NEW DELHI: The International Committee of the Red Cross is to be allowed access to detainees in Kashmir and will provide humanitarian life to people in the State.

The Government has taken a decision on allowing the ICRC to begin its activities in Kashmir, with the details of the operations will still be worked out. Apart from providing humanitarian relief to people living in war tom areas, an important aspect of ICRC operations is working with persons in custody.

In its discussions with the Indian Government, the ICRC had pressed this point which the government has agreed to in principle.

When a four member team from the ICRC had visited Kashmir in March this year, one of the items on their schedule was a visit to the prisonors in the gate.

The ICRC would have to coordinate its operations from its office New Delhi as the Government was not in favor of the organization setting up a regular establishment in the State of Jammu & Kashmir. Also the actual dissolution of the humanitarian relief would be handled by the Indian Red Cross.

However, the Indian Red Cross establishment has to be streamlined since the organization has been in a bad state of affairs for some time, with different sections in the Indian Red Cross executive committee at loggerheads with each other.

An ICRC team had made a 10 day visit to the state in March this year when it made a preliminary assessment of the kind of humanitarian relief that was required in the state, The Geneva based organization has had long experience in handling relief operations in areas where there is a conflict situation, its operations are people oriented to alleviate human suffering in difficult situations.

The ICRC submitted a note (o the Home Ministry in April last and since then has had several rounds of discussions with Home Ministry officials on the modalities of their operations. The government’s decision to allow ICRC to operate in Kashmir is a part of the Government’s continuing policy of greater transparency in its functioning.

The humanitarian organization has been talking to the Home Ministry, but the Government has taken the decision to allow the ICRC just before the UN General Assembly session is to begin on September 20.

Article extracted from this publication >>  September 23, 1994