South Africa: Dialogue towards more effective humanitarian action

Pretoria (ICRC) – The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, has completed a two day official visit to South Africa.

During his visit Mr Maurer met with South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minster of Home Affairs Malusi Gigiba; Ambassadors of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) accredited to South Africa; as well as South African thought leaders and decision makers in academia, business and civil society.

"I valued the opportunity to engage the South African government on how it can promote more effective responses to humanitarian crises in Africa," said Mr Maurer. "I look forward to maintaining a constructive dialogue with South Africans on migration as well as their support for efforts to create stability in a region where the ICRC has been active for decades now."

Mr Maurer's visit to South Africa follows 12 days in other countries on the continent where he met refugees and people displaced by the conflict in the Lake Chad region, communities affected by violence in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and engaged the African Union Peace and Security Council in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

For further information or to setup interviews, please contact:
Tendayi Sengwe, Head of Communications, ICRC Pretoria, Tel: +263 7722490960, Twitter: @tendayi_sengwe