Ahead of The international Day of the Disappeared on the 30th of August, the ICRC is providing new material from Colombia where nearly 50,000 people are officially missing.
2010 to 2011 have seen a major series of crises which have affected ever increasing numbers of people. Demand for humanitarian assistance has reached an unprecedented level at a time when long term conflicts continue unabated, according to the ICRC's Annual Report launched in Geneva today (26th May 2011).
At over 3.5 million people, Colombia has one of the biggest displaced populations in the world. In a 'forgotten conflict' that has rumbled on for 5 decades, civilians often get caught up in the crossfire.
During two decades of internal violence in Peru in the 1980s and 90s, thousands of people died and 15,000 have been reported missing. Ten years on from the end of violence, great efforts have been made in Peru to respond to the needs of the surviving families.
In Haiti, thousands of people live in anguish, unsure whether their relatives have been buried under the rubble or alive and unable to communicate. In a city where normal communications are shattered, the ICRC is using every means available to help people get find out what happened to loved ones. Satellite phones and a special website (www.icrc.org/familylinks), are helping thousands to call abroad to reassure their families and pass on vital news. Many Haitians depend on support from relatives abroad, so getting in touch is vital. For many, those relatives are now the only ones they have.
ICRC is sending its first emergency relief team of 12 people to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake from Geneva early tomorrow morning. They will support staff already in place.