"This seminar, which aims to round out the training of prison administration officials, is being held within the framework of cooperation between the ICRC and the justice ministry," explained Sophie Orr of the ICRC regional delegation. "We are hopeful that it will enhance participants' capabilities while also serving as a forum for sharing experiences."

The three-day seminar will be led by experts from the prison administration, the Dakar hygiene service, the ICRC's Dakar regional delegation and by a legal adviser. Dr Frederic Stauffer, an ICRC doctor based in Nairobi who specializes in health issues in prisons, will also be on hand.

Since 1991 the ICRC has been represented in Senegal by its regional delegation in Dakar, which covers Cape Verde, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau as well as Senegal. In post-conflict and armed-violence situations it visits people deprived of their freedom and assesses the conditions under which they are being held in order to ensure that their lives and dignity are respected.

Through its sub-delegation in Ziguinchor and its office in Bissau, the ICRC also strives to meet the needs of people adversely affected by armed violence. It provides civilians with emergency aid and basic necessities, and with support for farming and for primary health-care facilities. In addition, it carries out programmes aiming to make clean drinking water more easily available.