Sudanese Minister for External Relations visits ICRC

 Geneva (ICRC) - On 22 January 1998 Mr Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), received H. E. Mr Ali Othman Mohammed Taha, Minister for External Relations of the Republic of the Sudan, at ICRC headquarters.  

 President Sommaruga welcomed the recent decision by the Government of the Sudan to lift the accusations against the ICRC now that the investigation into the November 1996 incident involving an ICRC plane has been completed. Both sides agreed that ICRC field activities should now resume as soon as possible for the benefit of the victims of the conflict in the Sudan.  

 With a view to furthering their mutual cooperation, the ICRC and the Government of the Sudan confirmed that ICRC activities are carried out in accordance with the organization's mandate as a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian institution conferred on it by the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The two sides also confirmed that their cooperation is being conducted with transparency and full respect for national sovereignty.