"Since the programme started on 4 December, it has enabled 30 families to visit their relatives at the internment facility, where some 100 inmates are being held," said Joerg Gasser, ICRC protection coordinator in Iraq.

The ICRC partially covers the travel costs of these families, many of whom have been deprived of their main source of income, either because of the prevailing economic situation in Iraq or because the breadwinner is currently in detention. The programme is being implemented with the support of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society in Basrah.

For over a year, the ICRC has been running a similar programme for the families of detainees held at the Camp Bucca internment facility, near Umm Qasr. Each month, more than 1,000 families receive financial assistance covering part of their travel and accommodation costs.

Under international humanitarian law, detainees are entitled to receive regular visits from their families and exchange written messages with them. Together with the Iraqi Red Crescent, the ICRC facilitates the exchange of around 4,500 messages per month between detainees and their families.