ICRC News 21 / 04.06.97** SHORT MENU....
SIERRA LEONE / ICRC ACTING AS NEUTRAL INTERMEDIARY: On Monday 2 June, fighting broke out around the Mammy Yoko hotel in a seaside suburb of Freetown, where a large number of civilians had taken refuge. Following negotiations with the parties concerned - Nigerian troops and Sierra Leonean combatants - ICRC delegates succeeded in arranging for the evacuation of civilians and the wounded who were besieged in the hotel by the fighting.
AFGHANISTAN / MAINTAINING A VITAL PRESENCE: The renewed fighting in several parts of northern and eastern Afghanistan over the last ten days or so has led to a sharp rise in humanitarian needs.
SRI LANKA / EMERGENCY FOOD AID REACHES NORTH-EAST: The first in a series of ICRC-escorted food convoys has reached communities affected by the fighting in north-eastern Sri Lanka. Starting last Saturday, about 80 Sri Lankan government trucks, escorted by ICRC vehicles, brought emergency supplies (rice, dhal and flour) to displaced people and destitute local residents in the area around the town of Periamadhu.
ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES / REGIONAL INITIATIVE IN TURKMENISTAN TO DISCUSS GLOBAL BAN: The government of Turkmenistan is hosting a Central Asian Regional Conference on a Global Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines in the capital, Ashgabat, from 10-12 June 1997
INTERNATIONAL / AS RELEVANT AS EVER: The twentieth anniversary of the two Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions is coming up on 8 June.
Representatives of donor governments and humanitarian organizations will be meeting in Wolfsberg, Switzerland, from 8 to 10 June for a broad discussion on two substantive topics, namely "Threats to humanitarian action" and "Environment and armed conflicts". The meeting is being convened at the invitation of the ICRC, as a follow-up to the Humanitarian Summit organized by the European Commission in Madrid on 14 December 1995.
A video press conference will be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Tuesday, 10 June, at 1.30 p.m.
Further information: Doris Pfister, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4179 202 3670
** STORIES IN FULL...
SIERRA LEONE ICRC ACTING AS NEUTRAL INTERMEDIARY
On Monday 2 June, fighting broke out around the Mammy Yoko hotel in a seaside suburb of Freetown, where a large number of civilians had taken refuge. Following negotiations with the parties concerned - Nigerian troops and Sierra Leonean combatants - ICRC delegates succeeded in arranging for the evacuation of civilians and the wounded who were besieged in the hotel by the fighting. Some 350 people were taken out under the ICRC's protection and made their own way back to the city. A further 300 people took the opportunity to leave for another beach-front hotel, and six casualties were evacuated to a hospital in town.
The ICRC started taking steps on Wednesday 28 May to facilitate the evacuation of foreigners from Freetown to Conakry, Guinea, and by the next day 134 people had been transferred under its protection.
On 26 May emergency units of the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society, using vehicles put at their disposal by the ICRC, collected some 20 wounded people from the streets of the capital and took them to medical facilities. One major problem is encouraging qualified medical staff to remain at their posts, as they have been subjected to intimidation and fear for their safety. The ICRC has dispatched a three-member surgical team to Conakry, Guinea; the team is standing ready to go to Freetown as soon as security conditions allow. In addition, two nurses are on standby in Europe.
During recent months the ICRC has been providing agricultural assistance in the form of seeds and resettlement aid, carrying out tracing activities and spreading knowledge of international humanitarian law in Sierra Leone.
Further information: Reni-Luc Thivoz, ICRC Freetown, tel. ++232 22 241 438 Rolin Wavre, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2876
AFGHANISTAN MAINTAINING A VITAL PRESENCE
The renewed fighting in several parts of northern and eastern Afghanistan over the last ten days or so has led to a sharp rise in humanitarian needs. The ICRC has provided assistance in evacuating some 600 war casualties to various hospitals in the country, some of which have also received considerable quantities of medical supplies.
In the northern town of Mazar-i-Sharif, delegates have managed to give medical aid to 30 wounded detainees in the central prison. As in Kabul, the ICRC is helping to transfer the wounded to hospital and is distributing the necessary supplies to medical facilities. Patients with no resources and no family are also provided with food.
Under its mandate to afford protection to non-combatants, the ICRC is preparing to register some 700 detainees currently being held in prisons in Mazar-i-Sharif. To the west, in Herat, delegates are about to register 750 others captured by the Taliban during the recent fighting.
Further information: Jean-Luc Paladini, ICRC Kabul, tel. ++873 382 280 130 Kim Gordon-Bates, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2302
SRI LANKA EMERGENCY FOOD AID REACHES NORTH-EAST
The first in a series of ICRC-escorted food convoys has reached communities affected by the fighting in north-eastern Sri Lanka. Starting last Saturday, about 80 Sri Lankan government trucks, escorted by ICRC vehicles, brought emergency supplies (rice, dhal and flour) to displaced people and destitute local residents in the area around the town of Periamadhu. A further 48 trucks are due to arrive at the same destination on Wednesday. This is the first time a humanitarian convoy has been able to reach this area since the Sri Lankan government's offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was launched three weeks ago.
In accordance with established procedure in Sri Lanka, the government channels essential supplies to the civilian communities in LTTE areas through its resident agents on the spot. Such humanitarian operations are set up following an agreement reached by the two warring parties and are conducted under the protection of the Red Cross flag.
Further information: Harasha Gunawardene, ICRC Colombo, tel. ++941 503 346 Kim Gordon-Bates, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2302
ALBANIA ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME ENTERS NEW PHASE
Up to 350,000 people in Albania - 10% of the country's population - will be receiving ICRC/Albanian Red Cross (ARC) assistance in the coming three to four months. The aid, in the form of 20-kg family parcels containing basic foodstuffs and hygiene items, is intended to supplement the resources of the families concerned. Distributions began last week, covering some 6,000 families in Tirana and Durres.
This is the second phase of the joint ARC/ICRC humanitarian programme in Albania. The first phase, consisting of aid for social welfare and medical institutions, has been completed. Since the beginning of March this year the ARC/ICRC has delivered supplies to about 60 such institutions throughout the country.
Further information: France Hurtubise, ICRC Tirana, tel. ++355 42 30 457 Michael Kleiner, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2281
ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES REGIONAL INITIATIVE IN TURKMENISTAN TO DISCUSS GLOBAL BAN
The government of Turkmenistan is hosting a Central Asian Regional Conference on a Global Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines in the capital, Ashgabat, from 10-12 June 1997. Invitations have been extended to the other four Central Asian republics (Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), and also to Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Georgia, India, Iran, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and Turkey. The aims of the Conference are to increase regional awareness of the anti-personnel mine crisis; to promote dialogue on the issue among governments and organizations in Central and Southern Asia and the Caucasus; and to encourage participation in the international effort to negotiate a ban on anti-personnel mines. Presentations on various aspects of the mines issue will be given by representatives of Canada, Norway, the ICRC, the United Nations and selected non-governmental organizations affiliated to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
Further information: Peter Herby, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2729
INTERNATIONAL AS RELEVANT AS EVER
The twentieth anniversary of the two Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions is coming up on 8 June. Two decades ago the world was seeing the emergence of new types of conflict as the colonial era drew to a close, and in 1977 the ICRC succeeded in having these treaties adopted to reaffirm the responsibilities that were - and still are - incumbent on States and belligerent parties with regard to civilians, non-combatants and persons in their power.
Protocol I deals with international armed conflicts and wars of national liberation, and Protocol II with internal armed conflicts. While the Geneva Conventions have achieved almost universal acceptance with 188 States Parties, 147 States are bound by Protocol I and only 139 by Protocol II.
Given the conflicts currently raging in many parts of the world, the ICRC feels that these two instruments of international humanitarian law which afford indispensable protection for victims are more relevant than ever. It therefore calls on States that have not already done so to state their intention of adhering to the Protocols, and urges all governments to work diligently to ensure respect for their provisions. In the ICRC's view the texts as they stand, although not perfect, are sufficiently precise and flexible to cover most eventualities in ongoing conflicts and those that may arise in the near future.
Copies of the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols may be obtained by writing to the ICRC Press Division.
Further information: Kim Gordon-Bates, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2302
New on the ICRC Public Server - http://www.icrc.org : - Update No. 1 on ICRC activities in Sri Lanka, dated 29.05.97 - Update No. 1 on ICRC activities in Former Yugoslavia, dated 2.06.97 - Update No. 1 on ICRC activities in Sierra Leone, dated 3.06.97
During the week-end of 7 - 8 June 1997, for all information please call the press officer on duty, Philippe Lazzarini, on (mobile) 41 79 333 20 46