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The ICRC in Chad
19-01-2012 Overview
The ICRC first started working in Chad in 1978. Today it has a delegation in N'Djamena, the capital city, covering the south and north of the country, and a sub-delegation in Abéché, running since 2004. The ICRC's main mission is to protect and help people affected by armed conflict, and to promote respect for international humanitarian law. In Chad, the ICRC strives to meet the population's most pressing needs, in accordance with its mandate.
After several years of unrest, Chad regained a certain degree of stability in 2009, which has enabled the country to return to normality and to start tackling the many structural challenges hindering its development. Turbulence in neighbouring Libya, Sudan, the Central African Republic and Nigeria threatens to disrupt this delicate balance, however, sometimes spilling over into Chad and weakening an already fragile situation.
Assisting detainees and restoring family links
In Chad, the ICRC visits and monitors people deprived of their liberty, checking that their treatment and conditions of detention are acceptable. It also plays a crucial role in restoring contact between refugees, displaced people, migrants, and their families.
Treating the wounded
The ICRC strives to ensure that all victims of violence, whether civilian or military, can access the medical attention they need. To this end, it cooperates with the authorities to perform emergency operations and treat the war-wounded at Abéché regional hospital.
A nurse educator from the ICRC trains nursing students and advises their tutors on aspects of the practical and theoretical courses that they run at the regional hospital, with a focus on war wounds and other surgical emergencies. The ICRC also provides the hospital with training materials and other items, including books.
Supporting physical-rehabilitation centres
The ICRC gives financial, material and technical support to the Kabalaye limb-fitting and rehabilitation centre and to the Maison Notre-Dame de Paix in Moundou. In particular, it covers the cost of artificial limbs for mine victims.
Preventing violations of international humanitarian law
Within the broader framework of its humanitarian mission to protect the lives and dignity of people affected by armed violence, the ICRC endeavours to promote respect for international humanitarian law. In Chad, it engages in dialogue with a range of groups – including the national armed forces, gendarmerie, police, Integrated Security Detachment and joint Chadian-Sudanese border force – within military schools and training centres, and through its operations teams in the field.
The ICRC also holds regular meetings with the political authorities, traditional leaders and the media. It addresses students at the national school of administration and magistrature, at the universities of N'Djamena and Abéché and at the private Roi Fayçal university, in the capital city.
When necessary, the ICRC gives legal advice and technical support to the Chadian government to help incorporate instruments of humanitarian law into national legislation.
Cooperating with the Red Cross of Chad
The ICRC works closely with the Red Cross of Chad, providing technical and financial support in certain areas of common interest, in keeping with the principle of cooperation within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
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