of
International Humanitarian Law on 5 October.


** STORIES IN FULL...

Afghanistan
Medical aid for a threatened population

An ICRC convoy arrived in Kabul on Saturday, 6 October with badly needed
medical supplies to replenish stocks in hospitals and first-aid posts in
and around the city. It was the second convoy to reach the Afghan capital
since the ICRC's international staff had to withdraw from the country on
16 September. No further deliveries have been made since (airstrikes
having been launched by US and British forces the following day).

Transporting essential blood cross-matching reagents and standard medical
kits to treat up to 1,000 wounded people, the trucks took 48 hours to
reach Kabul from Peshawar, Pakistan, some 250 kilometres away. Before the
current crisis erupted, medical supplies were delivered on a one-hour
flight by aircraft equipped with the coolers needed for the reagents,
explained Holger Schmidt, hospital administrator at ICRC headquarters in
Geneva. "Now, however, an overnight stop has to be made in Jalalabad to
maintain the cool chain."

In the first six months of 2001 (the latest statistics available), the
ICRC provided support to 17 hospitals, 36 clinics and 16 first-aid posts
throughout the country. Over that period, almost 129,000 out-patient
consultations were recorded in those facilities, some 27,000 patients were
admitted and 21,000 operations performed.

ICRC support for the health-care facilities ranges from basic surgical
supplies such as dressings to analgesics and other medicines. ICRC staff
also train and supervise Afghan doctors and nurses. "As the conflict has
ebbed and flowed over the past 16 years, we have continually adapted our
aid to the needs", Schmidt said.

Of the 7,450 persons treated for war wounds in the first half of the year,
513 had been injured by mines. Almost 42,400 patients were children under
the age of 15, and at least 730 of these had sustained conflict-related
injuries. Female patients totalled 42,000; of these, 1,050 were suffering
from war wounds, over 70 of which had been caused by landmines.

"It is important to note that these figures do not include cases treated
at the 48 health-care facilities run by the Afghan Red Crescent Society
with support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies", Schmidt pointed out. "Nor do they take into account
the services provided by many other humanitarian organizations that have
also had to leave the country."

In the increasingly difficult circumstances in Afghanistan, the
population's needs are growing. Medical support remains a priority for the
ICRC, which has just received major financial backing for that purpose
from the European Union. ICRC stocks throughout the country are running
down and fresh supplies are urgently required.

A medical convoy is being prepared in Peshawar and should leave on 12
October for Jalalabad. Another is scheduled to leave for Kabul in the next
few days, as soon as authorizations have been granted by the authorities.

Further information:
Macarena Aguilar, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 2101 or ++41 79 217 3264
Mario Musa, ICRC Islamabad, tel. ++92 51 282 4780, ++92 51 282 4752


Afghanistan - a story of loss

"We all have the same story," said an Afghan refugee woman in Peshawar.
"It is a story of loss." Two decades of war in Afghanistan have left the
country devastated, its population shrivelled, and the survivors
physically and mentally exhausted. According to the ICRC's report "People
on War", the conflict has left 1.7 million people dead and 2 million
disabled, many of them women and children. Five million people (half again
as many as the entire population of New Zealand) have had to flee the
country.

Accounts from victims and fighters alike were gathered in 1999 by a
research team in Afghanistan as part of the People on War project. The
report, still highly relevant, is available on request from ICRC
headquarters (call the Press Division at ++41 22 730 2550).


Kenya
ICRC Nairobi supporting relief operation in Central Asia

The ICRC's logistics centre in Nairobi has begun shipping a range of
relief items, so far valued at some 700,000 dollars, to Central Asia in
support of the organization's work for Afghanistan.

A ship loaded with 10,000 tarpaulins left Mombasa on 5 October for
Karachi, where it is due to arrive this weekend. Meanwhile, a ship
carrying 40,000 blankets left for Karachi this morning, and two cargo
vessels carrying nearly 600 tons of split peas and 14,000 tarpaulins
should leave for Bandar Abbas, in Iran, within the next five days. The
centre will also be sending 100,000 dollars worth of water-purification
and sanitation supplies. Finally, ICRC Nairobi has seconded a logistician
to take part in the organization's operations in Central Asia and remains
ready to respond to additional requests from the region.

The logistics centre in Nairobi is the largest such ICRC facility in the
world. While primarily working in support of operations in East Africa, it
has also played an important role in Red Cross relief work in Kosovo, East
Timor and Gujarat following the recent earthquake in India. The centre
employs some 200 people and procures goods on local and international
markets worth an average of 1.5 million dollars a month.

Further information: Florian Westphal, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++2542-728 387


Nepal
Policemen released

Following two rounds of talks and prior to a third one, the government and
the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) have embarked on a series of mutual
confidence-building measures.  As a result, over the past few weeks both
sides have been releasing detainees on an ad-hoc basis, without the
presence of a neutral intermediary

On 2 and 6 October ICRC delegates were formally involved for the first
time in the release of people detained by the Maoists when a total of 25
policemen were handed over to the ICRC before being transferred to the
regional headquarters of the Nepal Police in Nepalgunj. A team of ICRC
delegates was flown in to conduct private interviews with the policemen
and check their state of health, in accordance with standard ICRC
procedures. The ICRC faces particularly difficult working conditions in
this region. Many remote hill districts are inaccessible by car since
there are practically no roads, and delegates must often walk for several
days before reaching their destination.

Acting on the basis of its right of humanitarian initiative, the ICRC
approached the Nepalese government in August 1998 and requested permission
to carry out protection work in connection with the security situation.
The first ICRC visit to a jail took place in December 1998. Two years
later, the ICRC also started visiting people in police custody, in full
accordance with the organization's working methods. To date the ICRC has
conducted more than 200 visits in 60 jails and 42 police stations
throughout Nepal and has registered more than 800 people detained in
connection with the Maoist insurgency.

Further information: Macarena Aguilar, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 2101
or ++ 41 79 217 3264
Tamara Al Rifai, ICRC Kathmandu, tel. ++977 98 10 34 638


Kenya
A major step forward in promoting humanitarian law

The Attorney-General of Kenya, the Hon. S. Amos Wako, officially
inaugurated Kenya's National Committee on the Implementation of
International Humanitarian Law on 5 October. In his address at a Nairobi
hotel, the Attorney-General urged the new committee to provide the
government with practical advice on implementing and promoting
humanitarian treaties. ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger, also speaking at
the ceremony, called for a broad alliance of individuals and institutions
committed to the values and principles inherent in humanitarian law. The
ICRC was instrumental in setting up the National Committee, which brings
together key ministries, experts, civil society representatives and the
Kenya Red Cross Society.

The ceremony also marked the official launch in Kenya of a handbook on
international humanitarian law for parliamentarians produced jointly by
the ICRC and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The book, entitled "Respect
for International Humanitarian Law", is intended to supplement the work of
the National Committee by familiarizing parliamentarians with
international humanitarian law and ways of implementing it at the national
level. One of the co-authors, Kenyan MP Beth Mugo, explained that the
handbook had been developed in response to the low level of information
generally available in parliaments on matters relating to humanitarian
law.

Supporting States in their efforts to promote international humanitarian
law is an important part of the ICRC's mandate. In Kenya, the ICRC has
been working with various institutions to organize regular events on this
body of law for officers of the armed and security forces, civil servants
training at the Kenya Institute of Administration, and university
students.

Further information: Florian Westphal or Jessica Musila, ICRC Nairobi,
tel. ++254 2 728 387


During the weekend of 13 - 14 October 2001, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Kim Gordon-Bates, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 16