Geneva/Beijing (ICRC) The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger, held talks in Beijing today with Chinese president Hu Jintao. The meeting followed the signing of an agreement earlier in the day with foreign minister Li Zhaoxing on the establishment of an ICRC regional delegation for east Asia in Beijing. The ICRC president also met Mrs Peng Peiyun, the president of the Red Cross Society of China, and high ranking officers of the Central Military Commission.
Discussions between Mr Kellenberger and President Hu Jintao focused on the challenges the ICRC faces in armed conflicts around the world and the relevance of international humanitarian law in today’s contexts. The meeting also laid the groundwork for future cooperation between the ICRC and China in the humanitarian field.
The new regional delegation in Beijing will boost the ICRC’s work in east Asia and will enable more sustained activity in the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea and Mongolia.
Currently, the ICRC’s main activities in the region are the promotion and implementation of international humanitarian law and cooperation with national Red Cross societies. This includes helping the two Red Cross Societies on the Korean peninsula to improve the situation of families separated since the Korean War. The ICRC also runs limb-fitting centres in China’s Yunnan Province and in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The organization is currently developing its Chinese-language website ( www.icrc.org/zh) and publications, with the aim of fostering interest in and understanding of humanitarian issues and international humanitarian law amongst Chinese-speakers.
For further information, please contact:
Ian Piper, ICRC Geneva, +41 22 730 2063or+41 79 217 3216
Denis Allistone, ICRC Beijing, +86 136 91 33 60 86
Source : Icrc
