Jakob Kellenberger, whose two-day visit will include stops in areas affected by the fighting, will push the ICRC’s proposal made in February for a daily two-hour cease-fire in order to evacuate wounded and deliver life-saving supplies to civilians.
“I am determined to see the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent expand their presence, range and scope of activities to address the needs of vulnerable people,” he said in a statement. “This will be a key element of my talks with the Syrian officials.”
Syrian government forces bombarded opposition targets in the city of Homs on Monday despite President Bashar Assad’s promise to international peace envoy Kofi Annan to cease fire and withdraw his tanks and artillery.
Kellenberger, making his third trip to Syria since June, is to hold talks with senior Syrian officials, including Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem, Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Mohamad Al-Shaar and Health Minister Dr. Wael Al-Halki.
The ICRC is the only international agency to deploy aid workers in Syria, where the United Nations has been largely shut out and is still trying to gain meaningful access to the needy.
After Kellenberger’s talks with Assad in September, Syria opened its prisons for the first time to the ICRC whose officials visited detainees in the central prison of Damascus.
But visits have stalled ever since, with the ICRC insisting that its traditional terms, which include the right to interview prisoners in private and make follow-up visits, be respected.
More than 18,000 people were detained in Syria as of Feb. 15 in connection with the uprising, UN human rights investigators said in a report issued that month that accused top Syrian officials of ordering crimes against humanity including murder.
“I will be raising the issue of access to all places of detention. Visiting people who have been detained remains a priority for us,” Kellenberger said in Monday’s statement.
“I will also further discuss practical measures for implementing our initiative for a daily two-hour cessation of fighting. A daily pause in the hostilities is essential in order to evacuate wounded people and deliver aid if and when the fighting intensifies,” he said.
The ICRC said that in recent weeks, it had obtained greater access to many areas affected by the fighting and is now able to stay longer in each place to assess needs. A spokesman declined to name areas which Kellenberger will visit outside of Damascus.
