President of ICRC visits Azerbaijan

This visit will be followed by visits to Georgia and Armenia. The ICRC president will hold talks with the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, the speaker of the Georgian parliament, Nino Burjanadze, the prime minister of Georgia, Zurab Noghaideli, and various members of the governments of the three countries.

The talks are expected to focus on missing persons and their families, the conditions of people detained in relation to the unresolved conflicts of Nagorny Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia and other humanitarian issues. Training of the Armed Forces in international humanitarian law and its application will also be discussed. In addition, the ICRC president will make visits to ICRC-supported projects in the field.

According to Reuters, during his visit to the Southern Caucasus, the ICRC President will meet the presidents of the Azerbaijani Red Crescent and the Georgian and Armenian Red Cross Societies.

The ICRC has maintained a constant presence in the Southern Caucasus since 1992 assisting and protecting people and communities affected by the armed conflicts of the region. The organization currently focuses on establishing the fate of missing persons and helping their families, visiting people in detention, and protecting and assisting the civilian population living close to areas still affected by the conflicts. The ICRC's activities in the region also include programmes to control the spread of tuberculosis in prisons, promote international humanitarian law and build up the capacities of the local Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.