The cease-fire agreement which has taken place in the Yemen after two years of fierce fighting has not ended the activity of the International Committee of the Red Cross, whose representatives, on the Republican as well as on the Royalist side, still face important tasks. These consist chiefly in giving medical aid to the victims of the war and assistance to prisoners held by both parties to the conflict.

We have the honour to inform you of the official recognition, on October 1, 1964, of the Nepalese Red Cross Society by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Much has been heard of the valuable help given, through the American Red Cross, by those voluntary aids known as “Gray Ladies”, in hospitals, sanatoria, rest homes, clinics and convalescent centres in the United States. Qualified volunteers of all ages undertake these missions (in some cases men also help these services), especially for people who are incapacitated through illness for long periods.

In view of the hostilities taking place in the Congo and concerned about the great suffering involved, the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, finding it impossible to reach all those exercising authority in the Congo by direct contact, now addresses this appeal to them.

The action which has been undertaken for more than two months by the ICRC in Cyprus, in accordance with article 3 of the Geneva Conventions relative to conflicts not of an international character, has recently achieved some appreciable success.

Mr. Martin Bodmer will remain in office as Vice-President of the International Committee for 1964, whilst Mr. Hans Bachmann has been appointed Vice-President for the years 1964 and 1965.

We have the honour to inform you of the official recognition on October 1, 1964, of the Jamaica Red Cross Society by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

By reason of the events in Cyprus, the International Committee of the Red Cross offered its services, according to its traditional rôle, to the Cyprus Government. This offer having been enthusiastically received, the ICRC delegated Mr. J. Ruff, who left Geneva for Nicosia, where he arrived on January 1.

On August 22, 1964, an impressive ceremony took place at the Swiss National Exhibition in Lausanne, to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Convention of August 22, 1864 for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. The celebration was held before the pavilion housing the stands representing the work of the ICRC and the Swiss Red Cross.

The Vice-President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mr. Samuel Gonard, returned on February 10 to Geneva, after a four week tour in the Middle East. He visited the ICRC delegations in Saudi Arabia and in the Yemen and in particular inspected the field hospital at Uqhd in the North of the Yemen, where wounded and sick victims of the war from both sides are cared for.

At the foot of the rocks, worn smooth by the desert winds and burning to the touch, the surgeons of the ICRC field hospital at Uqhd in the Yemen are consulting each other about a wounded case. The X-ray apparatus has just broken down and it will not be possible to operate. How many days will pass before the news reaches Geneva and how many weeks before spare parts are received ?

The International Committee of the Red Cross has recently suffered a severe shock in the loss of Jean-Pierre Schoenholzer, who died suddenly in Cyprus on January 22, 1964. He had arrived a few days previously to carry out a mission on behalf of the victims of recent events.

In order to follow up the wish expressed by the International Red Cross at its Centenary Conference in 1963, the International Committee of the Red Cross recently convened a meeting of legal experts and specialists in civil defence. The opening session took place in Geneva on October 27, 1964.

Mrs. Egger, delegate of the ICRC in Léopoldville, went to Kikwit in February, accompanied by the deputy head of civil operations of UNO, Mr. Gilpin, and by various other officials and by representatives of the Red Cross of the Congo, with a view to co-ordinating the United Nations' relief action in the troubled province of Kwilu. Mrs. Egger had talks with the local military and civilian authorities, and her mission was entirely successful.