Razieh Alishvandi, the IRCS director for international affairs, and Vincent Cassard, the head of the ICRC delegation in Iran, paid a visit to the Golshahr project site on Thursday, the IRCS website reported.

The project focuses on the provision of health services to pregnant women, and people who are suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, mental health disorders, and physical disorders, Alishvandi said.

She went on to say that the ICRC and the IRCS with the help of the Society for Recovery and Support – an NGO authorized by the State Welfare Organization – assist recovered people to support vulnerable immigrants in Golshahr.

The IRCS is taking action to identify and evaluate the situation of vulnerable refugees. It will try to meet their health needs including mental support and physical rehabilitation, Alishvandi noted.

“The Society for Recovery and Support provides an opportunity for Afghan women who need psychological support to share and solve their problems.”

Launching home businesses and vocational training centers, empowering for creating jobs, earning money, educating, and raising children are among the other programs of the IRCS in this regard.

It is worth noting that the IRCS health project is carried out by physicians, nurses, social workers, and dieticians. The health project includes medical consultations, physical rehabilitation, referrals to laboratories and radiology centers, dental centers, and specialists.

It also provides support for purchasing medication, receiving psychological and psychiatric consultations, nutrition, and holding health awareness-raising sessions with the help of nurses and dieticians.

In addition, it supports the target societies by providing social harm reduction services.

Afghan nationals in Iran

Official statistics say around five million Afghan nationals live in Iran, about one million of them live in Khorasan Razavi province, mostly in the capital city of Mashhad.

For over four decades, Iran has been hosting one of the largest and most protracted refugee situations in the world and has provided asylum to refugees, mostly from Afghanistan.

The recent fast-paced turn of events in Afghanistan has the potential to create additional population movements; internally displacing families and potentially driving them to neighboring countries to seek refuge.

Iran is home to over 800,000 registered refugees and some 2.6 million undocumented Afghans. Today, more than 500,000 Afghan children- including undocumented Afghans and those who have newly arrived in Iran are benefitting from Iran’s inclusive education policies, one of the most progressive in the world.

Despite the sanctions and economic pressures, Iran continues its comprehensive policy of providing services to refugees, and this is appreciable, UNHCR’s Officer in Charge, Inna Gladkova, said in November 2022.

The best solution and the most stable support system for refugees is that have access to schools and education just like Iranian nationals, she stated, IRNA reported.

Iran has taken effective and continuous measures to include all refugees, and the UNHCR also declares its readiness to fulfill its obligations, she noted.

In May, Robin Nandy, the representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Iran, said the country’s comprehensive program for the protection of refugee children is encouraging.

Making investments in programs and services to better care for and support children affected by migration and asylum will reduce costs in the future, he added.

Emphasizing the important role of non-governmental organizations in supporting refugee and immigrant children and teenagers, Nandy expressed hope that holding educational workshops will lead to the promotion of children’s rights and justice for children.

ICRC, IRCS welcome inking co-op MU

In September, the ICRC and the IRCS welcomed signing a five-year memorandum of understanding in order to give a boost to bilateral ties.

Within the framework of ICRC duties, the memorandum could be greatly helpful in better responses to crises, ISNA quoted Robert Mardini, ICRC director general, as saying.

IRCS and the ICRC can play a complementary role in many fields, he added.

He made the remarks in a meeting in Geneva on September 13 with Yaqoub Soleimani, the secretary general of IRCS.

All activities relating to the principles of the International Red Cross, international humanitarian rights, and its promotion are the basis of this cooperation, Mardini noted.

Referring to the IRCS as a reliable partner in West Asia, the ICRC official emphasized: “Our cooperation and partnership with IRCS is very important and valuable because of its vast and extensive knowledge and experience in dealing with immigrants, refugees, and victims of war.”

Soleimani, for his part, welcomed the signing of the five-year memorandum of understanding and considered it to be a roadmap for more cooperation and interaction between the Iranian Red Crescent Society and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

He stressed IRCS’s capabilities and capacities to serve the immigrants including over five million Afghan immigrants who have access to necessary facilities in education and health.

He pointed out, “Despite the problems caused by sanctions, IRCS has made great efforts to promote immigrants’ well-being.”

Soleimani went on to say Iran is prone to natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and the adverse consequences of climate change, drought, etc. So, he reemphasized the importance of increasing the resilience of society in the face of these disasters.

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Razieh Alishvandi, the IRCS director for international affairs, met with Vincent Cassard, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Iran,

The International Committee of the Red Cross should seriously intervene in the clear violation of international humanitarian law and condemn the Zionist regime’s airstrikes in the Gaza Strip since it has violated many cases of the four Geneva Conventions, Alishvandi said, IRCS website reported on Friday.

Referring to the humanitarian consequences of the Zionist regime’s attacks against defenseless civilians which are against the norms and international rules, Alishvandi said these measures challenge humanity and violate international law.

Failing to comply with ethical standards, attacking children, women, and journalists, targeting water, electricity, and fuel infrastructures, as well as starving civilians, etc. are among the cases of human rights violations, she said.

She went on to say that “humanity in Gaza” is in danger and added that targeting the medical staff, hospitals, ambulances and rescuers of the Red Crescent led to the complete collapse of the healthcare sector and ultimately their inability to provide medical services and aid to those injured.

Alishvandi stressed, “A safe way should be found to send relief supplies to this country. Iran’s humanitarian shipments should reach the people of Gaza as soon as possible.”

A consignment weighing 20,000 tons is being prepared to be sent to Gaza from Iran, and we request the International Committee of the Red Cross to follow up on obtaining the necessary permits from the Egyptian government to send these shipments, she stated.

“Moreover, the Iranian Red Crescent Society is ready to provide medical services to the wounded and treat them by establishing three mobile hospitals along with sending experienced medical staff to Egypt (Palestine border).”

Cassard, for his part, said, ” Gaza is our priority in the Committee of the Red Cross; the clear violation of international humanitarian law in Gaza is unprecedented.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross has been present in this country for 60 years, but due to the recent conflicts, it was forced to move the location of its representative office, he added.

He further said: “The conditions for sending humanitarian aid to this country are very difficult, but we used our reserve shipments to treat people.”

The issue of water and fuel is very critical and we have taken measures to provide them and we have also sent shipments of medicine to Gaza.

Cassard added despite all these activities, due to the war conditions, these aids have been insufficient.

Pir Hossein Kolivand, the head of the IRCS, said on October 30 that it would soon send a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza via Egypt.

Kolivand said the ship would carry aid provided by the Iranian people to Egypt and then will be delivered to Gaza via Egypt.

“So far, a lot of aid from the people has been delivered to the Red Crescent Society,” Kolivand said, according to Fars News.

The Iranian official also criticized the pace at which aid is getting into Gaza. He said aid is being delivered to Gaza very slowly and in a very limited amount.

“So far, perhaps no more than 90 aid trucks from the people have been delivered to Gaza,” Kolivand said.

The IRCS has launched an aid collection campaign since the start of the Israeli aggression against Gaza. The Iranian people have donated a considerable amount of money in humanitarian aid to the IRCS to be ultimately delivered to the besieged Gaza Strip.

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Within the framework of ICRC duties, the memorandum could be greatly helpful in better responses to crises, ISNA quoted Robert Mardini, ICRC director general, as saying.

“IRCS and the ICRC can play a complementary role in many fields,” he added.

He made the remarks in a meeting in Geneva on September 13 with Yaqoub Soleimani, the secretary general of IRCS.

All activities relating to the principles of the International Red Cross, international humanitarian rights, and its promotion are the basis of this cooperation, Mardini noted.

Referring to the IRCS as a reliable partner in West Asia, the ICRC official emphasized: “Our cooperation and partnership with IRCS is very important and valuable because of its vast and extensive knowledge and experience in dealing with immigrants, refugees, and victims of war.”

Soleimani, for his part, welcomed the signing of the five-year memorandum of understanding and considered it to be a roadmap for more cooperation and interaction between the Iranian Red Crescent Society and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

He stressed IRCS’s capabilities and capacities to serve the immigrants including over five million Afghan immigrants who have access to necessary facilities in education and health.

He pointed out, “Despite the problems caused by sanctions, IRCS has made great efforts to promote immigrants’ well-being.”

Soleimani went on to say Iran is prone to natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and the adverse consequences of climate change, drought, etc. So, he reemphasized the importance of increasing the resilience of society in the face of these disasters.

He said: “Today, the world is faced with countless humanitarian challenges. Therefore, it is necessary for the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society to support the role of National Societies in local community education.”

He appreciated ICRC’s support of public education in areas of Iran that are contaminated by mines and explosives and asked them to continue providing education in war-affected areas.

IRCS among strongest communities

The IRCS, established in 1922, is one of the first and oldest members of the movement and is currently one of the top societies in the world due to its significant activities in the national and international arenas.

In 2005, the IRCS received the Henry Davison Award for outstanding humanitarian services, and the IRCS initiative of volunteers was selected as the best project (out of 50 projects from 45 national societies), by the General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

In March 2022, in a meeting with Pir- Hossein Kolivand, IRCS head, Francesco Rocca, the president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, expressed satisfaction with the high number of volunteers of the IRCS worldwide and said that IRCS is one of the strongest communities in the world, which brings hope back to people’s lives after every incident.

Stating that IFRC will support the IRCS in implementing its programs, he announced readiness to strengthen the Iranian Red Crescent Society’s relations with other national communities because those communities can use Iran’s experience and knowledge to deal with and prevent the incidents

Recent services

In September, the IRCS sent a consignment of relief items as an aid to those affected by the devastating flood in Libya.

Also, the IRCS announced readiness to assist Morocco in the ongoing relief operations following the powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the North African country, on September 8.

In August, the IRCS organized the third international congress on health in Arbaeen in Tehran.

Rocca, appreciating IRCS efforts, said, “The role of the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), in providing relief and rescue activities during one of the largest religious gatherings is of utmost importance.”

Moreover, the IRCS manages several hospitals, polyclinics, as well as hemodialysis and rehabilitation centers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

The centers are self-governed and their humanitarian activities are funded by receiving the costs of medical services from patients and collecting aid from philanthropists.

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On July 4, Iran marked anniversary of abduction of its four diplomats in Lebanon whose fates are still unknown since July 4, 1982 but all are aware that the Zionists and their supporters are behind this abduction.

On Sunday and on the occasion of 39th anniversary of abduction of the kidnapped Iranian diplomats, Iran’s foreign ministry in a statement said Israel and its supporters are politically and legally responsible for the fate of four Iranian diplomats kidnapped in Lebanon in 1982.

The statement said, “Since the Zionist regime occupied Lebanon in 1982, it bears political and legal responsibility for the abduction of [Iranian] diplomats and the Zionist regime and its terrorism-sponsoring supporters are liable for this measure. Unfortunately, the Zionist regime has not been accountable in this case, and this is why the process of revealing facts and various aspects of this incident has been so slow.”

On July 4, 1982, the year Israel invaded Lebanon, Ahmad Motevasselian, Seyyed Mohsen Mousavi, Taqi Rastegar Moqaddam and Kazem Akhavan were kidnapped by a group of gunmen backed by Israel at an inspection post in northern Lebanon.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly announced that there is evidence to prove that the [kidnapped] diplomats were handed over to Israeli forces after the abduction and were subsequently transferred to the Zionist regime’s prisons,” the statement read.

Iran, it added, has gone to great lengths since the abduction, given the humanitarian, legal and political dimensions of the criminal incident, and has put on its agenda the pursuit of the issue through regional and international avenues.

The ministry once again called on the United Nations secretary general as well as international and human rights organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to pay more serious attention to the abduction of its diplomats by Israel.

In a letter to Secretary General Antonio Guterres in July 2020, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht-Ravanchi said Tehran believes the diplomats were handed over to Israeli forces immediately after the abduction in a region controlled by Israel at the time.

Iran has called on the United Nations to help set up a fact-finding committee to shed light on the fate of four Iranian diplomats kidnapped in Lebanon about 40 years ago.

“Evidence shows they have been held in Israeli prisons, and are still alive,” the Iranian envoy said.

Despite Iran’s efforts and call for the fate of the diplomats, international bodies have decided to remain silent or not to involve in this issue in order to please the Zionists and their supporters.

As long as the UN remains passive and silent against such crimes, it will embolden both the Zionists and the world powers to dictate the rule of jungle and the idea of “might is right”, and regimes like the Zionist can misuse this attitude to continue their crimes.

The Unite Nations and international bodies should take firmer stands against such crimes otherwise they will turn into just showcases for some diplomats for only chatting and spending their times in New York or other cities that the UN offices are located there with no output for the nations.

The Islamic Republic still points its figure to the Zionists as the main culprits of this abduction and it believes the diplomats are hostages of the Zionists. So Iran expects the UN to launch at least some fact-finding committee to start probe but this decision and action first needs courage that it seems the UN lacks it because of the world arrogance and Zionists’ pressures and influence.

The Islamic Republic will never forget the fate of its abducted diplomats and will strive to learn their fates sooner or later, and God willing, one day it will show the world the true nature of the Zionists by revealing the fact behind this abduction, no matter whether the international bodies involve in finding it or not.

Of course the true nature of the Zionists has been exposed to the world people through its atrocities against the Palestinians but this is the governments which should take action against the crimes of Zionists because one day, they themselves may become the victims of the Zionists.

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The population of Afghan immigrants residing in Iran is about two to three million, some of whom sometimes have problems with identity cards or do not have identification codes, IRCS head Karim Hemmati said.

The Ministry of Interior is trying to provide an identification code for these people so that they can receive the vaccine, he added.

“We requested the Red Cross to provide us with two million doses of vaccine for this target group, but so far, no consignment has been delivered to the country for the refugees,” he explained.

“If these people are among our priority groups, they will be vaccinated. For example, if an Afghan national is part of the medical staff in Iran, they will be vaccinated,” he noted.

At the end of 2018, Iran hosted close to one million refugees, making it the sixth-largest refugee host country in the world. The country was also the eighth largest refugee-hosting country in the world in 2019, hosting 951,142 Afghan refugees and 28,268 Iraqi refugees, according to the UNHCR.

One of the largest and most protracted urban refugee populations in the world is living in Iran; about 97 percent of refugees live in urban and semi-urban areas, while three percent are residing in 20 refugee resorts run by the UNHCR’s main government counterpart.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, undocumented Afghans have access to free primary health services and similarly free COVID-19 related testing, treatment, and hospitalization, just like nationals.

Some 120,000 refugees residing in Iran are now covered by health insurance, According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Despite the challenges, Iran has continued to generously give refugees access to education and health services. Iran is one of the handfuls of countries in the world that offer refugees the option to enroll in national health insurance for essential secondary and tertiary public health services in the same way as Iranian nationals.

The national insurance scheme allows for free COVID-19 treatment and hospitalization. It also subsidizes the cost of surgeries, dialysis, radiology, laboratory tests, outpatient care, and more.

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He called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to reduce the severity of the humanitarian crisis in the country by putting pressure on the international community to end the siege of Yemen by Saudi-led coalition forces.

Katrina Raines, for her part, also stressed that she will do her best to continue efforts to alleviate the problems of the Yemeni people.

Earlier, the Foreign Minister of Yemen’s National Salvation Government Hisham Sharaf met with the Iranian Ambassador Irloo and stressed Sanaa’s positive response to any call for a just peace.

UN agencies, including the World Health Organization and UNICEF, have repeatedly warned that the Yemeni people will face famine and a humanitarian catastrophe that is unprecedented in the last century due to the aggressors’ attack on Yemen.

Some 138,000 people made the journey to Yemen in 2019. This number fell to 37,000 in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.\

The humanitarian situation is going to get dramatically worse in the next few months. There’s a huge aid funding shortfall this year, and half of the country is already starving. Yemen is also looking at the second wave of coronavirus, although it’s impossible to tell how much impact the pandemic is having because testing facilities are almost nonexistent.

All of these things make covering Yemen at times a draining and emotional experience. But feeling that my work can help make a difference is a powerful motivation.

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According To Iran News, The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will send 500,000 Swiss francs humanitarian aids to Iran in the combat against COVID-19, according to Barbara Rizzoli, a senior official with the ICRC.

Rizzoli expressed his sympathy with Iranian people over the outbreak of the coronavirus, saying that the International Committee of the Red Cross (IRCS) has provided 500,000 Swiss francs to support Iranian Red Crescent Society in the fight against the coronavirus.

IRCS’s request to set up a financial channel to help Iran receive humanitarian aid is a logical and basic request, especially in the specific circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic, she added.

ICRC understands Iran’s concerns about the impact of the sanctions against imports of medicine and emergency supplies, Rizzoli said.

Iran is coping with COVID-19 under the toughest US-led sanctions.

Many countries and international bodies have urged the United States to lift sanctions on Iran that is fighting with the nationwide outbreak of the coronavirus. Washington not only has ignored these calls but also imposed a new round of sanctions in the past weeks.

As of Wednesday, the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Iran has risen to 3,993 with 64,586 confirmed cases since the outbreak.

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