… Why and how did the International Committee of the Red Cross commit itself? The reasons for its commitment were clearly expressed by the Delegate-General of the ICRC for Africa, even before the break was complete between the government of Nigeria and the leaders of the Eastern province. Concluding a report giving; an account, at the end of 1966, of the disturbances by which Nigeria had been torn during the year, Mr. Georges Hoffmann—under the title “Disaster relief in case of man-made disaster”—defined the task he wanted the ICRC to undertake: “A holocaust is taking place; there are victims, and care must be given to those who are not dead. As in the case of natural disasters, there must be teams of surgeons, supplies of surgical equipment, medical supplies, foodstuffs and blankets, and there must be means of transport, particularly ambulances and vans”. In short, it was necessary to set up in Geneva, in agreement with the League of Red Cross Societies, an organization which would make it possible to confront those “man-made disasters” similar to the one which the League had already created in Nigeria to deal with natural disasters.

Representing the International Committee of the Red Cross on this occasion gives me a welcome opportunity to thank the International Committee of Military Medicine and Pharmacy (ICMMP) for its constant help and support and at the same time to thank the many medical officers who offered their services to us for various medical missions in so many countries. The ICRC has always need of doctors and qualified medical personnel and we hope that these invaluable and essential volunteers will continue to come forward in sufficient numbers for the accomplishment of manifold, interesting, and satisfying humanitarian assignments.

As a result of the events of 10 and 11 January 1970 in Nigeria, with the cessation of the fighting, the ICRC at once took several emergency measures.

Meeting in plenary session, the International Committee of the Red Cross elected Mr. Harald Huber to membership.

Born in St. Gall in 1912, Mr. Huber was educated at Rorschach and St. Gall and at the universities of Geneva, Munich, and Zurich. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws at Zurich in 1938 and the lawyer's certificate at St. Gall in 1940.

The International Committee of the Red Cross recently received a donation of ten thousand dollars (43,200— Swiss francs) from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon.

It has also received four large donations—26,170 francs, 11,830 francs, 60,000 francs, and 100,000 francs—totalling 198,000 francs. The donors chose to remain anonymous.

The opening of hostilities was preceded by minor incidents at first, then followed by more serious ones notably at the two football matches between the national teams of Honduras and Salvador which took place in June, the one in Tegucigalpa and the other in San Salvador.

On 15 November 1969 the Accademia nazionale dei Lincei presented the International Committee of the Red Cross with the Antonio Feltrinelli gold medal which is awarded in recognition of actions of a high humanitarian and moral value or for work in medical science.

The International Tracing Service, directed and administered by the ICRC since 1955, has recently produced a volume of considerable importance after several years work based on documents obtained over the past twenty years. This consists of 612 pages, in addition to an introduction of 50 pages and is entitled, Vorlaufiges Verzeichnis der Haftstätten unter dem Reichsführer-SS, 1933-1945. (Provisional list of concentration camps and their outside detachments, and of their places of detention dependent on the Reichsfiihrer- SS in Germany and the German-occupied territories, 1933- 1945.)