After days of continuous rains and floods, residents of Las Navas municipality, Northern NEWSLETTER Samar, receives timely food assistance. Isyuk/ICRC Anastasia ICRC - February 2011 A BUSY YEAR AHEAD

WORKING IN CONFLICT-AFFECTED AREAS 2 Liberation Front. We welcome any steps that the ICRC helped renovate the Zamboanga may lead to the stabilization of the situation migration centre by improving access to VITAL HELP FOR 48,000 FLOOD in conflict-affected parts of the water and sanitation, and provided hygiene VICTIMS IN NORTHERN SAMAR 2 and allow people to lead normal lives. In the kits to its temporary residents. This should A BREATH OF COMFORT meantime, however, many communities complement the efforts of authorities in IN OVERCROWDED JAILS 3 still live in fear as internal clan disputes improving the situation of migrants. Many in Central , often referred to as went abroad from archipelago due to YOUNG REPORTER FROM MEXICO ridos, persist in causing displacements and ongoing violence and difficult economic VISITS THE PHILIPPINES 4 loss of lives. Various situations of violence, conditions. destruction of property, and kidnappings for ransom are continuing, and pose serious The Call for Action (CFA) initiative, which Editorial by Jean-Daniel Tauxe security concerns. addresses causes and consequences of Head of Delegation overcrowding in jails and prisons, has Improving access to healthcare, water been gradually expanding. Following the and sanitation remains a priority for the example of City Jail, the working The new year greeted the Philippines with ICRC in Central Mindanao, where it assist group on improvements in the criminal enduring rains and floods in parts of the the most vulnerable people. Rice and justice process was launched in , country. Global weather pattern changes vegetable seeds, along with farm tools, Leyte. such as La Niña, associated with lower were distributed in 2010, allowing more sea surface temperatures, coupled with than 3,800 families to resume farming The new BJMP manual sets national manmade environmental degradation, and reduce their dependence on loans. standards for living conditions in jails. continue to affect the lives of many Reduced economic pressure gives people Overall, about 25,000 inmates so far have Filipinos. better chances for a fresh start. benefited from structural improvements in the framework of the CFA. Innovative Although the ICRC’s task consists mainly in While Sulu archipelago remains off-limits solutions, such as the use of solar panels for bringing aid to people adversely affected to the ICRC due to prevailing insecurity, heating water in jail facilities to help reduce by armed conflict and other situations of the organization responds to the needs maintenance costs and adverse effects on violence, we also work in partnership with of people through local partners. A good the environment. the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to help example is the water project in , people in sensitive areas when calamities which is currently providing several The Philippines remains a key operation occur. Just this month, the ICRC provided a thousand people with safe drinking water, for ICRC in South-East Asia. Whatever half-month supply of food to around 48,000 implemented by local actors with the humanitarian challenges 2011 brings, the people in conflict- and flood-stricken areas support of the ICRC. ICRC will continue to face them in a neutral, of Northern Samar. impartial way. The ICRC has also begun focusing on This year also opened with the resumption the issue of migration, a growing global of peace talks between the Government of phenomenon that presents numerous the Philippines and the National Democratic humanitarian challenges. In its first Front, as well as with the Moro Islamic intervention for migrants in the Philippines,

NEWSLETTER WORKING IN CONFLICT-AFFECTED AREAS

In Central Mindanao, the ICRC assists the most (Carmen) area, the ICRC provided physical rehabilitation and prosthetic support vulnerable families who were affected by food and basic items. through the Jubilee Center in , conflict to restore their livelihood. At the end where a gait training area was constructed. of 2010, over 3,800 families received rice or Water-network extension projects, which aim vegetable seeds and cuttings along with tools to bring drinking water to nine barangays In the Visayas region, where armed clashes to help them revive agricultural production. The hosting 11,000 people have started in , between the government forces and the ICRC, in collaboration with ARMM Department North , and will continue in 2011. NPA result in people’s lack of access to basic of Social Welfare and Development and the This is the most ambitious water project the services, the ICRC reaches out to the affected Department of Agriculture, also provided ICRC has ever undertaken in the Philippines. and remote communities. In Samar, it helped to 46 tiller machines (kuliglig) to farmers’ improve access to safe water and sanitation for associations for community use. This program In order to improve access to healthcare, the over 6,400 residents through the construction may be expanded further in 2011. ICRC continues to provide medicines and of two new gravity-fed water supply systems. surgical items to 14 hospitals throughout The ICRC also distributed seeds and gardening Responding to the needs of 600 families who Mindanao, and finance individual treatments in tools to vulnerable communities in Northern were displaced due to the local dispute in particularly vulnerable cases. It also facilitates Samar already affected by armed conflict.

VITAL HELP FOR 48,000 FLOOD VICTIMS IN NORTHERN SAMAR Anastasia Isyuk/ICRC Anastasia

After weeks of heavy rains, the roads in Las Navas municipality are difficult to pass. One of the Red Cross jeepneys loaded with rice bags got stuck in the mud. Thanks to joint efforts of the drivers, it was quickly pulled out and reached the distribution point. Anastasia Isyuk/ICRC Anastasia

Some villagers have to go a long way to receive rice, sardines, oil and other items. The distribution point is set in an area accessible by boat, motorcycle or on foot. It takes a boat ride and a jungle walk to reach some remote barangays.

SUPPORTING THE Isyuk/ICRC Anastasia As distributions carry on, rain gives way to PHILIPPINE RED CROSS blazing heat. More than 1,000 people are waiting to receive assistance while local In February, ICRC transferred food and basic items to the Philippine Red Cross to allow authorities help organize the process. Senior them respond to the needs of flood-stricken communities. Around 15,000 people in villagers and other vulnerable people are Surigao del Sur have been given a half-month supply of food. Each family was given 25 given a priority. PRC and local community kilograms of rice, six litres of oil, 12 tins of sardines and other items. At the same time, volunteers assist then to pass through the line about 7,000 people in Surigao del Norte were provided with a set of basic items. and carry heavy items. Improvements in Teresa District Jail bring relief to inmates, who now enjoy more air and light inside their cells. Annalisa Crivellari/ICRC Annalisa

“Moreover, because adequate funding will be required to meet the standards, the A BREATH OF COMFORT manual will enable the BJMP to present a more accurate picture of the jail situation and argue to facilitate the requirement for further IN OVERCROWDED JAILS resources,” he added. Fresh air from the mountains

Like food and water, air and light are just as valuable In another Rizal town, detainees in Teresa for those detained inside overcrowded facilities. In this District Jail enjoy the fresh breeze of mountain air. Some walls were demolished to give way story, Oliver Ortega tells how seemingly small changes to windows and iron bars in the small three- to ventilation brought sighs of relief to inmates in two story facility. “A few months ago, it was very dark in here,” Rizal jails. said Mark (not his real name.) “That’s the only window we had,” he said, pointing to an almost square-foot hole in the wall across the row of bunk beds but wherein hardly any light At the courtyard of the San Mateo Municipal Introducing new national standards comes in. Jail where inmates receive visiting relatives, Tony (not his real name) enjoys the brief In November 2010, the BJMP published its first Through its jail improvement activities, the comfort of moving air outside his cell amidst 68-page manual on habitat, water, sanitation, ICRC in coordination with Supt. Amado the midday heat. Above him, the sky is cloudy, and kitchen in jails. The manual stipulates the Concepcion Jr., warden of Teresa District Jail, with signs of heavy rain approaching. national standards for the living conditions of helped remove one of the interior walls in detainees in the Philippines. It provides, for Mark’s cell and replaced it with iron bars. The “Afternoons like this used to be more difficult example, that in all places where detainees ICRC also supported the construction of a new to take before they widened the windows,” are required to live or work, “the windows window overlooking the mountains in the said Tony, referring to the 1.5 ft-high window shall be large enough to enable the detainees municipality of Teresa. which replaced the mere horizontal slit high to read or work by natural light, and shall be above their cell’s wall. constructed to allow the entrance of fresh air “We began widening the cells and even placed whether or not there is artificial ventilation.” marble floor tiles, which supported the local The windows lined with iron bars were tile industry here in the town of Teresa, to help constructed with the support of the ICRC, The manual is a product of the BJMP- alleviate the intolerable conditions of inmates. which has been working with the Bureau of ICRC working group on upgrading penal The ICRC helped hasten the renovations we Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and infrastructures, a part of the Call for Action were doing in our jail,” said Supt. Concepcion. Chief Insp. Silas Laurio Jr., warden of the San process. It is an initiative started by the ICRC Mateo jail, to improve the living conditions of in 2007 to prompt the government agencies Asked if they were not worried that water inmates. concerned to address the consequences of may go in when it rains because of the new overcrowding in Philippine jails and prisons. openings in their cell, Mark and his cellmates “Even with several electric fans, it was joked that they actually run toward the extremely hot and humid inside their cells. “Some of the main problems tackled with jails window to feel the rain and get wet. Detainees are human beings who have a authorities are overcrowding and dilapidated right to live decently. That is why we had the structures,” said Andres Casal, the ICRC’s water “We are happy with the changes in our cell,” windows installed,” said Chief Insp. Laurio. and habitat coordinator in the country. “By Mark said. The changes brought not only relief having national standards, the BJMP provides to their jail condition, he added. “It also made Thanks to proper ventilation, Tony’s cellmates a framework that stipulates what a dignified us feel more human, that it feels good to know agreed that it is no longer as hot as before, the detention facility should be—one that meets that there are others out there who still care air flow has improved, and they sleep better as the needs of inmates in accordance with for us.” it is now much cooler at night. minimum recommended standards.” Oliver Ortega YOUNG REPORTER SILLIMAN TOPS MOOT FROM MEXICO VISITS COURT CONTEST The Silliman University team outshined 13 other law THE PHILIPPINES schools to emerge as champions in last year’s national moot court competition on international humanitarian law (IHL). The team from City clinched the top prize in the finals held 20 November 2010 at the Supreme Court en banc session hall. They were adjudged as best team by a panel of judges led by Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and lawyer Harry Roque. They will be sent by the ICRC to the regional finals in Hong Kong in March.

AFP LAUNCHES HANDBOOK ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND IHL Joey Sem Dalumpines/ICRC

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) released its Mariel gamely picks a piece of cooked sweet potato during her visit to an ICRC-assisted “Soldiers’ Handbook on Human Rights and International vegetable garden in , . Humanitarian Law” to help guide officers and men about the dos and don’ts of conducting field and combat Mariel García Montes, 20, a philosophy student in Mexico City and the winner operations. The 172-page book, which was printed with of ICRC’s Young Reporter competition, visited the Philippines in February. She the support of the ICRC, was launched during the first spent a week in Mindanao, talking to young people affected by armed conflict, conference on Human Rights and IHL on 17 December and met volunteers of the Philippine Red Cross. This is what she shared with us 2010 in Camp Aguinaldo. before she left: The new chief of the AFP Human Rights Office, “I have learned more about the lives of those who are in a situation of conflict and Col. Domingo Tutaan Jr., said during the launch that humanitarian aid by spending 12 days in the Philippines than I did by reading they envisioned one book to be given per squad to about the same topics for years. Before I came here, I knew conflict existed, but ensure that soldiers develop a better understanding of didn’t expect to meet people who became amputees because war reached their why they need to protect and respect both laws. Jean- own backyards. I also knew that there are many people working to change this. Daniel Tauxe, head of ICRC delegation in the Philippines, I just didn’t expect to see it in the form of 16-year-olds running region-wide peace- commended the release of the handbook as it showed building programs. My visit to the ICRC and PRC was full of learning opportunities the AFP’s commitment to promote awareness and that I aim to share with other young people through my report.” compliance with human rights and IHL.

CUSTOMARY IHL DATABASE In 1996, the ICRC, in consultation with experts legal protection of victims of armed conflict, to navigate. It will be an essential resource from around the world, embarked on a thereby reducing the human cost of conflict. for anyone interested in the application major study to identify rules of customary Since its publication the customary law study and interpretation of IHL and for any further international humanitarian law (IHL). The has been recognized as an important legal review of State practice carried out to assess resulting publication, which appeared in 2005, reference with regard to international and customary IHL. has been hailed as a landmark document non-international armed conflicts including seeking to identify the common core of IHL by courts, international organizations and binding on all parties to all types of armed non-governmental organizations. For more information, please go to conflict. www.icrc.org/customary-ihl The ICRC has launched a FREE online version The study makes it easier to identify and apply of the study with 50 % more content than the For hard copies of Volume I, log on to customary IHL and therefore to enhance the original printed version. The database is easy www.cambridge.org/uk/law/cihl

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