Venezuela: ICRC in action from January to April 2018
The ICRC in Venezuela and the CARICOM States promote and maintain constructive humanitarian dialogue with a range of authorities; they work with Security and Armed Forces to reinforce the integration of and respect for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the international rules on the use of force; they run emergency room trauma courses for military and public health professionals, and are strengthening their association with the Venezuelan Red Cross (VRC) by training up VRC volunteers and providing them with technical, financial and logistical support.
Highlights from this Newsletter edition:
- For the first time in Venezuela the ICRC, in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector-General of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces, held the first train-the-trainer course on the use of force in operations to maintain law and order.
- Volunteers and rescue workers from the Venezuelan Red Cross (VRC) from the states of Táchira, Bolívar, Anzoátegui, Apure, Sucre, Monagas, Guárico, Portuguesa and Anzoátegui took part in an emergency simulation in the city of El Tigre.
- The ICRC held an emergency room trauma course attended by military and civilian health professionals from the National Public Health Care System at the Military Hospital Dr. Carlos Arvelo in Caracas.
- The seminar on the treatment of wounds from firearms and explosive weapons organised by the ICRC was held at the Dr. José Ángel Álamo de Barquisimeto Military Hospital in the state of Lara.
- The VRC and the ICRC signed an agreement for joint programmes on first aid and health, relief, restoring family links, communication and activities in areas affected by a range of situations in urban communities and on the border with Colombia.
- Together with the National Red Cross Societies of the Caribbean, the ICRC works to restore family links between relatives that have been separated or have gone missing.
- In Belize, the ICRC provides technical support for authorities and security forces on intergrating international rules on the use of force into their legal framework and into law enforcement operations.
- Since 2016 the ICRC has been financing and supporting a Belize Red Cross project to address the needs of vulnerable communities affected by violence.
- In the CARICOM States, the ICRC promotes the integration of international humanitarian law, international rules on the use of force in police operations, and respect for the lives and dignity both of people displaced by armed violence and of vulnerable migrants.