Senior officers of the Joint Services learnt about the principles of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) at a workshop the GDF hosted recently at Base Camp Ayanganna.
In a press release the Guyana Defence Force said Chief of the ICRC Regional Delegation Zoran Jovanovich said the organisation was formed 150 years ago in recognition of the need “to preserve a measure of humanity in the midst of war.” He said too the ICRC’s mission is to protect and assist the civilian and military victims of armed conflicts and internal disturbances in a strictly neutral basis.
The ICRC’s fundamental principles are humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. The organisation’s tasks include visiting prisoners of war and civilian detainees; searching for missing persons; transmitting messages between family members separated by conflict; reunifying dispersed families; providing food, water and medical assistance to civilians without access to these basic necessities; spreading knowledge of humanitarian law; monitoring compliance with that law and drawing attention to violations and contributing to the development of humanitarian law.
The ICRC is supported by the Geneva Conventions and works through the local Red Cross Society and other similar national societies worldwide. Meanwhile, Advisor to the Sub-Regional Delegation, Commodore (ret’d) Anthony Franklin of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) gave an overview of international law and other applicable standards related to the integration of the law into the training and operational doctrine of armed forces and the police. The former Chief of Defence of the T&T Defence Force also pointed out that members of the Region’s security forces, including police forces needed to have a better understanding of the issues related to the use of force and the rights of victims of conflict since they tended to work closely with each other. He said the shared knowledge across the Region would prompt better relations in the conduct of the work of the national Red Cross societies, thereby enabling the ICRC to fulfil its role in the Region.
