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FAMILYLINKS.ICRC.ORG

The launch of the new familylinks.icrc.org/ar Arabic website is the next step in the efforts to bring Restoring Family Links (RFL) services closer to beneficiaries around the world. This new platform will allow us to respond more efficiently and effectively to RFL needs in the Arabic -speaking world.

FAMILYLINKS.ICRC.ORG AT A GLANCE Since the launch of the website in 2012 until March 2015: NEPAL EARTHQUAKE  A total of over 860,000 pages have been viewed, with a 300% increase since the launch of the Spanish and French versions in September 2013. Within the 72 hours after the disastrous  An average of over 29,000 pages were viewed per month. earthquake in Nepal, close to 1 million  Over 257,000 visits were received to Online Tracing pages on 11 different pages were viewed (more than the total

tracing sub-sites with a total of over 21,300 individual records. of the preceding period), 1874 persons  More than 2,700 electronic Contact Forms were received with individual RFL had registered their names on the requests from beneficiaries; an over 300% increase since January 2013; and website, 156 as “missing,” and 307 as between January to March 2015 over 100 Contact Forms submitted per month. “alive.” The site was put up in record  Through more 87, 000 visits to thematic pages, visitors became familiarized speed; it was online within 8 hours. with general RFL working methods.

Currently, the site contains more than 700 news pieces, photo, and video galleries illustrating RFL work in over 80 different contexts.

RFL ACTIVITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTHERN AFRICA

JORDAN 2014 Working with the Jordan Red Crescent Society, the ICRC has helped around 37,000 Syrian refugees in Al-Zaatari and Al-Azraq camps restore contact with family members in Syria and elsewhere by making international telephone calls available to them.

A 14-year-old Syrian girl was reunited with her family in Egypt and a vulnerable Syrian man living in Lebanon was reunited with his family in Jordan. The ICRC issued 720 travel documents to refugees granted resettlement in third countries. People in Jordan and relatives detained in Jordan or abroad exchanged a total of 575 Red Cross messages. CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / A. Fattah In Zaatari Camp, the ICRC and the Jordanian Red Crescent reconnect

families through international telephone calls. CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / S. Bager © Reuters A mother visits her detained husband with her daughter in Northern Iraq. Syrian women hold up photos of their missing relatives.

IRAQ 2014 SYRIA 2011 - 2014

The ICRC works with the Iraqi Red Crescent to help families Since the beginning of the crisis in 2011, the ICRC received over separated by conflict and violence restore contact through Red 5,000 requests to help trace people with whom their families had Cross messages, phone calls and other means. We help refugees lost contact due to the conflict: more than 4,300 of them are and others displaced by the recent violence to trace missing believed to be detained. The ICRC issued more than 400 travel relatives and those thought to have been arrested or killed. documents for the resettlement abroad of people who could not In 2014, the ICRC exchanged over 6,400 Red Cross messages obtain other official documents. Through the help of the ICRC, six between detainees and their families and made over 10,000 phone children and vulnerable people were reunited with family calls to families informing them that their detained relatives were members abroad, mainly in Egypt. alive and well. 540 tracing cases were opened regarding people who had disappeared or were thought to have been arrested or In 2014, the ICRC exchanged over 400 "salamats" (short oral killed. 317 travel documents were issued to refugees in Iraq who messages) between detainees in Syria and abroad and their had been granted resettlement in third countries. families, and around 70 Red Cross messages. It received more than The ICRC is helping the Iraqi authorities clarify the fate of people 700 requests at its delegation in Damascus regarding detention, missing since the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war and the 1990-1991 Gulf restoring family links and similar matters. The ICRC acted as a War. Our role includes chairing two tripartite mechanisms: one neutral intermediary to facilitate the crossing of over 60 students involving Iraq and Iran, the other Iraq and Kuwait. We facilitate from the occupied Golan to Damascus and vice versa. joint excavation missions and provide technical advice, training and equipment. A total of 388 sets of remains were repatriated YEMEN 2014 between January and June 2014 – 369 Iranian and 19 Iraqi. In 2014, the ICRC collected over The ICRC has interviewed over 170 families of missing persons 4,000 Red Cross messages from across all governorates in Iraq, to find out what they need. civilians and detainees, including migrants, and distributed over 2,500. It exchanged 35 "salamats" between detainees and their CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / C. Martin-Chico families and facilitated 281 Gaza ICRC tracing officer, Mohamed telephone calls between people in woman is Hersi, meets with Somali reunited nationals in Sana’a who are Yemen and detained relatives with her searching for their relatives. abroad, mainly in Guantanamo. daughter People in Yemen addressed 147 requests to the ICRC to search for in Amman, missing relatives, including people who had possibly been detained. Jordan. The ICRC further collected the names of 888 people sought by their Somali families living in Yemen, for broadcasting on a special BBC CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / A. Muhanna radio programme and publication on familylinks.icrc.org.

ISRAEL & THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES 2013 – 2014

In 2013 and 2014, 6,826 detainees received visits under the ICRC family visits programme. In this period, the ICRC organized 106,306 family visits and helped transport 220,202 family members taking part in these visits. It further helped exchange 10,616 "salamats" between detainees and their families. The ICRC collected and distributed just under 5,000 Red Cross messages between detainees in Israeli prisons and their families in the occupied territory. Due to the restrictions on movement between Gaza and the West Bank, the ICRC arranges family visits for visually impaired people who live or study in the West Bank and have families in Gaza. In 2014, we organized seven such visits. LIBYA 2014

In 2014, the ICRC collected 62 Red Cross messages from civilians and detainees (including migrants) and distributed 32. It exchanged 35 "salamats" between detainees and their families. 1,486 phone calls were facilitated by the institution to maintain family links, mostly for migrants. The ICRC issued six ICRC travel documents for people without documentation, most of whom were due to be resettled in third countries but could not obtain travel documents through the normal channels. CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / R. Waudo A young woman in Benghazi speaks to her relatives in Regular phone calls were organised between Libyans and their relatives detained in Ionis, Libya. Guantanamo or Afghanistan. Families addressed 56 requests to locate missing persons to the ICRC. LEBANON 2014 – MARCH 2015

The ICRC and the trained 55 volunteers on Restoring Family Links to help RESTORING them deal with the increasing number of requests resulting from migration and the Syrian conflict. FAMILY LINKS IN 499 Red Cross messages were exchanged mainly between detainees in Lebanon or abroad and their families. The ICRC also exchanged 1,888 “salamats” between detainees and their 2014 families. The families of 1,239 people contacted the ICRC for help tracing missing relatives in In 2014, all around the world, the ICRC other countries, mainly Syria. together with National Societies: Furthermore, the ICRC helped 37 stateless persons of Kuwaiti origin (Bedoon) who had fled  received 823,000 inquiries Syria into Lebanon to regularize their status with Lebanese authorities. 39 Syrian and related to protection and family Palestinian refugees were able to join their families abroad thanks to travel documents issued links services; by the ICRC in Beirut. At the request of the ICRC, the Lebanese authorities allowed 83  distributed nearly 100,000 Red refugees to pass through Lebanon using an ICRC travel document on their way to Cross messages; resettlement abroad.  facilitated over 465,000 phone Since April 2012, the ICRC has interviewed 1,837 families of persons missing as a result of the calls between family members;  conflicts in Lebanon; in 2014 it collected information on 600 additional missing persons. In and reunited 1,531 children with their families. December 2014, it organized the first ever meeting with families of missing persons and

introduced beneficiaries to services of other organizations. EGYPT 2013 – 2014

The Egyptian Red Crescent Society helps Egyptian nationals restore contact with family members when they lose touch for reasons other than a conflict. The ICRC offers these services to refugees and migrants and to Egyptian nationals who have been detained abroad or are living in conflict areas. CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / M. Matar © Egyptian Red Crescent The Egyptian Red Crescent Society is currently handling Families of the missing come together for an ICRC Egyptian Red Crescent volunteer helps a man

50 tracing requests and requests for welfare reports information session held in Saida, Lebanon. returned from Libya to call his family. while the ICRC is handling 435 tracing requests. In 2014, the ICRC located 78 people, working with other National MOROCCO 2014 Societies and seven families were reunited. In 2014, the Moroccan Red Crescent In 2013 and 2014, the Egyptian Red Crescent Society carried out an assessment of Restoring facilitated 6,540 phone calls for third-country nationals Family Links needs in the north of stranded at Salloum, on the Libyan-Egyptian border. Morocco with the support of the ICRC More recently, the Society assisted Egyptian nationals and extended it to other parts of the

returning from Libya. In February and March 2015, the country in 2015. This process was also © Moroccan Red Crescent Egyptian Red Crescent facilitated 4,654 phone calls for an opportunity to boost the capacity of Moroccan Red Crescent volunteers pose for a

people arriving at Cairo airport. the Moroccan Red Crescent. group picture after an RFL training session. The ICRC facilitated 395 phone calls and 21 video calls, In 2014, the ICRC helped exchange 10 Red Cross messages and "salamats"

exchanged 19 "salamats" and collected and distributed between Moroccan prisoners abroad and their families in Morocco.

18 Red Cross messages. Relatives of people detained in Guantanamo and in Afghanistan were able to The ICRC issues an average of 100 ICRC Travel Documents maintain contact through six video telephone calls facilitated by the ICRC. every month. The Moroccan Red Crescent volunteer network is currently handling 10 tracing requests from abroad. ALGERIA 2014 BAHRAIN – KUWAIT – QATAR – Most RFL beneficiaries in Algeria are foreign SAUDI ARABIA – UNITED ARAB detainees or people separated due to conflict, EMIRATES including unaccompanied minors. 2013 – 2015 Working with the , the ICRC is currently also handling 34 tracing In the Gulf Cooperation Countries requests from countries elsewhere in Africa. (GCC) covered by the ICRC Regional ICRC’s tracing efforts for African migrants in Delegation in Kuwait, Restoring Family Links services are provided in Algerian has resulted in 15 people being © Croix-Rouge française successfully located, including one Congolese family reunites thanks to the joint efforts relation to migration, detention,

unaccompanied minor. of the and the ICRC in Algeria. conflict and natural disaster.

In 2014, the ICRC collected 78 Red Cross Messages and distributed 109. It exchanged 299 Working with GCC National Societies "salamats" between foreigners in Algerian prisons and their families and provided food parcels in some areas, the ICRC in 2014: to local detainees. Along with the Algerian Red Crescent, the ICRC further facilitated 16 video  followed up on 109 tracing calls between detainees in Guantanamo and their families in Algeria. requests and was able to re- In cooperation with the Algerian Red Crescent, 61 Red Cross messages, 68 Ramadan cards and establish contact for 10 families;  27 “salamats” were exchanged between Algerian nationals detained abroad and their families. collected 273 Red Cross messages and distributed 194 of

MAURITANIA 2013 – 2014 them;  facilitated 193 phone and video The ICRC works with the Mauritanian Red Crescent to provide Restoring Family Links services calls between detainees abroad and to strengthen the Society’s capacity. Sizeable operations are carried out in Mbera Refugee (mainly in Guantanamo) and Camp, in Bassikonou, on the border with Mali. their families in the GCC; 217 Red Cross messages were collected and 197  transmitted 77 “salamats” from distributed between separated family members; detainees inside and outside the 33 phone calls were facilitated, including 12 GCC to families; between families and their relatives detained in  issued 18 ICRC Travel Guantanamo. The ICRC conveyed 95 short Documents to refugees and "salamats" between detainees and their stateless persons and 10,780 attestations of detentions families. Between 2013 and 2015, the ICRC and The Mauritanian Red Crescent and the ICRC CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / A. Kane received 112 requests to locate missing An ICRC staff member in Mauritania waits to the National Red Crescent Societies of

relatives, and were able to trace 40 people. reunite a young boy with his family after two years. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and The ICRC registered 18 separated children and reunited three of them with their families; 14 Bahrain organized six joint workshops found their parents through other means. for staff and volunteers to strengthen their capacity to provide Restoring TUNISIA 2013 – 2014 Family Links services. In 2013 and 2014, the ICRC received 103 tracing requests from families looking for relatives who had gone abroad and from whom they had received no news. It collected 174 "salamats" from detainees visited by the organization and passed them on to their families abroad.

In 2014, the ICRC and the Tunisian Red Crescent CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / S. Beltifa © Kuwait Red Crescent Society provided 255 phone calls for migrants rescued A Tunisian Red Crescent volunteer helps a Bangladeshi

refugee call home from near the Libyan border. Volunteers from the Kuwait Red Crescent by the Tunisian coastguard, enabling them to take part in a group exercise during sdfsdfsdfsdrestore contact with their families. 72 such calls were provided by the ICRC and the Tunisian Restoring Family Links training. Red Crescent in early 2015.

VISIT FAMILYLINKS.ICRC.ORG TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RESTORING FAMILY LINKS AND EFFORTS TO UNCOVER THE FATE AND WHEREABOUTS OF MISSING PERSONS

The site features:  An interactive map detailing ICRC & National Societies’ RFL operations across the Middle East and North Africa  A demonstration video showcasing the various RFL tools available on the website  Interviews with ICRC staff and National Society volunteers working to uncover the fate of the missing  Updated news on cases, contexts, and operations throughout the region  Audiovisual productions and reportages on RFL activities around the world  Publications and didactic material aimed at strengthening capacity and understanding of RFL activities and needs

familylinks.icrc.org International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – 19 Avenue de la Paix 1202 Geneva, Switzerland