A round-up of activities carried out by the ICRC in Nepal between January and June 2014.
Helping families of missing persons
Helping the families of people missing in connection with the conflict remains a priority. The ICRC intercedes with various bodies on behalf of families seeking information on the fate of missing relatives. In cooperation with the Nepal Red Cross Society and other organizations, the ICRC provides psychosocial, economic and legal assistance to the families of missing persons.
In January-June 2014, the ICRC:
- registered three new cases (including two minors at the time of their disappearance);
- closed four cases, in three of which the missing persons were located alive, while one family was satisfied with the information given clarifying the fate of the fourth missing person;
- obtained information concerning the exact location of seven individual graves;
- provided assistance for the psychological, legal and economic need to almost 400 families (over 2,300 people) in 16 districts.
Restoring contact between family members
In January-June 2014, the ICRC:
- organized a workshop for nine participants from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, with the objective of enhancing the skills and capacity in restoring family links services;
- collected five Red Cross messages in conjunction with the Nepal Red Cross Society (in addition, two messages collected in 2013 were sent back to the sender);
- collected one tracing request which was forwarded to the Turkish Red Crescent for follow-up action; - successfully transmitted three salamats (verbal family greetings), which were forwarded from Malaysia, to their families;
- assisted ten Bhutanese refugees to visit three relatives detained in Bhutan;
- issued 32 travel documents for resettled refugees (26 Pakistani citizens, three Somalis and three stateless/unregistered Bhutanese refugees).
Physical rehabilitation
The ICRC and the Nepal Red Cross Society help people who suffered injury or disablement during the conflict to obtain access to government reparation schemes. In addition, some of these people were referred to one of two ICRC-supported physical rehabilitation centres, to which the organization provides equipment, consumables and training to enable the centres to furnish patients with custom-made artificial limbs and support devices.
In January-June 2014, the ICRC:
- provided physical rehabilitation services to 670 disabled people, including mine/explosive remnants of war/improvised explosive device victims. Services were available at the ICRC-supported Yerahiti National Rehabilitation Centre and the Green Pasture Hospital;
- sent one technician from the centre to formal schooling abroad, while others benefited from on-the-job training; helped one conflict-disabled person to restore a degree of self-sufficiency through an ICRC-supported micro-economic initiative. facilitated first aid for more than 2,000 injured people through ICRC-supported National Society teams.
Specialized training
The ICRC helps the Nepalese army and police as well as health and rescue services to improve their emergency preparedness and response. The organization trains security personnel in emergency first aid, and hospital personnel in the management of emergency trauma cases and mass casualties.
In January-June 2014, the ICRC:
- delivered first-aid training to nearly 50 armed police force officers;
- likewise, 14 APF trainers and 12 Nepal Red Cross Society trainers honed their skills through trainers’ refresher course;
- organized two refresher courses at which some 50 Red Cross volunteers enhanced their first aid skills; - helped one orthopaedic surgeon attend an overseas training course to develop his knowledge of mass-casualty management.
Promotion of international humanitarian law
The ICRC promotes IHL among the authorities, the armed forces and academic institutions.
In January-June 2014, the ICRC:
- hosted the 5th South Asian Conference on IHL, attended by over 35 senior government officials from the South Asia region and Iran; attended, in company with the Nepal Red Cross Society, the function organized by the Government of Nepal to mark the 50th anniversary of the country’s accession to the 1949 Geneva Conventions;
- sent four government officials to participate in the 24th South Asia Teaching Session (SATS) on IHL held in Colombo, Sri Lanka;
- provided technical and expert support to a two-day course on international human rights law for 25 senior APF officers;
- delivered, at the request of the National Human Rights Commission, a session on IHL for 30 Nepal police service officers;
- organized a two-day workshop at which 16 international law teachers from five institutes were able to bring their knowledge of IHL up to date;
- provided support to a team from Nepal taking part for the first time in the Asia-Pacific IHL Moot Court competition; facilitated the participation of two law teachers from two law schools in the Advanced IHL South Asian Academics Training Programme in New Delhi, India;
- organized two photo exhibitions, entitled ‘150 Years of Humanitarian Action’, in the east and west of the country.
Cooperation with the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS)
The ICRC helps the Nepal Red Cross Society to improve the services it provides for victims of violence and natural disaster, through, for example, first aid and ambulance services, restoring contacts between family members, and proper management of human remains.
In January-June 2014, the ICRC:
- donated its existing stock of almost 750 non-food items (NFIs) to the NRCS, enabling the National Society to replenish its stock; continued collaboration with the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR) on emergency mine risk education;
- the MoPR coordinated the marking of International Mine Risk Education and Victim Assistance Day on 4 April 2014;
- organized, through its gender and inclusion department, one regional workshop, a training-of-trainers course for 20 participants, and a training session for 56 staff from its Nepalese headquarters and district chapters.