International Red Cross Media Brief June 2011

International Red Cross Media Brief June 2011

ICRC activities and events, and information on new footage, films and photos.

Yemen: Four months of civil unrest have taken their toll, with dozens of people killed or wounded. The ICRC and the Yemen Red Crescent are evacuating the wounded and the dead in Sana'a, and helping to supply water to the population. Elsewhere in the country, they are providing first aid for people affected by the violence. Read more in the latest operational update available on http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/update/2011/yemen-update-2011-06-08.htm

Gaza: Focus on the plight of families of detainees who haven't been able to visit their relatives for several years and the ICRC's activities in their behalf. We plan to release new footage at the end of June.

Iraq: Three decades of conflict have left hundreds of thousands of families struggling to find out what happened to their missing loved ones. Iraq is currently one of the countries with the highest number of missing persons and, as a result, with the highest number of families seeking information on their missing relatives. Read more about the scope of the problem and the ICRC's activities to help account for those who disappeared in an operational update available soon on our website.

16 June is the International Day of the African Child. Despite the protection provided by law, children continue to be recruited by armed forces and armed groups. Michael was forcibly recruited by an armed group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and spent nine years with no choice but to fight or die. He managed to flee in 2010… For the full story, see a photo gallery to be published on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/icrcfans) and on our website.

Ahead of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June, an ICRC expert explains the organization's position on torture and the responses developed by the ICRC in its new policy that aims to combat torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Read the interview and the new policy to be posted soon on our website and watch the film In detention: the humane way: http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/film/01052-detention-the-humane-way.htm

Internally displaced persons: In 2010, the ICRC and national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies sought to address emergency needs of internally displaced communities in 32 countries. Twenty per cent of the ICRC's operational budget, or approximately 200 million Swiss francs, was devoted to alleviating the suffering of the displaced. Read more in the operational overview 2010, Internal Displacement: Meeting Emergency Needs, to be issued in mid-June.

Discover more about the ICRC:

ICRC Video Newsroom: www.icrcvideonewsroom.org

Flickr: Link to the ICRC profile: http://www.flickr.com/people/icrc Link to the ICRC photo stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/icrc

ENDS

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