Friday March 8, 2024
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is launching food deliveries in Somali prisons for the month of Ramadan. Over the next four weeks, the ICRC plans to distribute dates, goat meat, rice, beans, milk, and tea to detainees across Somalia.
In cooperation with the authorities, the ICRC will provide the items weekly to ten places of detention for thousands of people deprived of liberty visited regularly by the ICRC.
“Providing food during Ramadan has become a tradition for the ICRC in Somalia and part of our efforts to ensure detainees receive humane and dignified treatment,” said Pascal Cuttat, the head of the ICRC in Somalia. “For us, this is a gesture of respect towards the significance of the holy month of Ramadan for detainees, their families, and the Somali community.”
The ICRC has been carrying out regular visits to places of detention across Somalia. It works with the detaining authorities to ensure humane treatment and living conditions for detainees.
Visiting detainees is a core component of ICRC’s work around the world. The organization aims to secure humane treatment for all detainees, regardless of the reasons for their arrest and detention. It strives to ensure that detainees can maintain contact with their families and that detention conditions are respectful of their dignity.