ICRC News 41 / 18-Oct-01


** SHORT MENU....

Afghanistan
OVERVIEW OF Current ICRC work
As a result of the partial destruction of the ICRC's aid stocks in Kabul,
the organization's ability to respond to the needs of the Afghan people -
with winter only a few short weeks away - has been weakened, all the more
so as it is difficult to organize humanitarian aid convoys into
Afghanistan from neighbouring countries.

Georgia
ICRC visits detainees in Abkhazia
On 15 October, ICRC delegates visited nine persons arrested during the
recent hostilities in the Georgian region of Abkhazia.

Yugoslavia/Kosovo
Emotional farewell
Residents of the special institute for the mentally and physically disabled
in Shtime/Stimlje (Kosovo), its personnel and staff from the Norwegian Red
Cross and the ICRC all gathered on 5 October, early in the morning, to bid
a last farewell to Jelena, Olga and Dure.

Bosnia-Herzegovina
Teaching international humanitarian law
The ICRC recently held a highly successful four-day conference in Sarajevo
on the teaching of international humanitarian law in universities.

Nigeria
ICRC-ECOWAS Conference on weapons and humanitarian law
On 10 and 11 October, the ICRC and the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS)  co-organized a Conference on Weapons and International
Humanitarian Law for ECOWAS member States.


** STORIES IN FULL...

Afghanistan
OVERVIEW OF Current ICRC work

As a result of the partial destruction of the ICRC's aid stocks in Kabul,
the organization's ability to respond to the needs of the Afghan people -
with winter only a few short weeks away - has been weakened, all the more
so as it is difficult to organize humanitarian aid convoys into
Afghanistan from neighbouring countries. Since expatriate staff had to
leave the country on 16 September, only four ICRC trucks, carrying medical
supplies for various hospitals and first-aid centres in Jalalabad and
Kabul, have been allowed in. To make matters worse, communications are
difficult between the ICRC and its local staff still running operations in
Afghanistan.

The ICRC's Afghan employees have been doing their utmost to maintain
normal activities under extremely arduous circumstances. In particular,
they are supporting hospitals, clinics and first-aid posts throughout the
country and distributing food to both patients and staff at hospitals and
orphanages in Kabul. Work also continues in the country's six limb-fitting
centres. The latest figures from the centre in Kabul indicate that from 29
September to 10October, 494 persons underwent physiotherapy and 36 new
patients were registered. Some water and sanitation activities, such as
work to maintain a percolation field in the grounds of a hospital in
Kabul, are being carried on. The distribution of food and shelter material
to 5,000 displaced families in Mazar-i-Sharif was completed last week.

A truck loaded with kits for the treatment of war-wounded people left
Peshawar on Tuesday 16 October for Jalalabad in order to replenish
supplies in the city. Another two-truck convoy for the hospitals in Kabul
is expected to leave in the coming days. In Herat, food stocks continue to
be handed over to the World Food Programme for distribution to displaced
persons living in nearby camps.

Finally, the ICRC is placing relief stocks and logistical equipment along
supply routes running through Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iran and Turkmenistan.
In the weeks ahead some 9,500 tonnes of food (including ghee, split peas,
rice and wheat grain) will be arriving there. Other items such as blankets
(125,000), tarpaulins (36,000), tents (3,000), jerrycans (44,000) and
pressure cookers (38,000) are also being shipped to those sites. Medical
equipment and supplies are already pre-positioned throughout the region.
Apart from two surgical units, the ICRC has in the region enough kits for
war-wounded for a further 6,000 victims, first-aid kits for over 2,500and
three-month new emergency health kits for 120,000 people.

Further information:
Macarena Aguilar, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 2101 or ++41 79 217 3264
Mario Musa, ICRC Islamabad, tel. ++92 3037861970, ++92 51 227 2949


Georgia
ICRC visits detainees in Abkhazia

On 15 October, ICRC delegates visited nine persons arrested during the
recent hostilities in the Georgian region of Abkhazia. The detainees, who
are being held by the Abkhaz authorities, were visited in accordance with
standard ICRC procedures (which include private interviews) and wrote
personal messages to their families which will be delivered by the Red
Cross. The visits will be repeated in the near future.

The ICRC has had a constant presence in Abkhazia since 1992 and regularly
visits detainees. It has offices in Sukhumi, Gagra and Gali staffed by
eight expatriates and 103 local employees.  In addition to
detainee-welfare work, it provides food aid to the needy and support to
medical facilities. Some 6,500 particularly vulnerable individuals receive
daily hot meals at 27 centres and seven mobile canteens, while some 12,000
people receive other types of food assistance on a regular basis.
Hospitals are assisted with monthly deliveries of surgical supplies.

In the wake of the recent hostilities, the ICRC stands ready - security
conditions permitting - to step up food, medical and other aid if required
by the situation.

At present, 26 expatriates and over 250 Georgian staff are working in the
country, with ICRC offices in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Sukhumi, Gagra
and Gali. This year's total budget for ICRC activities in Georgia amounts
to 15 million Swiss francs (about 9 million US dollars).

Further information: ICRC Tbilisi, tel. ++ 99 532 935 511


Yugoslavia/Kosovo
Emotional farewell

Residents of the special institute for the mentally and physically
disabled in Shtime/Stimlje (Kosovo), its personnel and staff from the
Norwegian Red Cross and the ICRC all gathered on 5 October, early in the
morning, to bid a last farewell to Jelena, Olga and Dure. After more than
five years at the institute, the two sisters were leaving for Novi Sad in
northern Yugoslavia and Dure was on his way to Banja Luka
(Bosnia-Herzegovina).

In silence, Jelena, Olga and Dure anxiously listened to the director's
reassuring words. Dr Marcos Pisaca, a Norwegian Red Cross psychiatrist who
has been working at the institute for two years and is highly appreciated
by all his patients, was to accompany them on their long journey back
home. "These are emotional occasions", he said, echoing the feelings of
everyone present. "It means moving closer to one's family but at the same
time leaving a familiar environment. However, I don't think Jelena, Olga
and Dure will have too many problems coping with daily life, having now
been successfully rehabilitated."

Thanks to its family message service, the ICRC has managed to keep the
institute's residents in touch with their relatives throughout the former
Yugoslavia. In all, more than 200 messages have been exchanged this year
and 13 families have been reunited.

The institute, which today only accepts patients from Kosovo, currently
has around 240residents. In August 1999, at a time when the institute was
facing a serious crisis, the Norwegian Red Cross, in cooperation with the
ICRC, launched a major programme to improve general living conditions
there and ensure better care and treatment for patients. The programme,
which will be completed by the end of the year, involves refurbishing
buildings, setting up a rehabilitation unit, training staff and
introducing various occupational therapy activities for patients.

Further information: ICRC Pristina, tel: ++ 381-38-501517/8/9


Bosnia-Herzegovina
Teaching international humanitarian law

The ICRC recently held a highly successful four-day conference in Sarajevo
on the teaching of international humanitarian law in universities.

The conference, which ended on 11 September, brought together some 40
professors and advanced students from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Albania
and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo. It was a first
for the ICRC delegation in Sarajevo.

Experts from Ireland, Geneva and Macedonia gave presentations on various
aspects of international humanitarian law, ICRC dissemination activities
and the interaction between humanitarian law and human rights law. The
high point of the event was a debate on the theme "Can international
humanitarian law be integrated in a meaningful way into university
teaching in the region, and if so, how?" The conclusion, reached after
four hours of stimulating discussion, was a resounding "yes".

Some of the dozen or so professors who attended the conference had not
seen each other since the region was torn apart by war. In the congenial
environment provided by the event, they were able to reestablish
professional ties and discuss their activities and plans.

One participant from Belgrade took time out to visit the law faculty at
Sarajevo University, where he had been a student before the war. "This is
the first time I've been back", he later said with a broad smile. "I
wanted to see the place where I presented my dissertation."

"The conference provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the teaching
of humanitarian law with a key audience," said Balthasar Staehelin, head
of the ICRC delegation in Sarajevo.

The conference ended with a reception hosted by the Swiss embassy and the
ICRC. The reception was held in a photo gallery in Sarajevo, where an
exhibition of photographs depicting war and its aftermath in the region
was on display. In her welcoming speech, the newly appointed Swiss
ambassador Heidi Tagliavini spoke of the crucial role played by
humanitarian law in ensuring respect for life and human dignity in
conflict and post-conflict situations.

Further information: Jessica Barry, ICRC Sarajevo, tel.: ++ 387 33 652 407


Nigeria
ICRC-ECOWAS Conference on weapons and humanitarian law

On 10 and 11 October, the ICRC and the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS)  co-organized a Conference on Weapons and International
Humanitarian Law for ECOWAS member States. This was the first event held
jointly by the ICRC and ECOWAS pursuant to the cooperation agreement they
signed in February. High-level representatives from the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs and Defence of 14 governments took part in the two-day
meeting at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja.

In her keynote address Mrs Dupe Adelaja, Minister of State for Defence of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, stated that armed forces could achieve
their objectives "by selecting means and methods of combat that reduce to
all feasible extent superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering". She
added: "We believe it is a question of military professionalism and
humanity to maintain, at all times, control over the weaponry that we
develop and use".

The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of the 1980 United Nations
Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Review Conference
due to take place in Geneva this coming December. The CCW is a framework
treaty with four protocols prohibiting or restricting the use of certain
conventional weapons which may be deemed to be excessively injurious or to
have indiscriminate effects, such as mines, booby-traps, incendiary
weapons and laser weapons.

Another matter discussed was the implementation measures required by the
1997 Convention prohibiting the use of anti-personnel mines, also known as
the Ottawa treaty, to which 14 out of the 15 ECOWAS member States are
party. The participants welcomed the rapid progress towards universal
acceptance of the Ottawa treaty, which today has 122 States Parties,
including 39 African States.

Experts in international law were on hand to provide details of the ICRC's
proposal that a fifth protocol be added to the CCW to address the issue of
explosive remnants of war. This proposal is to be discussed by the States
party to the CCW at the December Review Conference. Emphasis was also
placed on Protocol II of the CCW, as amended in 1996, which imposes
restrictions on the use of anti-tank and anti-vehicle mines in order to
reduce the risk of civilian casualties. It was noted that Protocol II is
an indispensable complement to the Ottawa treaty, since it applies to
landmines not covered by the latter.

Further information: Jean-Jacques Gacond, ICRC Lagos,
tel. ++2341 269 18 81 or 269 00 82


During the weekend of 20 - 21 october 2001, for all information please call
the press officer on duty Juan Martinez, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 17