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1-01-2008 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. News published over the last 12 months
ICRC / il-e-01600
Gaza, January 2009
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 2009 field budget for the region is 210.5 million Swiss francs. The country and region names used herein are intended to facilitate reference and have no political significance.  Key document28-9-2009 Yemen: the ICRC faces increasing challenges in providing vital aidThe welfare of civilians in northern Yemen is becoming a greater concern amid continuing conflict. According to Jean-Nicolas Marti, ICRC head of delegation in Yemen, the organization has worked for weeks under extremely harsh conditions, with severely restricted access to people in need. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Yemen) Interview Includes Photo 29-6-2009 Gaza: 1.5 million people trapped in despairSix months after Israel launched its three-week military operation in Gaza on 27 December 2008, Gazans still cannot rebuild their lives. Most people struggle to make ends meet. Seriously ill patients face difficulty obtaining the treatment they need. Many children suffer from deep psychological problems. Civilians whose homes and belongings were destroyed during the conflict are unable to recover. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Report Includes Photo 18-6-2009 Gaza: ICRC urges Hamas to allow captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit regular contact with his familyThe ICRC reiterated its demand that Gilad Shalit be allowed regular contact with his family. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) News release 5-3-2009 Iraq: women in warThe ICRC's Iraq delegation has produced a newsletter containing testimonies from Iraqi women facing the effects of conflict and explaining how the ICRC is helping them to cope. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) Field newsletter Includes PDF Annual ReportAnnual Report Includes PDF 27-5-2009 ICRC Annual Report 2008: Middle East & North Africa: Introduction(Info resources\Annual Report\2008) Annual Report Includes PDF Event18-11-2009 Our world. Your move. Events in Tunisia.(The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Tunisia) Event Includes Photo 10-11-2009 Our world. Your move. Events in Iran.(The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iran) Event Includes Photo 2-11-2009 Our world. Your move. Events in Kuwait.(The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Kuwait) Event Includes Photo 2-11-2009 Our world. Your move. Events in Bahrain.(The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Bahrain) Event Includes Photo 2-11-2009 Our world. Your move. Events in the United Arab Emirates.(The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\United Arab Emirates) Event 2-11-2009 Our world. Your move. Events in Oman.(The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Oman) Event Includes Photo 2-11-2009 Our world. Your move. Events in Romania.(The ICRC worldwide\Western and Central Europe and the Balkans\Romania) Event Includes Photo Feature8-10-2009 Yemen: stories of women displaced by warTens of thousands of Yemenis have fled the fighting of recent months. Some of them have taken refuge in schools. In Khaiwan Medina in the north of Amran governorate, five families are living in the village school. Each of them occupies one small classroom, with no toilet or window. Most people could take very little as they scrambled to escape the fighting. The ICRC has provided mattresses, stoves, tarpaulins and food. But now the families are under pressure, as the school year is starting and they are being asked to leave. Three women talk about their flight, and about life as a displaced family. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Yemen) Feature Includes Photo 25-9-2009 Yemen: civilians increasingly at risk as conflict intensifiesWhile fighting has been intensifying over the past days in most areas in Northern Yemen and civilian lives are increasingly at risk, thousands of people are dependant on humanitarian aid. In order to survive, people often have no other choice left than to flee towards safer areas. Families on the move are lacking even the bare necessities. Pregnant women, children and elderly are among the most vulnerable. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Yemen) Feature Includes Photo 22-9-2009 Caring for civilians caught up in war – the story of an ambulanceman in Sderot Avraham is an ambulanceman with the Magen David Adom in Sderot, an Israeli town near the Gaza Strip. He sometimes transports seriously ill Palestinians to hospital who cannot obtain the necessary treatment in Gaza. He believes that hoping is not enough; he says you have to act, because that is what gives life meaning. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Feature Includes Photo 22-9-2009 Caring for civilians caught up in war – the story of an ambulanceman in Gaza Ashraf is an ambulanceman with the Palestine Red Crescent in Rafah, Gaza. He counts himself lucky to be able to help people and save lives, and is proud of what he does. But being an ambulanceman in Gaza is a risky job. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Feature Includes Photo 13-8-2009 Iraq: mine victim takes a small step to a big new futureA new ICRC assistance programme in Iraq is helping war victims to become financially independent. Beneficiaries include people like Mohammad, who lost a limb in a mine blast in northern Iraq back in 1991. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) Feature Includes Photo 27-11-2008 Lebanon: in the heart of actionThe Lebanese Red Cross Society plays a crucial role in responding to emergencies in Lebanon. Its capacity to play this role is enhanced by its partnership with the ICRC. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Lebanon) Feature Includes Photo 16-10-2008 Twenty years after the end of the Iran-Iraq war, tens of thousands of combatants still unaccounted forOn 16 October the governments of Iran and Iraq, together with the ICRC, signed a memorandum of understanding that represents an important step towards easing the heavy burden of tens of thousands of bereaved Iraqi and Iranian families. The document establishes a clear framework for collecting information and sharing it between the two countries, and for handing over mortal remains. These tasks will be performed jointly by experts from both countries with ICRC support. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa) Feature Includes Photo Field newsletter13-8-2009 Iraq: civilians without protectionThe ICRC delegation in Iraq seize the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions to stress that the basic rules of the law of armed conflict remain as important as ever and that Iraqi civilians must be spared the effects of hostilities. Through the testimonies presented in this newsletter Iraqi men and women explain how recent events have affected them and their families. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) Field newsletter Includes PDF Interview22-10-2009 Iraq: the ICRC's response to recent events in AshrafSince late July, a series of events have taken place in Ashraf, about 80 km north of Baghdad, where several thousand Iranian nationals are living. Confrontations have resulted in people being killed, injured or detained. Juan-Pedro Schaerer, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Iraq, gives us an update on the role of the ICRC. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) Interview Includes Photo 19-8-2009 Yemen: civilians forced to flee escalating confrontationsThere are thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Yemen, where the humanitarian situation has deteriorated over recent days owing to renewed fighting in Sa'ada and Amran governorates. The ICRC's head of delegation in Yemen, Jean-Nicolas Marti, describes what is happening to those who have been displaced. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Yemen) Interview Includes Photo 8-6-2009 West Bank: illegal settlements cause hardship for PalestiniansSettler violence and severe restrictions on movement are affecting the daily lives of Palestinians in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, especially in the old town of Hebron. Matteo Benatti has been head of the ICRC's office in Hebron since September 2007. He explains the situation. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Interview Includes Photo 27-1-2009 Gaza: from Qatar with a mission Shifa Hospital in Gaza City receives most of the critically injured patients from other Gaza hospitals. Said Abu Hasna and Samir Kazkaz are Qatari Red Crescent doctors returning from an ICRC mission at the hospital. Said discusses their experiences. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Interview Includes Photo 10-12-2008 Gaza: still no ICRC access to Gilad ShalitIt has been almost 900 days since the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, was captured by Palestinian armed factions from Gaza. To date, the ICRC's attempts to visit him and to establish contact between him and his family have been unsuccessful. Pierre Wettach, the ICRC's head of delegation in Israel and the occupied territories, explains. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Israel) Interview Includes Photo 29-10-2008 The bare necessities: how the ICRC is making a difference in IraqJuan-Pedro Schaerer, the ICRC's head of delegation for Iraq, talks about the growing need for essential services in the country. He explains the challenges that the ICRC faces, especially the difficulty of reaching those most in need, and how the organization has been providing uninterrupted emergency assistance by constantly adapting its way of working to the changing security constraints. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) 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 Operational update16-11-2009 Iraq: ICRC helping most vulnerable people to earn an incomeThe ICRC has been supporting hospitals following a spate of bombings that claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqis. The organization has also been carrying out a wide range of other humanitarian activities. This is an update on the ICRC’s work in Iraq during October. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Iraq) Operational update 3-11-2009 Israel and the occupied territories: helping people improve their livesThe ICRC continues to help those who are most vulnerable by supporting health facilities, repairing water systems and launching community projects. This is an update on these and other ICRC activities carried out in Israel and the occupied territories from July to September 2009. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Israel) Operational update Includes Photo 29-10-2009 Occupied Golan: ICRC helps Syrian Arabs maintain links with families elsewhere in SyriaOn 24 September 2009, about 560 Druze pilgrims were allowed to cross from the occupied Golan into Syria proper through the Kuneitra crossing. Since there are no diplomatic relations between Syria and Israel, the ICRC acted as a neutral intermediary between the two countries to facilitate the pilgrimage. The ICRC’s work in the Golan focuses on re-establishing and maintaining family links between the Syrian Arab residents of the occupied Golan and their relatives on the other side of the demarcation line. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Israel) Operational update Includes Photo 17-9-2009 Yemen: civilians paying the price of heavy fightingFive weeks into the renewed outbreak of hostilities in northern Yemen, the civilian population is increasingly bearing the brunt of violence. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Yemen) Operational update Includes Photo 29-7-2009 ICRC activities in Israel, the occupied and autonomous territories:
April-June 2009Civilians bear the brunt of mobility restrictions, Israeli settlements and the routing of the security barrier in the West Bank and Gaza, and of rocket attacks in southern Israel. The ICRC assists those most affected by the restrictions, supports health facilities and improves water supply in poorly served communities. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Israel) Operational update 21-4-2009 Lebanon: overview of ICRC activitiesIn Lebanon, the ICRC focuses on visiting detainees, restoring family links and helping preserve or restore acceptable living conditions for civilians, the sick and the wounded. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Lebanon) Operational update 1-2-2009 ICRC activities in Tunisia, Mauritania, Libya and Morocco in 2008The ICRC visited detainees in Mauritania and Tunisia and helped restore links between family members separated by armed conflict. Delegates helped Morocco and the Polisario Front resolve cases of people missing in connection with the Western Sahara conflict, and opened a limb-fitting and rehabilitation centre for people injured by mines set during it. Activities also included promoting international humanitarian law and working with the region's Red Crescent Societies. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Tunisia) Operational update Photo Collection8-10-2009 ICRC and Red Crescent aid displaced people in northern Yemen The situation in northern Yemen has deteriorated dramatically in recent weeks, with tens of thousands forced to flee the conflict zones. To meet the most urgent needs, the ICRC and the Yemen Red Crescent Society are distributing food and other essentials to thousands of displaced people and the families hosting them. (Info resources\Photos\Middle East and North Africa) Photo Collection Includes Photo 17-9-2009 Iraq: families make their final visits to relatives detained in Bucca For families who used to visit their relatives detained in Bucca, southern Iraq, the journey was always long, perilous and costly, but well worth it. Since October 2005, the ICRC had helped make the journey possible, not least by covering part of the costs. In September 2009, with the American facility at Camp Bucca set to close down, the ICRC ended its family-visit allowance programme. During the four years that the programme ran, almost 30,000 detained people received 146,000 visits from their relatives with ICRC support. (Info resources\Photos\Middle East and North Africa) Photo Collection Includes Photo 6-4-2009 Gaza: the crisis continues without the prospect of lasting peace  Three months after Israel’s military operation, people in the Gaza Strip still struggle to exist. Tens of thousands have had their homes wrecked. Aid has been pledged, but without a courageous peace process, no meaningful reconstruction can take place. (Info resources\Photos\Middle East and North Africa) Photo Collection Includes Photo 4-2-2009 Gaza: let the seeds grow Agriculture is a lifeline for a sizeable portion of Gaza's population. When the sector took a severe blow during the recent fighting, a lot of people were left struggling to cope with this fresh setback. Now, those who can are picking up the pieces, as the ICRC’s Iyad Nasr explains. (Info resources\Photos\Middle East and North Africa) Photo Collection Includes Photo Press article21-1-2009 Red Cross and humanitarian life-saving actionArticle published in The Times, 21 January 2009. The humanitarian cost of this conflict and the civilian suffering need not have been so high. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Press article 16-1-2009 Harald Veen Fresed goes through hell as a doctor at Shifa Hospital in GazaArticle published in Le Monde on 16 January 2009. Harald Veen Fresed has just spent a week at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The Dutch physician, who specializes in abdominal surgery, is exhausted. He was sent to Gaza by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and finds it difficult to disguise his feelings after what he calls "a real tragedy". Although he is no stranger to war or distressing situations – especially African conflicts – he returned home profoundly disturbed by what he had seen. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa\Palestine) Press article Report15-3-2008 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 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 Video Collection29-9-2009 Yemen: relief assistance to people displaced by the conflict Fighting has been intensifying in northern Yemen. Often people have no choice but to flee to safer areas. The ICRC and the Yemeni Red Crescent have organized distributions of essentials household items for about 30,000 people so far. On 18 September 2009 aid was handed out in Khaiwan town. (Info resources\Video) Video Collection Includes Video 16-9-2009 Missing persons: focus on Iraq During the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), the ICRC registered almost 40,000 Iranian and more than 67,000 Iraqi prisoners of war. Many of them were voluntarily repatriated, but tens of thousands of soldiers remain unaccounted for today. (Info resources\Video) Video Collection Includes Video 27-1-2009 Gaza in Ruins  Three weeks of intense conflict have taken a heavy toll on civilians. In Shijaiya, one of the poorest residential areas of Gaza City, families return to see the full extent of the damage. The ICRC and Palestine Red Crescent Society have started repair work on some of the Strip's shattered infrastructure, but it will take more than emergency aid for people in Gaza to recover from this latest crisis. (Info resources\Video) Video Collection Includes Video 15-1-2009 ICRC work round the clock in Shifa Hospital, Gaza City In Shifa Hospital, Gaza City, the main referral hospital in the Gaza strip, large numbers of severely injured patients are being treated round the clock. The ICRC medical staff at the hospital say that most of the casualties are civilians, many of them children. The shortage of intensive care beds for the most seriously injured puts lives further at risk. (Info resources\Video) Video Collection Includes Video More in this section17-1-2008 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 |
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