Free Republic

Red Cross appoints Pierre Krahenbuhl, who resigned as UNRWA chief amid ethical abuse probe, as as its next director-general. The Red Cross announced on Friday that it has appointed Pierre Krahenbuhl, the former head of the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees” UNRWA, as its next director-general.

"My mother did not deserve to come back this way," said Tal Amano, Avraham's daughter. "She came with a heartbeat of 40 and a body temperature of 28 degrees (82.4F), semiconscious and injured all over. She was kept in unfair conditions.".. "My mother is proof of the insane cruelty of this organization. All of the international rescue organizations must do everything, Israel needs to do everything, to make the aid accessible as quickly as possible. Every hour is critical. If she had arrived after one more day, she likely would not be here. She is fighting for her breaths."

all information on the number and personal details of the Ukrainian fighters who left the steel plant will remain confidential and will not be made public, the spokesperson said. “We will not share publicly the lists or names of people we visited, or those who we visit in the future,” she said. Hodeib made the remarks when asked how many Ukrainian soldiers from Azovstal, including those wounded, the ICRC has registered so far and whether their lists will be published, a figure that is unknown so far.

The millions donated to Ethiopia in 1985 thanks to Live Aid were supposed to go towards relieving a natural disaster. In reality, donors became participants in a civil war. Many lives were saved, but even more may have been lost in Live Aid's unwitting support of a Stalinist-style resettlement project Isn't it better to do something rather than give in to despair or cynicism and do nothing? This is the reproachful question familiar to anyone who has criticised organisations that view themselves as dedicated to doing good in the world. To those UN agencies, relief organisations and development groups working...

WASHINGTON — An American kidnapped two years ago in Yemen while helping coordinate aid for Unicef and the Red Cross also had a second, secret role: He was shipping materials for elite military commandos under a clandestine contract his employer had with the Pentagon. The arrangement with Special Operations forces has never been made public. {snip} Mr. Darden’s work offers a rare look into the shadowy world of military contractors that operate in lawless war zones like Yemen, Somalia and Libya. But arrangements like the one Transoceanic had with Special Operations forces can cast suspicion over aid workers, potentially putting...

Following reports that a Red Crescent ambulance passed by the site of Friday's deadly terrorist attack and ignored the victims as they lay dying, the Israeli government will be launching an international campaign against the organization, which in principle does not treat Jews - despite being bound to treat all casualties regardless off their identity. Israel's Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service, by contrast, regularly treats Palestinians. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordered the foreign ministry to lodge a stern complaint with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, under whose auspices the Red Crescent operates, demanding an...

The United States intelligence community does not believe the core of al Qaeda was behind this week's attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, a U.S. intelligence official told CNN Thursday. The official said the picture is becoming clearer within the intelligence community as to what group or groups were responsible for the attack. Given what officials know about al Qaeda in Libya, U.S. intelligence believes it is very unlikely that core al Qaeda was behind the attack. But the official said the intelligence does not rule out that the attack was perpetrated by al Qaeda sympathizers.

Marking the 5th anniversary of Gilad Shalit’s capture by Hamas, the International Red Cross (ICRC) has now, for the first time, called on Hamas to prove that he is still alive. Shalit was 19 when he was captured on June 25, 2006 by Hamas terrorists, only a few months after he began his three-year compulsory IDF service. He was serving at the time on Israel’s border with Gaza, when several terrorists tunneled under the border, killed two soldiers, and abducted Shalit into Gaza. His whereabouts have been unknown ever since. “Because no sign of life has been had from Shalit...

...most of the front page news you will see is about a loony Pastor of a small Florida Church burning a Koran…..Bizarro World I tell you. I wonder what the Obama doctrine says about this? At least 1,000 Christians were slaughtered this week in at the Salesian Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus mission in Duekoue, Ivory Coast by Muslim troops loyal to Alassane Ouattara. The state-run media has been slow to report the story. The conflict in Ivory Coast began in 2002. The country is divided between the Muslim north and Christian south. This is a conflict that has...

More Afghan captives head for Cuba Security at the base has been massively beefed up Another 30 Taleban and al-Qaeda prisoners have left Afghanistan by plane for Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, it is reported. The prisoners, who were shackled and had white caps covering their faces, boarded a C-17 transport plane at trhe US base in Kandahar, the Associated Press reports. Each prisoner was flanked by two US soldiers as they walked across the tarmac to the aircraft. Most lights at the US base were switched off and security was tight. The first group of 20 detainees arrived in Guantanamo ...

How to be a bigot under the guise of a "critic of Israel" Try and substitute 'anti-Zionist' instead of anti-Jewish, at least make sure, your references convey such messages. Avoid all humanitarian aspects of Israel's humane army in its constant fight against Arabs who trick them into firing upon civilians, ommit all the risky steps Israeli soldiers take in going house to house searching for bombs/bombers, instead of just leveling the place down (if Zionists were not caring about civilians), the repeated notification for residents to leave a certain area ahead of anti-terror operations, in order to give a chance...

CAMP CROPPER, Iraq – Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross met with military leaders and visited detainees here, April 23, to assess the USF-I Theater Internment Facility's operation and treatment of Iraqi prisoners. The Red Cross delegation was welcomed by Col. Grace Edinboro, commander of the 49th Military Police Brigade’s Tactical Command Post, and Lt. Col. Eric Mullai, commander, 192nd Military Police Battalion, the unit currently overseeing TIF operations. The ICRC representatives met Maj. Gen. Nelson Cannon, USF-I deputy commanding general for detainee operations and provost marshal general, to conclude their week-long visit. This visit is one...

SNIPPET: "How Did the Posting of the Photos Actually Play Out? 1. At some point in July 2009, International Red Cross delegates photographed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his nephew, Ammar al-Baluchi. These photos were taken as part of a service that the ICRC has provided to at least the 107 detainees at Guantanamo who opted in. The service includes provide their families with photographed evidence that the detainee is alive and not being mistreated. 2. Specifically, each detainee selects their two favorite poses and print copies of those photographs along with a note from the ICRC are transmitted by the...

It's no longer possible to mince words, or pretend we didn't know. The International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report that the Bush administration's so-called "enhanced" interrogation methods, used on "high-value" terrorism suspects, plainly constituted torture. The time for euphemisms is over, and the time for accountability has arrived. The Red Cross report -- published this week in its entirety for the first time by the New York Review of Books -- is a stunning account of how the Bush administration spat on our laws, traditions and ideals. I realize that many Americans, given the scope...

The confidential report, published Sunday, could bolster calls for legal action against the Bush administration. By Jonathan Adams posted March 16, 2009 at 10:35 am EST•A daily summary of global reports on security issues.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) concluded in 2007 that US methods to extract information from prisoners at secret CIA jails as part of the "war on terror" amounted to torture, according to excerpts from a confidential report published on the website of the The New York Review of Books on Sunday.With US President Barack Obama on record as backing the prosecution of officials involved...

The International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report that the Bush administration's treatment of al-Qaeda captives "constituted torture," a finding that strongly implied that CIA interrogation methods violated international law, according to newly published excerpts from the long-concealed 2007 document. The report, an account of alleged physical and psychological brutality inside CIA "black site" prisons, also states that some U.S. practices amounted to "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." Such maltreatment of detainees is expressly prohibited by the Geneva Conventions. The findings were based on an investigation by ICRC officials who were granted exclusive access to the...

NGOs: Europe once urged Colombia to pay any price to free hostages. Now it pitches a fit when its own bill comes due. The International Red Cross' fury at Colombia for improper use of its emblem to save 15 lives is out of line.The argument goes that Colombia shouldn't have let an undercover soldier use a Red Cross bib over his Palestinian keffiyeh (a get-up that FARC found perfectly credible) to rescue 15 hostages on July 2, because it might make the FARC and groups like it distrustful of future Red Cross efforts. "If authenticated, these images could clearly establish...

Bogotá (ICRC) – Yesterday, 23 July, in a rural area of Vigía del Fuerte, Antioquia department, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) received eight civilians who had been held by the FARC-EP since 17 July 2008. The operation was the outcome of a strictly confidential dialogue between the parties concerned and the ICRC’s neutral and independent humanitarian action. The civilians were released following a request made by the FARC to the ICRC. The ICRC will continue to support efforts to find means of obtaining the release of other hostages and detainees in the hands of armed groups....

The Salvadoran Cuscatlán Battalion delivered $4 million in medical supplies to the al Kut Director General of Health Warehouse April 1. The supplies, donated by the International Red Cross, are for Iraqis affected by the recent upsurge in violence by criminals. The donated supplies will replenish what was used during the civil unrest in the city and will increase supplies on hand. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles. FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — The Salvadoran Cuscatlán Battalion delivered $4 million in medical supplies to the al Kut Director General of Health Warehouse April 1.“It is very important...

BAGHDAD: Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr called yesterday for one million Iraqis to march against US "occupation" next week after his Mehdi Army militia battled US and government troops.Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki yesterday said he planned to launch more crackdowns on militiamen as radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr called for a massive anti-US protest next week.Maliki said future assaults by government forces could not be ruled out after last week's crackdown in Baghdad and the southern city of Basra, which mostly targeted fighters of Sadr's Mahdi Army militia.The United Nations yesterday urged more efforts to clear Iraq of...