The magnitude of the refugee problem in the former Yugoslavia, unprecedented in Europe since the Second World War, prompted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to convene an international meeting in Geneva on 29 July 1992 aimed at mobilizing support for some 2,300,000 people who have fled the fighting since the beginning of the Yugoslav crisis in 1991.

One of the main objectives of International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, which bring together Red Cross and Red Crescent institutions and the States party to the Geneva Conventions, is to promote respect for international humanitarian law during armed conflicts.

Mr. Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the ICRC, has conducted a number of missions since the beginning of the year. They have taken him to the United States, to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and to Germany, Portugal and Norway.

Since June 1991 the ICRC has, in accordance with its mandate, been running large-scale and diverse programmes for the victims of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Its activities focus on providing protection for prisoners and for civilians affected by the fighting, tracing missing persons and arranging for the exchange of news between the members of separated families, distributing food and other aid to displaced people and vulnerable groups, providing medical and surgical assistance to the warwounded; and of course spreading knowledge of international humanitarian law, especially among armed forces of all parties to the conflict.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have the honour of informing you that the Solomon Islands Red Cross Society has been officially recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross. This recognition, which took effect on 3 October 1991, brings to 148 the number of National Societies that are members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

In April and May ICRC President Cornelio Sommaruga carried out missions in Switzerland, Portugal and Spain.

On 13 August, the International Committee of the Red Cross appealed to the belligerents — Serbs, Croats and Muslims alike — urgently calling on them to respect international humanitarian law. The text of the appeal is given below.

“Following the visits its delegates have conducted during the last few days to places of detention in Bosnia-Herzegovina, it is evident to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that innocent civilians are being arrested and subjected to inhumane treatment. Moreover, the detention of such persons is part of a policy of forced population transfers carried out on a massive scale and marked by the systematic use of brutality. Among the long list of methods used are harassment, murder, confiscation of property, deportation and the taking of hostages — which reduces individuals to the level of bargaining counters — all in violation of international humanitarian law.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have the honour of informing you that the International Committee of the Red Cross has confirmed its recognition of the Lithuanian Red Cross Society, originally granted on 28 August 1923. This decision, which took effect on 7 November 1991, brings to 149 the number of National Societies that are members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

In July and August 1992 ICRC President Cornelio Sommaruga went on several missions as part of the intense diplomatic activity that developed with regard to the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. (See also “The ICRC and the conflict in the former Yugoslavia”, pp. 488–491.) In addition, he paid an official visit to Poland and spoke at the inaugural session of training courses at two institutions. On both occasions his address served to convey the ICRC's humanitarian message.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have the honour of informing you that the International Committee of the Red Cross has confirmed its recognition of the Latvian Red Cross Society, originally granted on 10 January 1923. This decision, which took effect on 20 November 1991, brings to 150 the number of National Societies that are members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.