| 05 Décembre 2012
AFRICA
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Following the recent events in Goma, in the eastern part of the country, an ICRC surgical team and other ICRC staff are hard at work providing displaced and wounded people with what they need, including water, food and other essentials. Together with the Red Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they have so far registered more than 260 unaccompanied children and helped more than 10 of them to rejoin their families. Updated information will be published on our website throughout December. For further information, please contact Marie-Servane Desjonquères, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 31 60 or +41 79 536 92 58.
Central African Republic: Access to violence-prone areas remains difficult owing to the presence of armed groups and criminals, especially in the north and south-east of the country. To help displaced people and residents, the ICRC distributes food and other essentials, endeavours to help prevent malaria, provides disease-resistant cuttings of cassava and takes other actions to enhance people's ability to cope with the situation. More detailed information will be published in an operational update. For further information, please contact Marie-Servane Desjonquères, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 31 60 or +41 79 536 92 58.
Libya: One hundred twenty medical doctors from various parts of Libya will take part in a war surgery seminar in Tripoli on 5-6 December to discuss methods of dealing with weapon-wounded patients. A news release will be issued. For further information, please contact Marie-Claire Feghali, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 25 78 or +41 79 244 64 63.
Mali: The situation in the conflict-stricken areas of the north remains worrying because of the shortage of seed and the lack of basic services. The ICRC is continuing its distributions of food and working hard to improve people's access to safe drinking water. An operational update will be published by mid-December. For further information, please contact Jean-Yves Clémenzo, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 22 71 or on +41 79 217 32 17.
MIDDLE EAST
Syria: Updates on the humanitarian situation in the country and on the ICRC's activities there will be posted at http://www.icrc.org/eng/where-we-work/middle-east/syria/index.jsp. For further information, please contact Alexis Heeb, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 37 72 or +41 79 218 76 10.
Jordan: In "Syrian Refugees Call Home," new broadcast footage (copyright free) from Al Zaatari camp, close to the Syrian border, Syrian refugees tell of their plight and use ICRC tracing services to restore contact with the families they left behind as they fled the conflict. Release date: around 10 December, via EBU feed and on www.icrcvideonewsroom.org. For further information on the footage, please contact Nicola Fell, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. ; for information about the ICRC's activities, please contact Anastasia Isyuk, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 30 23 or +41 79 251 93 02.
Kuwait: A news release will be published on the meetings of the Tripartite Commission and its Technical Sub-Committee which will take place under ICRC auspices from 3 to 5 December. The Tripartite Commission is composed of representatives of Iraq, Kuwait and the 1990-1991 Coalition (the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Saudi Arabia). Its purpose is to ascertain the fate of persons who went missing in connection with the 1990-1991 Gulf War. For further information, please contact Marie-Claire Feghali, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 25 78 or +41 79 244 64 63.
Yemen: An interactive map with updated information about ICRC activities in the country and a new photo collection are coming soon to the Yemen web page at http://www.icrc.org/eng/where-we-work/middle-east/yemen/index.jsp. On 3 December, feature stories will be published on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. On 16 December, a conference relating to the ICRC's "Health care in danger" project will take place in Sana'a. Radio spots and other materials will be available at http://www.icrc.org/eng/where-we-work/middle-east/yemen/index.jsp. For further information, please contact Anastasia Isyuk, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 30 23 or +41 79 251 93 02.
Iraq: Updated information about the humanitarian situation and the ICRC's activities in the country will be published on http://www.icrc.org/eng/where-we-work/middle-east/iraq/index.jsp. For further information, please contact Anastasia Isyuk, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 30 23 or +41 79 251 93 02.
Egypt: Around 40 health-care practitioners from 11 countries will discuss ways of enhancing the safety of health-care provision in armed conflict and other emergencies at a workshop in Cairo from 17 to 19 December. The Arabic version of a newly published guide on the responsibilities of health-care personnel working in armed conflict and other emergencies will be presented alongside the workshop. The guide is a unique publication, based on international humanitarian law, human rights law and medical ethics, that answers critical questions relating to such matters as the transmission of medical records and the sharing of patient information with the media. Updated information, interviews with participants, a photo collection and other materials will be published on www.healthcareindanger.org. For further information, please contact Mohamed Sultan, ICRC Cairo, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +20 100 505 33 10 or +20 225 281 540.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Japan: A news release will be issued on the occasion of the national round of the International Humanitarian Law Moot Court competition on 8 December at the Japanese Red Cross College of Nursing in Hiroo, Tokyo. For further information, please contact Hitomi Makabe, ICRC Tokyo, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +81 3 6459 0752, or Philippe Stoll, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 31 40 or +41 79 536 92 49.
WESTERN EUROPE
Norway: At a workshop in Oslo on 3-5 December, participants from 13 countries, including medics or disaster preparedness specialists from Afghanistan, Colombia, Lebanon, Pakistan and Somalia, as well as several government representatives, will discuss the role and responsibility of national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in delivering safe health care amid armed conflict and other emergencies. Updated information, interviews with participants, a photo collection and other materials will be published on www.healthcareindanger.org. For further information, please contact Anastasia Isyuk, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 30 23 or +41 79 251 93 02.
United Kingdom: At an event taking place at the Overseas Institute in London on 6 December, 18.30 – 19.30 GMT, Yves Daccord, director-general of the ICRC, will speak about "The changing humanitarian landscape: obstacles and opportunities." Interested journalists can apply to attend or follow the event via live stream. For further information, please contact Sean Maguire, ICRC London, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +44 207 877 7330 or +44 7887 402 632.
OTHER TOPICS
International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December): This year, this international day coincides with the opening of the 12th Meeting of the Parties to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. The statement by the ICRC's president at the opening ceremony of the meeting will be available on our website, as well as an interview with Claude Tardif, head of the ICRC's physical rehabilitation programme, explaining the challenges of providing victims with assistance. A photo gallery and a short movie about a wheelchair basketball competition in Kabul, Afghanistan, is posted at http://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/weapons/anti-personnel-landmines/index.jsp. For further information, please contact Philippe Stoll, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 31 40 or +41 79 536 92 49. A photo gallery, a story and a short video reportage feature patients treated in an ICRC-run physical rehabilitation centre in refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria, participating in a seven-kilometre run on 3 December. For further information, please contact Marie-Claire Feghali, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 25 78 or +41 79 244 64 63.
2013 Emergency Appeals: At a press conference to be held on 6 December at 3.00 pm (GMT +1) at the ICRC's Geneva headquarters, President Peter Maurer will present an overview of the organization's operations and priorities for 2013 and the corresponding budgetary requirements. Interested journalists can attend or follow the event via live stream on http://www.icrc.org/live-appeals-2013. A news release and a fact sheet will be issued. Other materials include a series of short web clips featuring the ICRC's director of operations, Pierre Krähenbühl, speaking about the humanitarian situation and the organization's activities in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia and Syria, as well as a photo gallery illustrating the ICRC's activities. For further information, please contact Dorothea Krimitsas, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 79 251 93 18 or +41 22 730 25 90, or the ICRC's Public Relations Service on +41 22 730 34 43.
World War II Archives: After overseeing the administration of the International Tracing Service (ITS) in Bad Arolsen, Germany, for over half a century, the ICRC is preparing to withdraw from the management of the service on 1 January 2013. The ITS archives concern civilians detained in concentration or labour camps and people who had to flee their homes because of the Second World War. A news release, the speech delivered by ICRC President Peter Maurer at an event in Bad Arolsen on 29 November 2012, and a photo gallery are available on our website. In a video interview, Jean-Luc Blondel, the last director of the ITS to be appointed by the ICRC, speaks about the role of the ITS and recalls some of the most touching stories he witnessed. Read also thestory of George Jaunzemis, separated from his mother at the age of 4, in the turmoil of post-war Europe: he never knew who his mother was, what his real name was or where he was born – questions the ITS in Bad Arolsen has now answered. For further information, please contact Marie-Claire Feghali, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 22 730 25 78 or +41 79 244 64 63.
International Migrants Day (18 December): New material for the media will be available on our website on 17 December. For further information, please contact Dorothea Krimitsas, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 79 251 93 18 or +41 22 730 25 90.
Customary international humanitarian law database: On 13 December, the ICRC will make available an update of State practice in 23 countries relating to armed conflicts and humanitarian issues such as the distinction between combatants and civilians, the use of certain weapons and serious violations of international humanitarian law that amount to war crimes. A news release will be distributed highlighting the specific countries from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia on 13 December. For further information, please contact Dorothea Krimitsas, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 79 251 93 18.
Non-international armed conflict: What is it? Which treaties and rules must the parties to a non-international armed conflict adhere to? What happens if they do not meet their obligations under international humanitarian law? How does the ICRC determine whether a situation of violence is an armed conflict? Kathleen Lawand, the outgoing head of the ICRC unit that counsels on the law applying in the armed conflicts and other situations of violence in which the ICRC conducts its humanitarian activities, answers some of the most frequently asked questions in an interview available on our website. For further information contact Dorothea Krimitsas, ICRC Geneva, at Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. or on +41 79 251 93 18.
DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THE ICRC
ICRC website: www.icrc.org
ICRC media room: www.icrc.org/eng/media-room/index.jsp
ICRC video newsroom: www.icrcvideonewsroom.org