The ICRC regional delegation in Tunis: Activities in 2012

Tunisia

Visiting people deprived of their freedom

In 2012, the ICRC:

• visited 17,900 detainees during 66 visits to 27 places of detention, monitoring 152 detainees individually;
• renovated part of Borj El Amri Prison, near Tunis, and installed a fire-safety system.

Restoring family links

In 2012, the ICRC:

• helped 11 Libyan families in Choucha Camp, on the Libyan border, to restore and maintain contact with their relatives;
• facilitated over 16,200 phone calls between refugees who had fled from Libya to Tunisia (most of them migrant workers) and their families;

Since the start of the Libyan crisis in February 2011, refugees in Tunisia have made over 113,000 phone calls.

Promotion of humanitarian principles

The ICRC gave a human rights briefing to 63 police officers about to deploy on peacekeeping missions in Côte d'Ivoire and Sudan.

Mauritania

Emergency relief

In 2012, the ICRC:

• worked with the Mauritanian Red Crescent to distribute essential supplies to over 72,000 Malian refugees;
• provided these refugees with water and medical supplies via other humanitarian organizations.

Visiting people deprived of their freedom

In 2012, the ICRC:

• visited over 1,500 detainees during 42 visits to 11 places of detention, monitoring 70 detainees individually;
• renovated the kitchens, lighting and ventilation systems of four prisons;
• provided 885 detainees with enhanced access to drinking water and improved living conditions;
• provided food supplements for 100 malnourished detainees in Nouakchott Prison.

Help for Sahrawi refugees

The ICRC provided physical rehabilitation services to 570 Sahrawi refugees, via the ICRC centre in Tindouf.