Adi Keshi, internally displaced person camp. Oven building to improve the daily life.©ICRC/ref. er-e-00049

The ICRC opened a delegation in Eritrea in 1998 in the context of the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia and is responding to the needs outstanding from the two-year international conflict.

The ICRC's priorities are twofold: to protect and assist the population displaced or otherwise affected by the conflict; and to ensure compliance with IHL regarding any remaining persons protected by the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions.

This involves: restoring family links; distributing mainly non-food supplies; rehabilitating water and health-care facilities; visiting detainees; promoting IHL; and strengthening the Eritrean Red Cross.

Presence (2009): 120 staff, including 16 expatriates