President Hosni Mubarak of the Arab Republic of Egypt visited on 8 June the International Committee of the Red Cross. He was welcomed by ICRC President Alexandra Hay, along with members of the International Committee and senior ICRC staff.

Following the decision of the ICRC Assembly, Mr. Maurice Aubert is taking part in the meetings of the ICRC Executive Board as from September 1983.

Mr. Alexandre Hay, ICRC President, accompanied by Mr. Serge Nessi, head of the Finance Division and Mr. Thierry Germond, ICRC regional delegate for Europe, visited Spain from 24 to 26 October.

During a short stay in Geneva, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Mr. Julius K. Nyerere, visited, on 3 October, the International Committee of the Red Cross. He was welcomed by ths ICRC President, Mr. Alexandre Hay, and senior ICRC officials and during the meeting the Tanzanian president discussed various humanitarian matters.

The Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Robert Hawke, visited on 10 June the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva. He was accompanied by Australia's Permanent Representative in Geneva, Ambassador David Sadleir, as well as other officials.

The Vice-President of the United States of America, Mr. George Bush, visited on 4 February the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva. Welcomed by the ICRC President, Mr. Alexandre Hay, Mr. Bush and his entourage had a private meeting with President Hay and senior ICRC staff, in which they discussed a number of humanitarian issues.

The President of the ICRC, Mr. Alexandre Hay, accompanied by the ICRC Director of Operational Activities, Mr. Jean-Pierre Hocké, was in the USSR from 16 to 19 March. The ICRC delegate-general for Asia, Mr. Jean de Courten, and the regional delegate, Mr. F. Zen Ruffinen, had already arrived in Moscow on 14 March.

The Lebanese President, Mr. Amin Gemayel, visited the International Committee of the Red Cross on 4 November. He was accompanied by Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Mr. Ibrahim Karma.

We have the pleasure of informing you of the official recognition of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of Zimbabwe by the International Committee of the Red Cross. This recognition, which took effect on 7 September 1983, brings to 131 the number of National Society members of the International Red Cross.

At its meeting on 3 March, the Assembly of the International Committee of the Red Cross appointed as Vice-President Mr Victor H. Umbricht, who has been a member of the ICRC since 1970.

The Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines deposited with the Swiss Government, on 8 April 1983, an instrument of accession to the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (Protocol I) and non-international armed conflicts (Protocol II), adopted in Geneva on 8 June 1977.

On 14 September 1983, the People's Republic of China deposited with the Swiss Government an instrument of accession to Protocols I and II additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of international and non-international armed conflicts, adopted in Geneva on 8 June 1977.

On 25 November 1982, the Republic of Cuba deposited with the Swiss Government an instrument of accession to the Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), which was adopted in Geneva on 8 June 1977.

The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in a note dated 5 February 1983, received by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs on 7 February 1983, withdraws, by declaration dated 25 January 1983, for the Kingdom in Europe and for the Netherlands Antilles, its reservation concerning Article 68, paragraph 2, of the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Convention).

Mr. Alexandra Hay, President of the ICRC, and Mr. Jean-Marc Bornet, delegate general for Africa, visited Ethiopia and Somalia. They discussed ICRC activities with the authorities and representatives of the National Societies in both countries.

The joint ICRC and Indonesian Red Cross mission to provide assistance to needy persons in East Timor was plunged into mourning on Saturday, 2 April. A helicopter with five persons on board, including two Indonesian Red Cross collaborators, crashed in bad weather after colliding with a tree 10 km south of Dili, the capital. At the time of the accident the team was returning to its base at Dili after carrying out a mission of assistance in the south of the island of Timor.