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News Lebanon: ICRC calls on fighters to respect humanitarian principles 9-5-2008 News release 23-4-2008 Operational update Section ICRC operations in the Middle East and North Africa Activities throughout the world: a country-by-country round-up of the ICRC’s work in the Middle East and North Africa. ICRC / T.A. Voeten
Gaza Strip, Beit Hanoun.
In 2008 the ICRC remains committed to helping people who suffer from both today's violence in the region and the consequences of past conflicts. It does so through its operational activities and its efforts to promote respect for international humanitarian law (IHL).
The ICRC's long-standing presence around the region has allowed it to continue working in ongoing crises, such as Iraq, and to intervene rapidly in new outbreaks of violence affecting the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Yemen. Its activities include visiting detainees and providing emergency medical and other relief. It helps dispersed families keep in contact – for example with their relatives held in detention facilities in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. The ICRC urges authorities to bring national law into line with IHL treaties and include it in military and other education programmes. Throughout the region it works with the national societies and supports their work. The ICRC has worked continuously in the Middle East and North Africa since 1948. Its initial 2008 field budget for the region is 215 million Swiss francs – half of which is for work in Iraq, the ICRC's largest operation. The country and region names used herein are intended to facilitate reference and have no political significance.  Key document15-3-2008 Iraq: no let-up in the humanitarian crisisFive years after the outbreak of the war in Iraq, the humanitarian situation in most of the country remains among the most critical in the world. Because of the conflict, millions of Iraqis have insufficient access to clean water, sanitation and health care. The current crisis is exacerbated by the lasting effects of previous armed conflicts and years of economic sanctions. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) Report Includes PDF, Photo 17-1-2008 Lebanon: 40 years of ICRC presenceThe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been present in Lebanon since 1967 providing assistance and protection to civilians affected by armed conflict, in close cooperation with the Lebanese Red Cross Society and the Palestine Red Crescent Society. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Lebanon) Includes PDF, Photo 13-12-2007 The occupied Palestinian territories: Dignity Denied Throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, in the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank, Palestinians continuously face hardship in simply going about their lives; they are prevented from doing what makes up the daily fabric of most people's existence. An ICRC report. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Report Includes PDF, Photo Feature29-4-2008 Gaza is running out of fuelThe current fuel crisis is causing increasing hardship for the people of the Gaza Strip. The ICRC warns that the long-term consequences may be severe if sufficient supplies are not made available to ordinary people and for facilities like public transport, hospitals and water pumping stations. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Feature Includes Photo 26-2-2008 Iraq: Latifa visits her son, detained at Camp BuccaAs well as visiting people held by international forces in Iraq, the ICRC makes it possible for families to come to see their loved ones. Each time is a special moment for Latifa, the grandma from Mossul. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) Feature Includes Photo 25-2-2008 Iraq: dire state of health system must take priorityAfter years of sanctions and recurrent wars, and more significantly since 2003, the Iraqi health system has steadily deteriorated. Pascal Olle, the ICRC's health programme coordinator for Iraq, explains the state of the health system and what the current needs are. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) Feature Includes Photo 15-10-2007 Middle East and North Africa: anti-personnel mines, explosive remnants of war and cluster munitionsThe current situation in the region and the latest on the ratification of the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and the Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War. (Focus\Landmines) Feature Includes Photo 27-8-2007 West Bank: food parcels for Hebron familiesOne woman describes how she and her family survive in the West Bank town of Hebron – just one of more than 1,700 families supported by the ICRC through the monthly distribution of food parcels. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Feature Includes Photo 16-3-2007 Occupied Golan: wedding day joy clouded by sadnessWeddings are always emotional events – but especially when the bride has no idea when she will see her family again. In the occupied Golan, the ICRC – as a neutral intermediary – has been helping couples to marry across the front lines for two decades. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Israel) Feature Includes Photo Interview27-3-2008 War surgery: dealing with security problems, finding appropriate methodsInterview with Marco Baldan, organiser of the ICRC's 19th Surgical Seminar (28-30.03.08). Dr. Baldan, ICRC head surgeon, has worked for the organisation for nine years, at HQ and in various countries of Africa. Previously he worked in Iraq, Uganda and Cambodia. (ICRC Activities\Assistance\Health\War surgery) Interview 14-3-2008 Baghdad, March 2003 – A delegate's accountRoland Huguenin was ICRC spokesman in Baghdad in March 2003. He remembers the fear of ordinary Iraqis about the imminent military offensive, the bombings, the suffering endured by the capital's population, and the frustrated hopes. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) Interview Includes Photo 25-1-2008 Gaza: humanitarian situation remains criticalThe crossing into Egypt of hundreds of thousands of Gazans desperate to stock up on basic supplies is a dramatic illustration of their deprivation over the last seven months according to the ICRC's Head of Operations for the Middle East, Béatrice Megevand-Roggo. The ICRC continues to insist that the basic needs of Gaza's population must be met in the long run to prevent more hardship. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Interview Includes Photo 22-1-2008 ICRC supplies cross into GazaOn the day Israel allowed a one-day resumption of supplies to the Gaza Strip, ICRC health coordinator Eileen Daly speaks of the threats facing the civilian population because of the ban on goods entering the territory. Some essential drugs and other items were able to cross into Gaza in the afternoon of 22 January. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Interview Includes Photo 8-6-2007 ICRC President: access to captured Israeli soldiers remains a priorityAlmost one year after their capture, the fate of three Israeli soldiers – two of them held by the Hezbollah, and one by Palestinian armed factions - still remains unknown, causing distress and anguish to their families. On this occasion, Dr. Jakob Kellenberger, President of the ICRC, talks about the challenge the ICRC is facing trying to get access to persons detained in relation to armed conflicts. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Israel) Interview Includes Photo 28-11-2006 Conference on IHL and Islam in IranOn the occasion of the conference on Islam and international humanitarian law, which takes place on the 29th and 30th of November 2006 in Qom, Iran, the ICRC's deputy director of operations, Andreas Wigger, talks about what this forum hopes to accomplish. (ICRC Activities\Promoting IHL\Universities) Interview Official Statement17-4-2007 Iraq: civilians bear the brunt of violence Address by Angelo Gnaedinger, ICRC Director-General at the International Conference on Addressing the Humanitarian Needs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in Iraq and in Neighbouring Countries, Geneva, 17-18 April, 2007 (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) Official Statement Operational update6-5-2008 ICRC activities in Israel and the occupied and autonomous territories: March 2008In Israel and the occupied and autonomous territories, the ICRC works towards ensuring the application of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), especially the Fourth Geneva Convention, which protects civilians during armed conflict and occupation. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Israel) Operational update 5-5-2008 Yemen: ICRC activities September 2007 to March 2008Many parts of Sa'ada governorate in Northern Yemen have not yet recovered from four years of conflict between the Yemeni armed forces and the "Believing Youth" fighters. More than 60'000 persons are still affected and enduring the consequences of the conflict. They are in critical need of humanitarian assistance. The ICRC maintains its presence in the governorate and it continues to operate in affected areas in cooperation with the Yemen Red Crescent Society (YRCS). (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Yemen) Operational update 24-4-2008 ICRC activities in Israel and the occupied and autonomous territories: February 2008In Israel and the occupied and autonomous territories, the ICRC works towards ensuring the faithful application of international humanitarian law (IHL), especially the Fourth Geneva Convention, which protects civilians during armed conflict and occupation – also available in Hebrew. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Israel) Operational update Includes PDF 24-4-2008 ICRC activities in the occupied Golan during 2007The ICRC has been working in the occupied Golan since 1967 and has maintained a full-time presence there since 1988, when it opened its office in Majd El Shams. Activities focus on re-establishing and maintaining contact between the 21,000 people living in the Golan and their families on the other side of the demarcation line. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Israel) Operational update 13-3-2008 Iraq: ICRC activities in 2007People in Iraq continued to be subject to relentless violence throughout 2007, living in fear of their lives as a result of indiscriminate attacks, targeted killings, abductions and intimidation. Despite security constraints, the ICRC continued to help people in need. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) Operational update 17-12-2007 ICRC activities in Lebanon: November 2007 Backed by 40 years of humanitarian work in Lebanon, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continues its activities in the fields of protection, assistance, cooperation and prevention. Following the end of the three-month fighting in Nahr el-Bared in North Lebanon, the ICRC started water rehabilitation projects to assist the displaced refugees returning to the war-devastated camp. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Lebanon) Operational update 10-10-2007 Yemen: ICRC activities June to August 2007Most of the people displaced by this year’s fighting between the Yemeni army and the Believing Youth in the region of Sa’ada have started to go home. However, even after their return, they will still be dependent on humanitarian aid until they are able to stand on their own feet. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Yemen) Operational update Press article24-9-2007 Israel-Palestine A tragedy without end?The years go by, and the situation in the Autonomous and Occupied Palestinian Territories keeps getting worse. Since the Six-Day War in June 1967, open warfare has alternated with periods of calm, but without so much as a glimmer of peace on the horizon. What have been the main humanitarian consequences of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? And how has the Movement been responding? Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 2, 2007 (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa) Press article Video Collection18-10-2007 West Bank: the effects of the Barrier on Palestinian farmersThis CNN/TVRL report for CNN World Report demonstrates the effects of the West Bank Barrier on Palestinian farmers and shows how the ICRC is trying to facilitate access to their land. (Info resources\Video) Video Collection Includes Video  |
