Violence can break out suddenly or be an everyday reality. When order must be restored, casualties can be reduced or avoided by police action that reflects international rules and standards. Interview with Pascal Progin, outgoing ICRC delegate for the police and security forces programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Tuberculosis (TB) poses a serious threat to public health, and the incidence of the disease can be 20 times higher in places of detention than among the general population. Alain Vuilleumier, ICRC doctor for Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, explains why this is and how the ICRC is supporting prison services in the region.

In January 2008, the head of the ICRC’s regional delegation in Buenos Aires, Michel Minnig, addressed the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs of the Organization of American States on the subject of internal violence. In this interview, he reviews the main points of his statement.

Throughout 2009, the ICRC contributed its advice and expertise to various areas of humanitarian activity in Bolivia. Its delegates visited detainees, helped promote international humanitarian law (IHL), and trained and equipped four emergency-response teams from the Bolivian Red Cross.