Reference :
V-P-ET-E-00191
Date :
18/10/2012
Caption :
Addis Ababa, African Union Commission headquarters. ICRC president Peter Maurer adresses the special session of the AU Peace and Security Council.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
From left to right:
Dr Aïsha L. Abdullahi, African Union Commissioner of political affairs
Dr Monica Kathina Juma, Ambassador of Kenya and Chair of the special session of the AU
Pater Maurer, ICRC president
ICRC president Peter Maurer, held an official visit to the African Union (AU) Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Thursday 18 October 2012 and met with different AU officials, including the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, to discuss a range of matters of common concern regarding the situations of armed conflicts and internal violence on the continent and their humanitarian consequences. In addition President Maurer participated in a special session of the AU Peace and Security Council where he briefed Member States' representatives on ICRC activities and exchanged views on humanitarian issues and challenges in Africa.
ICRC website, News Release 12/207, 18/10/2012
ICRC president to visit African Union headquarters
Addis Ababa (ICRC) - Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for discussions with senior officials of the African Union (AU). This is the first visit of the ICRC president to Africa since he took up his duties on 1 July 2012.
The president's visit comes at a time when the ICRC is celebrating 20 years of cooperation with the AU. The occasion is expected to provide an opportunity to take stock of ICRC contributions to AU initiatives over the past two decades and to discuss ways of further strengthening cooperation.
During his visit, Mr Maurer will meet with various AU officials to discuss a range of matters of common concern relating to armed conflicts and internal violence on the continent and their humanitarian consequences. Mr Maurer will also attend a special session of the AU Peace and Security Council to brief member State representatives on ICRC activities and exchange views on humanitarian issues in Africa.
"I will mainly highlight the necessity of independent and neutral humanitarian action in today's armed conflicts," said Mr Maurer. "I will also discuss the challenges of assisting and protecting civilians, in particular internally displaced people and women and children."
The ICRC president is also expected to meet with AU Partners Group ambassadors to brief them on the ICRC's humanitarian operations and on its concerns in Africa and elsewhere, including for example in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Since May 1992, the ICRC and the AU have exchanged views on matters of humanitarian concern and promoted better knowledge of and respect for international humanitarian law. The humanitarian organization has also provided legal support to the AU Commission to help it take international humanitarian law into account in its decisions and policies, and to reinforce and maintain the multilateral network with African States that are party to instruments of international humanitarian law.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
3216x2136
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
