figures and

ICRC

a few facts,
results
in 2009:
operations
PRESENCE PERSONNEL

In 2009, the ICRC was present in more than 80 countries through The average number of ICRC staff in 2009 was as follows:
delegations, sub-delegations, offices and missions. Its delegations
and missions were distributed throughout the world as follows: Headquarters: 846
Field: expatriates
Africa 27 Expatriates 1,357
Asia and the Pacific 14 National Society staff 143
Europe and the Americas 27
National staff on temporary mission 16
Middle East and North Africa 12
Field: national staff 9,991
Field: total 1 11,507
Final total 12,353
1. This figure does not include an average of 1,350 daily workers hired
by the ICRC in the field

FINANCE

ICRC expenditure in 2009 In million

Headquarters CHF 174.2 USD 160.6 EUR 115.5
Field CHF 942.9 USD 869.2 EUR 625.2
The sub-total comes to CHF 1,117.1 million, from which field overheads (CHF 56.8 million) must be deducted in order
to reach the final total.
Final total: CHF 1,060.3 USD 977.4 EUR 703.1

10 largest operations in 2009 in terms of expenditure In million

1 Iraq CHF 85.7 USD 79.0 EUR 56.9
2 Sudan CHF 77.4 USD 71.4 EUR 51.3
3 Pakistan CHF 76.8 USD 70.8 EUR 51.0
4 Afghanistan CHF 75.3 USD 69.4 EUR 50.0
5 Israel and the Occupied Territories CHF 64.7 USD 59.7 EUR 42.9
6 Congo, Democratic Republic of the CHF 60.6 USD 55.9 EUR 40.2
7 Somalia CHF 48.8 USD 45.0 EUR 32.4
8 Colombia CHF 34.6 USD 31.9 EUR 22.9
9 Sri Lanka CHF 30.9 USD 28.5 EUR 20.5
10 Chad CHF 27.8 USD 25.7 EUR 18.5

Exchange rates: USD 1.00 = CHF 1.0848; EUR 1.00 = CHF 1.5080

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 ICRC OPERATIONS IN 2009: A FEW FACTS AND FIGURES

VISITS TO DETAINEES
ICRC delegates visited 479,669 detainees, 43,152 of whom
were monitored individually (2,882 women; 1,759 minors), held
in 1,890 places of detention in 74 countries and in 4 different
international courts. Of this number, 28,170 detainees
(2,425 women; 1,486 minors) were registered and visited for
the first time in 2009.
With support provided by the ICRC, 28,079 detainees benefited
from family visits.
contacts between the children and their families, organizing
family reunification and/or identifying another long-term solution
for the children concerned.
The ICRC established the whereabouts of 4,128 people for
whom tracing requests had been filed by their families. The ICRC
website www.familylinks.icrc.org allowed the publication of
83,093 names of people wishing to contact relatives and friends or
being sought by their relatives. At the end of the year, the ICRC
was still taking action to locate 45,605 people (3,951 women;
5,009 minors at the time of disappearance) for their families.

A total of 23,473 detention attestations were issued.
RESTORING FAMILY LINKS
The ICRC collected 253,764 and distributed 254,960 Red Cross
messages, thus enabling members of families separated as a
result of armed conflict, disturbances or tensions to exchange
news. Among these messages, 71,921 were collected from and
70,833 distributed to detainees. In addition, 12,054 phone calls
were facilitated between family members, often between detainees
and their relatives. The ICRC also made 12,971 phone calls to
families to inform them of the whereabouts of a detained relative
visited by its delegates.
The ICRC reunited 1,063 people (including 1,025 minors)
with their families. It organized the transfer or repatriation of
15,334 people, including 120 detainees after their release. It also
organized the transfer or repatriation of 784 sets of human
remains. It issued travel documents that enabled 4,152 people
to return to their home countries or to settle in a host country.
It relayed 3,790 official documents of various types between
family members across borders and front lines.
A total of 932,905 people contacted ICRC offices worldwide
for services or advice regarding issues related to protection and
family links.

The ICRC registered 2,294 unaccompanied/separated children ASSISTANCE

(598 girls), including 656 demobilized children (10 girls)
during 2009. Once their families had been located and with
the agreement of the children and their relatives, it organized the
reunification of 1,025 children (272 girls) with their families.
By the end of the year, the cases of 1,698 unaccompanied/separated
children (including 272 demobilized children) were still being
handled, which involved tracing their relatives, maintaining
In 2009, the ICRC ran assistance programmes in 47 countries.
The bulk of the work was carried out in Afghanistan, Chad,
Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia,
Iraq, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, Pakistan,
the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Somalia,
Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

ASSISTANCE SUPPLIES

In 2009, the ICRC purchased or received as contributions in kind the following assistance supplies:

In million

Food items 88,515 tonnes CHF 69

Seed 4,847 tonnes CHF 6
Essential household items 23,217 tonnes CHF 57
Including:
885,736 blankets
9,034 tents
366,643 tarpaulins
262,314 kitchen sets
230,945 hygiene kits
1,183 tonnes of clothing

Medical and physical rehabilitation items CHF 35

Water and habitat items CHF 16
TOTAL CHF 183
USD 168
EUR 121
Exchange rates: USD 1.00 = CHF 1.0848; EUR 1.00 = CHF 1.5080

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 ICRC ANNUAL REPORT 2009
ECONOMIC SECURITY
During the year, ICRC activities to ensure economic security,
often implemented together with host National Societies,
directly benefited households and communities in 37 countries
worldwide. More than 4,068,000 internally displaced people,
returnees, residents (in general, people living in rural areas
and/or areas difficult to reach owing to insecurity and/or lack of
infrastructure) and people deprived of their freedom received
aid in the form of food and 4,488,000 in the form of essential
household and hygiene items. Around 23% and 16% of the
beneficiaries of food and essential household and hygiene items
respectively were IDPs, around 27% and 26% respectively
were women and around 49% and 49% respectively children.
In addition, some 2,931,000 people (of whom around 46% were
IDPs) benefited from livelihood support through sustainable
food-production programmes or micro-economic initiatives.
These included various response mechanisms ranging from
the rehabilitation of traditional irrigation systems to small-scale
community-based cash-for-work and livestock-management/
support projects.
WATER AND HABITAT
In 2009, the ICRC expatriate and national engineers and
technicians were involved in water, sanitation and construction
work in 39 countries. These projects catered for the needs of
some 14,249,000 people worldwide (IDPs, returnees, residents –
in general, people living in rural areas and/or areas difficult
to reach owing to insecurity and/or lack of infrastructure – and
people deprived of their freedom). Around 32% and 41% of the
beneficiaries were women and children respectively.
HEALTH CARE SERVICES
During the year, the ICRC regularly supported 268 hospitals and
373 other health care facilities around the world. An estimated
5,587,000 people (50% women; 31% children) benefited from
ICRC-supported health care facilities. Community health
programmes were implemented in 20 countries, in many cases
with National Society participation.
More than 25,500 weapon-wounded and 143,300 non-weapon-
wounded (surgical) patients were admitted to ICRC-supported
hospitals in 19 countries where more than 161,400 surgical
operations were performed. In these hospitals, more than
332,000 other patients were treated, including 129,100 women and
girls receiving gynaecological/obstetric care. Some 1.24 million
people were treated as outpatients. The ICRC regularly supported
33 first-aid posts located near combat zones, which provided
emergency treatment, mainly for weapon-wounded patients.
CARE FOR THE DISABLED
ICRC physical rehabilitation technicians provided support to
82 centres in 23 countries, enabling 182,712 patients (including
32,479 women and 47,502 children) to receive services. A total of
8,821 new patients were fitted with prostheses and 20,148 with
orthoses. The centres produced and delivered 20,057 prostheses
(including 2,741 for women and 1,092 for children; 7,138 for mine
victims) and 42,279 orthoses (including 7,166 for women and
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23,373 for children; 535 for mine victims). In addition,
2,652 wheelchairs and 26,860 crutches and sticks were
distributed, most of them locally manufactured. Training of
local staff was a priority in order to ensure sustainable services
for patients.
WEAPON CONTAMINATON
Throughout the year, the Weapon Contamination Sector
provided operational support to delegations, National Societies
and political authorities in 22 contexts (19 delegations).
The Sector also worked with the UN and NGOs to further
develop and strengthen international mine-action standards
and coordination.
FORENSICS SERVICES
During 2009, the ICRC’s forensic services supported field
operations in more than 40 countries in all regions, to help
prevent and resolve cases of missing persons, including in
emergencies. Activities consisted mainly of promoting and
supporting the implementation of forensic best practice for the
proper and dignified recovery, management and identification of
human remains in armed conflict, other situations of violence
and natural disaster. In addition, a variety of internal and external
training, dissemination and networking activities, including
for National Societies, were conducted to build countries’ capaci-
ties to deal with the problem and to raise general awareness of
the issue.
ICRC COOPERATION WITH NATIONAL SOCIETIES
The aim of the ICRC’s cooperation with National Societies is
to strengthen operational relationships and dialogue with
Movement partners, for the greater benefit of people affected by
armed conflict and internal strife.
In the vast majority of the countries where the ICRC operates,
it does so in partnership with National Societies in their own
countries and with the support of National Societies working
internationally. Overall, it is estimated that more than one third
of the ICRC’s operational activities are carried out in coopera-
tion with the National Society of the country concerned.
As part of this relationship, the ICRC also contributed to boosting
the capacity of these National Societies. A total of CHF 82.0 million
was spent to help National Societies in their own countries
strengthen their capacity to carry out their own activities and to
partner with the ICRC wherever possible. This included:
CHF 37.0 million for their preparedness and activities
relating to health, relief assistance and activities to
reduce the impact of weapon contamination on people
CHF 30.1 million for their work to promote and
spread knowledge of IHL and to support them as
effective members of the Movement network
in respecting the Fundamental Principles
CHF 14.9 million for their work to restore family links,
including responding to needs resulting from natural
disasters, in conformity with the Restoring Family Links
Strategy for the Movement
 ICRC OPERATIONS IN 2009: A FEW FACTS AND FIGURES
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
In 2009, thanks to the media relations work carried out by field
delegations and the Public and Media Relations Unit at head-
quarters, the ICRC’s humanitarian concerns and activities
continued to be covered by media worldwide. According to the
Factiva database, which compiles print and online media sources
worldwide, the ICRC was mentioned more than 19,870 times
in 2009. For example, in relation to the hostilities in the Gaza Strip
at the beginning of 2009, information relating to the ICRC
was mentioned 1,987 times between 27 December 2008 and
11 January 2009.
The ICRC also produced some 100 print and audiovisual
products, including 15 video news items, which were issued to
broadcasters worldwide, and 29 other video news items and films
for use with various target groups.
The ICRC website received around 3.5 million visitors who
viewed about 16.2 million pages in total. This represents an
increase of about 9.5% compared with the previous year.
The ICRC distributed some 8,468 copies of films and 525,527
publications worldwide.
Broadcast tracking showed that the ICRC’s news footage was
widely broadcast all over the world, with nearly 700 news items
broadcast on over 35 channels, including Al Jazeera International
and BBC World.
In 2009, in order to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of
Solferino and the 60th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions,
the ICRC and the International Federation jointly launched the
“Our world. Your move.” communication campaign. More than
560 public events were organized in over 130 countries, from
exhibitions to first-aid demonstrations and round-table discus-
sions. National Societies in 135 countries used the campaign
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slogan and tools to promote the campaign and its key messages,
with 74% saying that the campaign increased their media cover-
age. The campaign received broad media coverage at global and
local level with preliminary analysis showing that it was picked
up by news outlets, such as Al Jazeera, BBC and CNN, in at least
40 countries. More than 100,000 people “made a move” via the
campaign web portal. By the end of 2009, there had been nearly
half a million page views on the portal, with traffic coming from
over 200 countries. In addition, the campaign Facebook page
attracted more than 9,000 fans and hundreds of thousands were
reached by the “Our world. Your move.” Twitter stream. The cam-
paign’s viral video “Simple Gestures” was watched 70,000 times
on YouTube, with 98 videos shared through the “Our world. Your
move.” YouTube channel.
STATE PARTICIPATION TO IHL TREATIES AND
DOMESTIC IMPLEMENTATION
The ICRC continued to develop an active dialogue with national
authorities worldwide in order to promote accession to IHL
treaties and their domestic implementation. It provided legal and
technical advice to governments. It encouraged and supported
them in their endeavours to establish national interministerial
committees entrusted with the national implementation of IHL.
In 2009, 2 new national committees were created (in Mexico and
Switzerland), bringing the total number worldwide to 93.
The ICRC organized, or contributed to, 25 regional events in
relation to IHL and its incorporation into domestic law, which
were attended by more than 800 people in some 112 countries.
This work contributed to 90 ratifications of IHL treaties (including
1 of Additional Protocol I, 1 of Additional Protocol II and 15 of
Additional Protocol III) by 16 countries and the adoption of
23 pieces of domestic legislation relating to various IHL treaties in
21 countries.
 ICRC ANNUAL REPORT 2009
RELATIONS WITH WEAPON BEARERS
Throughout the year, ICRC delegates met with various weapon
bearers present in conflict zones, from members of the military
and the police to paramilitary units, armed groups and staff of
private military companies.
31 specialized ICRC delegates conducted or took part in
more than 100 courses, workshops, round-tables and
exercises involving some 10,000 military, security and police
personnel in more than 80 countries; 38 military officers
from 24 countries received ICRC scholarships to attend
9 military courses on IHL in San Remo
47 general and senior officers from 46 countries
received ICRC scholarships to attend the Senior Workshop
on International Rules Governing Military Operations
in Switzerland
the ICRC maintained relations with the armed forces of
160 countries and with nearly 80 armed groups (in some
30 contexts, mostly in non-international armed conflicts)
specialized delegates in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North
America represented the ICRC and observed the
implementation of IHL or international human rights law
during some 15 international military exercises
RELATIONS WITH ACADEMIC CIRCLES
In practically every country covered by the ICRC, university
lecturers in law, international relations and journalism have
incorporated IHL into their teaching. At national level, the ICRC
supported the teaching of IHL at universities by distributing
books and other teaching materials and co-organizing academic
events on IHL, which addressed the theoretical and practical
dimensions of the law, and IHL competitions for students. The
ICRC sponsored the participation of academics in key regional
and international IHL events.
95
In 2009, the ICRC organized or co-organized:
12 regional and international IHL training seminars
for academics (2 in Africa; 2 in Asia and the Pacific;
6 in Europe and the Americas; 2 in the Middle East and
North Africa), involving over 200 professors, lecturers
and graduate students
6 regional IHL competitions for students (2 in Africa;
2 in Asia and the Pacific; 2 in Europe and the Americas),
involving some 250 students and lecturers
SUPPORTING IHL EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS
Education authorities in 50 countries worldwide received
support from the ICRC to work towards the integration of IHL
education into formal secondary school curricula through its
two programmes. This support aimed to ensure full ownership
by the education authorities and the long-term sustainability of
the programmes.
In 2009:
revised Exploring Humanitarian Law materials,
including a new teaching guide on humanitarian law,
were published
more than 20,000 people consulted the Exploring
Humanitarian Law Virtual Campus, a web-based resource
centre for the programme
2 regional conferences on IHL education were organized
(Beijing and Cairo)
a global student competition on the theme of humanitarian
action was organized to mark the 60th anniversary of the
1949 Geneva Conventions
a multi-disciplinary education project was initiated in
7 schools located in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION
MANAGEMENT AND MULTILINGUAL
COMMUNICATION
Some 3,061 people made use of the ICRC’s Library and Research
Service and some 1,419 people, from academia, government
departments, the media, National Societies and NGOs, received
responses to their requests for information.
ICRC headquarters received 210 groups totalling some 6,000
visitors (university students: 52%; National Society staff and
volunteers: 17%; secondary school students: 12%; members of
armed forces: 8%; diplomatic community: 6%; NGOs and
religious groups: 5%).
Some 8 million words were translated, edited and proofread by
translators and editors working for or contracted by the ICRC
through its language service.