Wounded, sick and shipwrecked and international humanitarian law

News published over the last 12 months

18-5-2009 News release

Sri Lanka: ICRC makes urgent appeal for wounded to be given medical care
Geneva (ICRC) – For nine consecutive days the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been pursuing efforts, so far without success, to reach the area of north-eastern Sri Lanka hard hit by fighting in recent weeks.

(News)

14-5-2009 News release

Sri Lanka: humanitarian assistance can no longer reach civilians
Geneva (ICRC) – In north-eastern Sri Lanka, hundreds of seriously wounded or ill patients blocked in the conflict area have been waiting in vain for several days for desperately needed medical care.

(News)

12-5-2009 News release

Sri Lanka: fighting hinders further ICRC evacuations of severely wounded people
Colombo / Geneva (ICRC) – Heavy fighting made it impossible today for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to evacuate wounded and sick people and their accompanying relatives from the combat area in north-eastern Sri Lanka, and to deliver 25 metric tonnes of food for thousands of civilians stranded there.

(News)

12-5-2009 News release

Chad: ICRC urges respect for international humanitarian law
N'Djamena/Geneva (ICRC) – International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) staff have been mobilized to bring aid to civilian and military victims of the violent clashes that over the past few days have pitted government troops against fighters of the Union of Resistance Forces (UFR) in eastern Chad.

(News)

16-2-2009 News release

Sri Lanka: ICRC evacuates more sick and wounded from the Vanni
Geneva/Colombo (ICRC) – For the third time in a week, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has evacuated by ferry patients and their immediate families from Putumattalan to Trincomalee, where they are receiving medical treatment. A total of 440 people were taken to Trincomalee in this latest operation.

(News)

12-2-2009 News release

Sri Lanka: ICRC carries on evacuation of sick and wounded by sea
Colombo/Geneva (ICRC) – A ferry flying the flag of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) left Putumattalan today for Trincomalee with over 400 passengers on board, including patients and accompanying family members.

(News)

10-2-2009 News release

Sri Lanka: ICRC evacuates over 240 wounded and sick from the Vanni by sea
Colombo/Geneva (ICRC) – A ferry flying the flag of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is currently evacuating about 240 patients from Putumattalan to Trincomalee.

(News)

4-2-2009 News release

Sri Lanka: Vanni hospital evacuated - parties must do utmost to protect medical services and the wounded and sick
Colombo/Geneva (ICRC) – Puthukkudiyiruppu Hospital, in the northern Vanni region, has been shelled repeatedly in the last 24 hours, forcing patients and staff to flee towards the north-eastern coast.

(News)

29-1-2009 News release

Sri Lanka: ICRC escorts sick and wounded civilians out of the Vanni, situation remains critical for thousands
Colombo/Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today escorted 226 sick and wounded patients requiring urgent medical treatment to Vavuniya Hospital in the government-controlled area.

(News)

22-1-2009 News release

Sri Lanka: ICRC facilitates handover of wounded soldier to authorities
Colombo (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today facilitated the handover to the government authorities of a wounded Sri Lanka Army soldier who had been receiving treatment in the Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital, in the LTTE-held area.

(News)

15-1-2009 News release

Gaza: wounded at risk as Al-Quds Hospital is hit
Geneva/Jerusalem (ICRC) – As a result of intensifying fighting in Gaza today, a number of medical and humanitarian aid facilities have been shelled.

(News)

13-1-2009 News release

Gaza: ICRC president demands greater respect for civilians and humanitarian workers
Geneva/Jerusalem/Gaza (ICRC) – During a visit to the Gaza Strip today, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger, urged the fighting parties to spare civilians and let humanitarian workers do their work. "Both parties must ensure that all victims are cared for rapidly, at all times of day. In particular, the wounded must be evacuated and receive treatment," said Mr Kellenberger. "Injured people cannot wait for days, or even for hours, before being treated. The work of medical personnel must be respected – and this is not negotiable."

(News)

8-1-2009 News release

Gaza: life-saving ambulances must be given unrestricted access to the wounded
Geneva (ICRC) – Ambulances in Gaza must be given systematic round-the-clock access to the wounded everywhere in the territory so that they can save as many lives as possible, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger, said today.

(News)

8-1-2009 News release

Gaza: ICRC demands urgent access to wounded as Israeli army fails to assist wounded Palestinians
Geneva/Jerusalem/Tel Aviv (ICRC) - On the afternoon of 7 January, four Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulances and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) managed to obtain access for the first time to several houses in the Zaytun neighbourhood of Gaza City that had been affected by Israeli shelling.

(News)

3-1-2009 Operational update

Gaza: ICRC medical team still banned from Gaza
For the second consecutive day, Israeli authorities have refused to allow an ICRC emergency medical team into Gaza. The ICRC had notified the authorities of the team’s arrival in advance, but they have been awaiting authorization to enter the Strip since Friday morning, even though the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel has been open for other humanitarian workers and foreigners to leave the Strip.

(News)

In 1859 Swiss-banker Henri Dunant witnessed the terrible reality of wounded soldiers who remained without assistance at the Solferino battlefield. His initiative to ensure protection for the wounded and sick was soon followed by the signing of the Geneva Convention of 1864.

In the course of history that protection was continually refined. It became a detailed legal regime with the adoption of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977.

The first Geneva Convention concerns the wounded and sick, the second extends the protection to the shipwrecked. These treaties specify that the wounded, sick, and shipwrecked must be protected and respected as long as they refrain from fighting. In addition, those who provide assistance should not be prevented from fulfilling their task.

See also: ICRC activities>Assistance>Health services for people affected by war