ICRC ICRC - 2017

OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES

ASSISTING CIVILIANS ALONG THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER The ICRC is an independent, neutral organization ensuring humani- We support the population of Region, helping to mitigate the tarian protection and assistance for consequences of hostilities felt by civilians living along the international border. victims of armed conflict and other We help village population find alternative rehabilitation of water supply pipelines, situations of violence. Since 1992, income opportunities to farming in insecure building of metal fencing for a water the ICRC has been present in the areas along the border. In 2017, we reservoir, and installation of water meters, region in relation to the Nagorno- consulted with local authorities to prioritize public taps and other technical Karabakh conflict. Through its the villages of and , where components. Since 2015, we have raised delegations in and Baku socio-economic situations are particularly community awareness on safe behavior and and the mission in Nagorno- challenging. Vulnerable households were danger of mines and unexploded devices Karabakh, the ICRC acts as a neutral identified through a detailed household with our partner, the Armenian Red Cross intermediary between the parties survey with participation of local Red Cross Society (ARCS). This year, we held seminars to the conflict to address issues of volunteers, and 57 families received for over 500 schoolchildren in 10 border primary humanitarian concern. financial assistance to start small-scale communities. Also, we organized 19 first- businesses. Additionally, we provided aid courses with instructors of the ARCS, In , we focus on civilians multipurpose cash assistance to 19 providing life-saving skills and first aid boxes living along the international extremely vulnerable families who were to 205 members of civil protection rescue border, missing persons and their unable to start business activities because of teams, in the scope of the two-year families, mine victims and people their age, health condition or other cooperation program between the Ministry circumstances. In such cases, we work to of Emergency Situations of Armenia, the deprived of their liberty. In build multilateral support from within the ARCS and the ICRC. addition, we promote the community, local authorities and dissemination and implementation With the increased security risks in Tavush organizations to accompany our effort in of the International Humanitarian region, we supported 14 communities to set finding sustainable solutions to their Law (IHL) among national up passive protective measures, which problems. We will continue to work in authorities, academics and military reduced direct exposure of civilians to Aygepar and Dovegh in 2018, while personnel. Our key partner in shooting and shrapnel, enabling the identifying other priority villages for Armenia is the Armenian Red Cross community to live, work and move outdoors subsequent years. Society with whom we coordinate in relative safety. In 2017, we continued to activities aimed at assisting people For the last seven years, we have helped construct safer spaces, wall-in exposed improve the quality and quantity of water windows, and build protective walls for affected by the conflict. available in border communities by kindergartens, schools and other public improving the condition of infrastructure. In buildings, part of which were done thanks to 2017, we supported , Nerkin a new partnership with the ARCS and the Karmiraghbyur and through German Red Cross.

Overview ՝

CLARIFYING THE FATE OF THE MISSING

We support efforts of all the sides to the conflict to determine the fate of the missing and to bring answers to their families.

Since 1992, we have been working on the the ICRC provided the parties to the Ministry of Defense and the Armenian issue of missing people and the plight of conflict an updated list containing around Scientific-Practical Centre of Forensic their families. Under International 4,500 names of the missing people of all Medicine. Humanitarian Law, parties to a conflict ethnic origin registered by its delegations We also encourage the parties to the must do all possible to clarify the fate and in Baku and Yerevan and the mission in conflict to map and protect burial sites whereabouts of people who went missing. Nagorno-Karabakh. This list is a necessary believed to contain the remains of people In line with its mandate, the ICRC offers its tool to help consolidate information and who might have died during the conflict, expertise acting as a neutral intermediary. intensify their efforts towards bringing with a view to their future possible Through our delegations in Yerevan and answers to the families. recovery and identification. We advise Baku and our mission in Nagorno- Since 2014, we have started collecting members of the working group of the Karabakh, we work closely with biological reference samples in the form Armenian Commission on techniques and Commissions on Prisoners of War, of buccal swabs from blood relatives of resources to gather and process Hostages and Missing People and with the missing. In the future, this data can information from witnesses, and to families of missing persons. serve as a complementary tool in identify inhumation sites. We support the Clarification of the fate is a complex identification of human remains when authorities concerned in terms of process which comprises several they are discovered or exhumed. Until technical equipment and advice for components. We gathered detailed data now we have collected samples from 778 fieldwork. on each registered missing person from blood relatives of 298 missing persons. In

the family and handed it over for further Armenia, we work on this in cooperation processing to the Commissions. In 2015, with the ARCS and jointly with the

SUPPORTING FAMILIES OF MISSING PERSONS

We provide multidisciplinary support to families of the missing, by helping them become financially stable or navigate the legal system, and by offering psychosocial assistance.

In their daily lives, many of families of the In our work accompanying families missing face different economic, social, through long periods of uncertainty, as legal and other challenges. Most of all, they wait for news about the fate of their they continue to search for answers, fight missing relative, commemoration for recognition, and talk about their activities address families’ strong desire missing relative, not letting him or her for public acknowledgement of their disappear completely in ambiguity and plight, and their need for recognition and silence. need to remember. They help them to find meaning in their loss, and reaffirm Since 2011, we have been implementing a that the family has not abandoned their comprehensive Accompaniment program loved one, while keeping the memory in collaboration with the Armenian Red alive. We helped the families organize 84 Economic support to families of the Cross and other local partners. As part of commemoration and cultural events, missing goes hand-in-hand with it, regular group meetings were organized where they got together to share psychosocial assistance. Since 2011, we for the families to address their issues memories about their missing loved ones. have carried out a housing assistance with specialists and to have a chance for These included tree planting and writing project for vulnerable households in peer interaction. of memory books, exhibitions of tapestry cooperation with the Fuller Center for made by wives of the missing and visits to Housing Armenia. Through a revolving cultural and historical sites around fund, selected families received interest- Armenia. free loans aimed to improve their housing conditions. Other families of the missing In addition, we organized 25 skill-building received grants to start small businesses workshops which involved 202 relatives of as well as multipurpose grants for urgent the missing. These workshops were household needs. Since the program star- designed to help participants acquire new ted in 2012, we have implemented 226 skills in a group of peers and cope better economic support projects for families of throughout the long process of waiting. missing people, including 13 this year.

2 ՝ Overview

ASSISTING MINE VICTIMS

We help mine victims in Armenia to deal with their wide-ranging challenges.

We provide support to mine victims and Cross and the Armenian Center for Also this year, we provided grants to help their families throughout Armenia, to help Humanitarian Demining and Expertise. In 27 families of mine victims launch income- them deal with their multiple economic, conjunction with the Fuller Center for generating activities. legal, administrative and physical Housing in Armenia, we provided 14 loans challenges. We address their issues in 2017 for families of mine victims to working jointly with the Armenian Red renovate their houses.

ACTING AS A NEUTRAL INTERMEDIARY

We work to protect and assist people across the lines.

Being neutral and impartial, the ICRC is in connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh highlighting their IHL commitments to capable of offering its humanitarian conflict. We help to ensure that they are distinguish between military and civilian assistance in conflict situations and to able to maintain contact with their targets, and applying proportional use of affected people, including prisoners of families and we facilitate their transfer force according to military necessity. war and civilian internees. Based on its and repatriation on both sides of the mandate enshrined in the Geneva international border and the Line of Conventions, the ICRC has special Contact. prerogatives to access and assist these The ICRC also monitors and documents persons in times of armed conflicts. At the alleged violations of International same time, this role does not involve Humanitarian Law (IHL). These violations negotiating the release of detainees of all include incidents such as the killing or sides of conflicts and may only be enacted wounding of civilians, or significant at the request of the concerned parties. property damages. To address such cases, Since 1992, we have visited prisoners of the ICRC maintains its confidential war and civilians deprived of their liberty dialogue with the parties to the conflict,

PROMOTING IHL LEARNING AND NATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION

We encourage efforts of state authorities to integrate IHL in the national legal framework and promote the knowledge among Armenian specialists and armed forces.

We continue to keep contemporary issues Defender’s office and the Ministry of We also encourage learning of IHL among of IHL integration on the agenda and offer Emergency Situations of Armenia. academia and young researchers. By relevant authorities our expertise and partnering with several institutions in technical assistance to promote national We continued to introduce the rules of IHL Armenia such as the American, French implementation. among representatives of the Armenian and Russian-Armenian universities, we Armed Forces, cooperating with the In 2017, we continued the dialogue with organize conferences, summer courses, Ministry of Defense in the scope of the and moot court on IHL, thus engaging the working group on the Criminal Code to joint annual plan. We trained groups of align the new law with IHL standards and students and practitioners from Armenia military instructors, commanders and requirements. and abroad. deputy commanders of border units and To raise the level of awareness of IHL peacekeepers departing for missions among decision-makers and the military, abroad. In addition, we ran six sessions on we organize training courses and run ICRC and IHL basics to troops stationed information sessions. In August, a group along the international border in Tavush of Armenian military investigators learned region. In October, we participated in the of basics of IHL at a seminar co-organized Collective Security Treaty Organization's with the Military Department of the military exercise of the joint rapid reaction Investigative Committee of Armenia. In forces. November, we introduced the ICRC We supported the participation of activities and mandate as well as basics of representatives of the Armenian Armed IHL and the international human rights Forces in training and exchange on a law to staff of the Human Rights regional and international level.

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VISITING PERSONS DEPRIVED OF THEIR LIBERTY

We visit detainees to monitor based on a Memorandum of sentenced to life imprisonment, conditions of their detention and Understanding signed in 1996 with the foreigners who lack family contact and their treatment, and to help them ministries of Interior and National support, and detainees with individual maintain contact with their families. Security, and the Prosecutor General of health needs. the Republic of Armenia. The document Based on its mission, and its right to In 2017, we made 20 visits to various authorized the ICRC to visit all persons humanitarian initiative to protect and detention places. In addition, this year we held in all places of detention in the assist the victims of situations not focused on improving the physical and country. With time, as the penitentiary amounting to armed conflict, established mental well-being of the prison service was transferred to the Ministry of by the Statutes of the International Red population. We donated sport equipment Justice, the Government of Armenia Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the to Kentron and Abovyan prisons, and we renewed the Memorandum in 2001. ICRC takes action whenever it can to currently assess other places of detention improve the treatment and conditions of We cooperate closely with the Ministry of to implement similar projects. The people deprived of their liberty. In Justice, the Criminal Executive process of setting up online video calls for Armenia, we work in internal detention to Department, prisons’ administration and foreign detainees who lack family support people held in civilian places of other related structures in Armenia. Our contacts is underway in collaboration with detention, whose detention is not related internal detention activities focus on visits the Ministry of Justice. to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. ICRC to and follow-up with vulnerable work in Armenian detention places is categories of detainees, including those

PARTNERING WITH THE ARMENIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY

For more than 20 years, the ARCS has tion, tracing service, response to conflict, administering first aid during been our primary partner in Armenia. provision of first aid and psychosocial emergencies. assistance. We work jointly to promote the image and reputation of the Red Cross The ARCS is our key partner in Armenia in Armenia by means of regular and an important member of the dissemination sessions run by the ARCS in International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Many long-term cooperation schools and educational institutions across the country. programs were jointly developed to Together with Danish Red Cross, we support people and communities affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. These continued to support the ARCS in programs have three dimensions aimed at strengthening its Tavush regional branch. In October, this support project expanded working together, learning from each to the branches in Syunik and This year, the ICRC and the ARCS signed a other and preparing jointly for emergencies. Gegharkunik regions. two-year cooperation program with the Ministry of Emergency Situations aimed at With funds provided by the German Red In 2017, with our support, the ARCS training of the Ministry’s staff in various Cross, the ICRC and the ARCS launched a organized activities in different regions of areas including IHL, first aid and dead project in Tavush region aimed to increase Armenia to assist families of missing body management. safety of the border population, especially people. These included commemoration Together with six other National Societies children. As part of this cooperation, safe and cultural events, and visits of Red Cross and the International Federation of Red playgrounds and other spaces are set up volunteers to vulnerable elderly relatives Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the in local schools and kindergartens. The of the missing. The ICRC and the ARCS ARCS and the ICRC continued developing project also focuses on the establishment worked together to collect biological a joint response strategy in case Armenia of a medical emergency response chain, reference samples from blood relatives of faces the effects of a conflict or other which means that through training, local missing people in Armenia. situations of violence. We help the ARCS in strengthening its Red Cross volunteers will be capable of capacities in areas such as communica-

ICRC Mission Statement

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. The ICRC also endeavors to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the Geneva Conventions and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It directs and coordinates the international activities conducted by the Movement in armed conflicts and other situations of violence.

ICRC Delegation in Armenia I Address: 73/1 Nairi Zarian St., 0014 Yerevan I Tel: +374 10 29 74 15 I E-mail: [email protected] I facebook.com/ICRCam/