© ICRC/M.Kokic

Issue No.1, September 2006

ICRC BULLETIN

Dear Reader,

From Ideals to Action

Welcome to the ﬁrst edition of the `ICRC Bulletin’ produced by
the International Committee of the Red Cross. We aim to provide you with a snapshot of the ICRC’s diverse humanitarian
activities worldwide and in the Asia-Pacific region in particular.
I hope that reading the `ICRC Bulletin’ will encourage you tocontact us to find out more.

Even more than 60 years after the end of World War Two Dr.
Marcel Junod remains probably the best-known ICRC representative in Japan. He was the ﬁrst foreign doctor to witness
the unspeakable carnage wrought by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. While driven by his unwavering commitment to humanitarian ideals, Dr. Junod was a pragmatist who knew thathumanitarian action must constantly adapt to changing situations and emerging needs. The ICRC knows that ideals andprinciples count for little if they are not translated into concrete
action to help the weak and vulnerable.

Whether in Lebanon or Somalia, Sudan or Colombia, or, in thisregion, in Sri Lanka or the Philippines, armed conﬂicts cause untold human misery among civilians and those who are detained,
wounded or sick. The ICRC works to alleviate their suffering rightwhere it happens, bringing assistance and protection to millions
every year. As a neutral, independant and strictly humanitarianorganisation, it tries to reach victims of conﬂicts on all sides of
the world’s frontlines.
In countries at peace such as Japan, the ICRC’s most importanttask is to raise awareness of international humanitarian law(IHL), the body of rules devised by the community of states tolimit the human suffering caused by armed conﬂicts. To do this,it seeks to establish contact and partnerships with the government and other key institutions such as the Japanese Red Cross
Society, the Self-Defence Forces and universities.
This edition of the `ICRC Bulletin’ presents some key data fromour latest annual report to give an idea of the scope of our worldwide activities. It also features an article on our work at Juba
Teaching Hospital in South Sudan, a project that has received
considerable ﬁnancial support from the Japanese government.
Finally, we introduce you to our regional ofﬁce in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia, which is in charge of the ICRC’s programmes in Japan.

We could not do what we do without the political, moral andﬁnancial support of countries like Japan. I hope that the `ICRC
Bulletin’ - the ICRC’s ﬁrst-ever regular publication in Japanese- will provide a catalyst for further dialogue with all those in Japan who share our objectives. Therefore, I ask you to please also
forward this `ICRC Bulletin’ to your colleagues and friends who
might be interested. Thank you.

Werner Kaspar
Regional Delegation
ICRC Kuala Lumpur

Photo: Tyre, Lebanon
ICRC staff member at scene of destruction in Tyre© ICRC/CLARKE, FredTHE ICRC IN 2005
Five Largest Operations in 2005
in terms of expenditure (in USD)
Sudan 84.8 million

visited nearly 530,000 detainees held in 2,600 prisons in 76 countries. More than 46,000 detainees
were monitored individually•

collected and distributed 960,000 Red Cross messages, helping families separated because of wars
or disasters to stay in touch•provided food to 1.1 million people including internationally displaced people, returnees and residents affected by armed conﬂicts•

furnished essential household and hygiene items
to nearly 2.9 million people•

organised water, sanitation and construction
projects in 37 countries beneﬁtting more than 11million people•

assisted 278 health-care facilities worldwide which
helped an estimated 2.4 million people•

supported 141 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in areas such as the promotion ofinternational humanitarian law and the restoration of family links•

employed about 12,200 staff on average including
1,500 expatriates

Pakistan 39 milion

Afghanistan 26.4 million

Indonesia 24 million•Isreal and the Occupied and Autonomous
Palestinian Territories 30.6 million

Distribution of Field ExpenditureContinents and Region (in USD)
Africa 304 million
Asia and the Paciﬁc 181 million

Middle East and North
Africa 65 million

Europe and the Americas 107 million

Total Field Expenditure: 656 million

Photo: Jehlum Valley, Chinari village, Pakistan, 2005
A child receives medical attention at the Japanese Red
Cross basic health unit. The Japanese Red Cross Mobile
Clinic operated in conjunction with the ICRC.

© ICRC/HEGER, Boris

A SIGN OF HOPE
JUBA TEACHING HOSPITAL IN SOUTH SUDAN

The ICRC began working at Juba Teaching Hospital (JTH) in 1993,

material, bedsheets, staff uniforms and fuel for the hospital
generator, and covers the cost of patients’ meals. The ICRC also
supports essential maintenance and repair work at the hospital.

sending a surgical team to treat casualties of the civil war devastating southern Sudan. It also set up laboratory facilities andprovided an X-ray machine with the aim of delivering proper Margaret Sitti, a 53-year old Sudanese assistant head nurse,
emergency surgical and post-operative care to the population started working at JTH 30 years ago. “Before the war, therein and around Juba Town. The
were around 50 doctors working
ICRC has been supporting the Its support for the Teaching Hospital in the city in the hospital”, she explains, “buthospital ever since,currently with of Juba in South Sudan is a key element of the very few of them remained in Juba.
16 international staff members. ICRC’s work in a region slowly recovering from There was no support to the hos-civil war. This year the Japanese government
The hospital has 400 nursing per- paid two million US dollars towards the ICRC’s pital, and it deteriorated. Patientssonnel including 230 students in work at the hospital while the Japanese Red had to bring their own medicine,
nursing school. Building their Cross contributed to the overall Sudan budget. there were problems with thesterilisation, electricity, and watercapacity through training is ansupply, and the staff weren’t paid.”
ICRC priority with expert nursing staff providing daily coachingfor students in order to expand and refresh their skills. Since Thanks to the ICRC, Margaret has seen the hospital de2002, the ICRC has also been training general medical assistants velop into a place where patients know that they will get
and their counterparts working in the laboratory and operat- the best treatment available. Since the signature of theing theatre. ICRC surgeons and a medical doctor are involved peace agreement between the Sudan government and thein the hands-on supervision of students in the hospital wards. main rebel movement in January 2005, JTH has become
A ﬁrst-time visitor to JTH is struck by the sheer number of more accessible for patients from across the region. Bepeople crowding the corridors and wards. Women carrying tween January and May 2006, it admitted 6,400 medical pasick babies gather around a nurse arranging outpatient ap- tients and performed more than 1,300 surgical operations.
pointments while visitors wander in and out of buildings and The dedication of the hospital staff and students, the supprepare meals in the grounds. Amid all the commotion, the port of donors, and the ICRC’s good cooperation with theICRC’s tiny ofﬁce is a haven of calm. Even frequent power fail- local health authorities have helped to make the war-time
ures cannot disturb the routine work of hospital management. crisis at JTH Margaret Sitti remembers a distant memory.
Generous donor support has also made it possible for the ICRC
to regularly assist the hospital with pharmaceutical, medical
and surgical supplies as well as equipment and chemicals forthe laboratory, which includes a blood bank. It provides hygiene

Abu Bakr Gamanga ICRC Juba
Photo: Juba, Sudan
Lesson given by ICRC nurse at the Teaching Hospital© ICRC/PRAKASH. MPROMOTING IHL IN EAST
AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Apart from its better-known tasks of providing protection andassistance in the midst of armed conﬂict, the ICRC also raises
awareness and promotes the implementation of international
humanitarian law (IHL), the body of rules designed to reduce human suffering at times of war. IHL protects all those who are not,or who are no longer taking part in hostilities. In addition to theGeneva Conventions - to which every state including Japan isa party - IHL comprises treaties regulating the conduct of hostilities and banning or limiting the use of certain weapons suchas chemical and biological arms, and antipersonnel landmines.

For IHL to be effective it needs to be known and implemented at
the national level, including in countries not directly involved inarmed conﬂicts. The ICRC’s legal advisory service and its worldwide network of legal experts assists states interested in incorporating IHL norms into national legislation. In many countries,
including in the Asia-Paciﬁc region, ICRC experts also support
government efforts to set up inter-ministerial IHL committees.
Knowledge of IHL is particularly important for armed andsecurity forces potentially involved in situations of armed
conﬂicts, whether as belligerents or as part of an international peace support operation. Drawing on the services ofexperieced delegates, mainly former serving military or police ofﬁcers, the ICRC advises armed and security forces on
how best to integrate IHL into their training programmes.

The ICRC regularly works with universities teaching IHL as part oftheir international law or international relations courses. It alsoreaches out to future leaders through its `Exploring Humanitarian Law’ programme, which allows secondary school students
to discover IHL using an innovative mix of learning methods.

In South East and East Asia including Japan, these activities are the main responsibility of the ICRC’s regional IHL
centre based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Working closelywith the Japanese Red Cross Society, the staff of the centre is in regular contact with government, the Self-Defence Forces, universities and others interested in strengthening the legal protection of victims of armed conﬂicts.

Photo: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Participants at the ICRC Roundtable on Customary
International Humanitarian Law

To ﬁnd out more about ICRC activities, please contact:

Regional Delegation Kuala Lumpur- Military and police forces - Nick Nobbs, Svend Dissing

Level 11, Wisma UOA Damansara
No. 50, Jalan Dungun, Damansara Heights
50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60(3) 2084 1800
Fax: +60(3) 2084 1999
e-mail: kuala_lumpur.kua@icrc.org
www.icrc.org- Legal advisory service - Alexandre Faite- Universities - Professor Umesh Kadam- Exploring Humanitarian Law - Sukhdave Singh