ICRC and European Union strengthen dialogue

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“After a 10-month-long humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic, tens of thousands of people have fled into the bush, where they are still living in terror of armed violence,” said Mr Maurer. “This is just one of many crises that receive little media attention but are nevertheless very much the focus of our discussions with the European Commission, which has been providing significant diplomatic and financial support for the ICRC's humanitarian activities for many years.”

Following the meeting in Geneva, Mr Maurer will be travelling to Brussels for a series of discussions with high-ranking European Union officials. On 29 October, he will take part in a debate on the challenges currently facing humanitarian work. The event, which is being organized by the Mission of Switzerland to the European Union to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the ICRC, will also be attended by Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commissioner for international cooperation, humanitarian aid and crisis response, and senior officials from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the VOICE network of non-governmental organizations.

For further information, please contact:Thomas Vanden Driessche, ICRC Brussels, tel: +32 2 286 58 70 or +32 478 24 00 51Anastasia Isyuk, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 30 23 or +41 79 251 93 02