Red Cross to Maintain Presence in Lebanon
The International Red Cross has announced that it expects to maintain its current presence in Lebanon for at least another year. “We have reached a level which permits us to intervene quickly in the case of a crisis,” stated incoming International Committee Red Cross head, Georges Comninos to the Daily Star of Lebanon. ”We have taken the decision to maintain that presence to guarantee us the right access and capacity to react in the worst moments,” he said.
The Red Cross had reduced its presence in Lebanon after the 1975-1990 Civil War, but then increased it following the 2006 conflict with Israel. Comninos said that the organization was overwhelmed in 2006 because they had no staff in the country and had to react immediately to the humanitarian crisis. Now that the situation with Israel has improved, the ICRC has been able to consolidate its staff and activities within Lebanon.
However, the ICRC maintains that it wants to remain prepared in the event of any future crisis. ”Lebanon is a country that can go from peace to war and back to peace again in one day,” stated outgoing ICRC head Jordi Raich. “One of our lessons learned is that we need to keep our readiness to respond to emergencies.” This could be relevant in the near future considering the hostile environment in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps and the recent conflicts with Syria.
Venus Vahedi
