8 million words – the ICRC’s need for multilingual communication

Under the heading of MULTILINGUAL COMMUNICATION, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stresses the importance for communicating in various languages in its Annual Report 2009

“In keeping with its mission, the ICRC communicates with a wide range of stakeholders at the local, regional and international levels. In 2009, some 8 million words were processed at headquarters using internal and external resources. The ICRC’s language staff and their external partners edited, translated and proofread a broad variety of public communication materials, including media products and materials for the ICRC website, publications, donor documentation and public statements, and documents of a legal and operational nature.”

The ICRC’s Annual Report 2009 describes the harm that armed conflicts inflict on populations around the world, and what the organization is doing to protect and assist them.

In 2009, the ICRC distributed 88,515 tonnes of food to 4.07 million people. Its water, sanitation and construction projects benefited more than 14.2 million people – the majority of whom were women and children – while the number of patients treated at health facilities supported by the organization was close to 5.6 million.

ICRC delegates visited around half a million detainees in 74 countries and four international courts, and handled almost 509,000 Red Cross messages, enabling family members separated by hostilities and other crises to restore contact. Around 143,000 of the messages were exchanged between detainees and their families.

The Annual Report is an in-depth country-by-country account of the ICRC’s operations in 2009. One section covers activities carried out at the Geneva headquarters, while operational statistics and a statement of accounts appear in a separate section. The report contains a current list of countries party to the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols.

Source: Annual Report 2009 of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)