ICRC staff members Andreas Notter and Eugenio Vagni are still being held in the Philippines. Fellow captive Mary Jean Lacaba was released on 2 April. The ICRC's head of operations for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific, Alain Aeschlimann, comments on the current situation.
Has the ICRC received any recent information about the situation of Andreas Notter and Eugenio Vagni?
Andreas and Eugenio made contact with the ICRC on Tuesday 14 April. They were also able to call their families on Sunday 12 April. Hearing their voices again more than two weeks after their last call was a relief for all of us. They appeared to be calm, although tired and increasingly weary of their situation. Their most important concern is to see the crisis, which has now lasted for over 90 days, resolved quickly and safely. Three months is a very long time when you are forced to live as they do, in difficult circumstances and under constant stress.
We remain concerned about their safety, which is of paramount importance to us. We are once again asking all those involved in this crisis to avoid taking any action that could put them at risk. Their well-being must come first. No action should be undertaken that could put their lives at risk.
We are also renewing our appeal to the abductors to spare the lives of Eugenio and Andreas and to let them go safe and sound, immediately and unconditionally.
How are the families coping with the ordeal?
There are no words to describe the situation of the families. It was already incredibly difficult and painful for them when the abduction occurred and during the first days of the crisis. So imagine how it must be for them to live through the ordeal every day for three months - to fear for the lives of their loved ones when threats are made against them and then to hear or read that something positive might happen, only to have their hopes dashed when it turns out to be false.
We are doing our best to keep them informed, comfort them and give them the support they need. It goes without saying that we are doing everything we can to obtain the safe and swift release of their loved ones, which is the only thing that can bring the families any real relief.
We greatly admire the incredible courage and resilience that our colleagues and their families have demonstrated throughout these three months. We hope this ordeal will be over as soon as possible.
The release of Mary Jean on 2 April brought a lot of hopes and expectations. Does the ICRC have any idea as to when Eugenio and Andreas will be freed?
We have no way of knowing that. We remain hopeful that the crisis can be resolved and are sparing no effort to achieve this end as soon as possible. We remain in close contact with all those involved in the search for a solution to this crisis, in particular the local and national authorities.
Lots of people are working behind the scenes and we are grateful for all genuine efforts to find a solution. The release of Mary Jean is a first positive move. But to avoid jeopardizing ongoing efforts to secure our colleagues' release, we won't go into more detail about them. We just hope that talks will finally yield the result we have been striving for every day for the last three months: the unconditional release of our colleagues, safe and sound.