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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

🤝 Getting aid to people in war zones isn’t just about logistics - it’s about trust. ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric on the enduring power of the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

A valuable discussion on the #GlobalIHLInitiative with MPs Sarah Champion and Monica Harding of the International Development Committee, Fabian Hamilton MP of The British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and Freddie Carver of the @hpg-odiglobal.bsky.social of @odi.global.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

⚖️ Yesterday at Westminster, ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric addressed MPs, peers, and government officials on the urgent need to uphold the rules of war. In an increasingly volatile world, strengthening respect for international humanitarian law cannot wait.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Thanks for following my updates. I’ve tried to show humane treatment is a legal imperative as much as a moral one, rooted in international law. When we restore or protect the dignity of detainees, we preserve what binds us together; our humanity. – Terry

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Respect for law and dignity: humane treatment and conditions for detainees and allowing contact with families helps keep a level of trust between parties in conflict and can reduce harm that fuels revenge. Humane detention can build pathways to peace. blogs.icrc.org/law-and-poli...

blogs.icrc.org

Peace can start in a prison cell: how IHL and humane detention can build pathways to peace

Compliance with IHL in detention can serve as a legal and moral bridge towards peace, rooted in dignity, accountability, and trust.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Torture and other forms of cruel, degrading or humiliating treatment are illegal and can never be justified. We try to prevent these practices and put an end to them where they do occur. But, ultimately, treating detainees humanly is the responsibility of those who detain them.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Imagine being reduced to an animal, number, or object. This language strips people of dignity and is part of attempts to make cruelty – or even torture - easier to justify. 👇 My blog post on dehumanisation: blogs.icrc.org/law-and-poli...

blogs.icrc.org

Dehumanizing detention: degrading our collective humanity

Terry Hackett at the ICRC emphasizes the urgent need to reject dehumanization and protect the dignity and rights of detainees globally.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Terry here – back again for my final day of updates. Today, I want to talk about the proliferation of dehumanising narratives in contexts of detention. Let’s unpack why that matters.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

I hope these updates are helping you see the human side of our work. Every detainee is a person - with a name, a family, and dignity that must be protected. Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the issue of dehumanising narratives in detention, and what this means for detainees. – Terry

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

But few moments are as powerful as seeing people who had been deprived of liberty being reunited with their families. It’s a key role of the ICRC, and our teams around the world do remarkable work supporting it. 📸 Detainees being released in Yemen.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

We also help detainees learn new skills. In this prison in Chad, we run a programme that teaches detainees how to make soap: a small skill with a big impact. It’s not just about hygiene. It’s about purpose and dignity. www.icrc.org/en/article/c...

icrc.org

Chad: Behind bars, detainees learn how to rebuild their lives

La prison de Klessoum, à N’Djamena, des détenus façonnent chaque jour des savons, bien loin des images souvent associées à leur condition.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Our support for detainees takes many forms, including protecting their health. In Kabul last year, we helped prison authorities fight a scabies outbreak - because everyone should have dignity and healthcare, even those in detention.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Hi again, Terry here. Yesterday, we spoke about the roots of our detention work. Today, we’ll explore what this means for detainees and their families in specific contexts: Afghanistan, Chad, and Yemen. Let’s get into it. 📸 Visiting places of detention in Afghanistan, 2024.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

I’m signing off for today, but I’ll be back online tomorrow. I’ll share what this work looks like in real-life situations, with stories from Yemen, Chad, and Afghanistan. - Terry

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

During these visits, we should be able to: 1️⃣ Meet with authorities 2️⃣ Go to all areas of the place of detention to look at food, heating, hygiene 3️⃣ Interview detainees privately 4️⃣ Raise concerns with authorities 5️⃣ Return to visit again 📸 On a visit in The Philippines, 2020

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

In 2024, our teams conducted 1,804 visits to 661 places of detention. We check detainees’ living conditions, speak with them in private, and help them stay in touch with family. Because being detained shouldn't mean being forgotten. 🎥 My colleague, Ross, explains.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

We also work with detainees in non-international armed conflicts and other situations of violence, who are often labelled ‘political’ or ‘security’ detainees. No matter why they are detained, they have a right to humane treatment. 📸 A delegate and detainee in Liberia, 2012.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

This work is part of our DNA, dating back to our first detention visit to POW camps during WWI. Under the Geneva Conventions, we must be given access to people who are detained in relation to international armed conflicts. 📸 German POWs pictured during an ICRC visit, 1915.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Let’s start with the basics: who is a detainee? It’s anyone who is deprived of liberty, such as civilians or prisoners of war. But no matter the context, they must all be treated humanely 📸 An ICRC delegate speaking to a detainee in the Central African Republic, 2012.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Hi, I’m Terry Hackett. I lead the ICRC’s work with people deprived of their liberty. Over the next 3 days, I’ll be sharing what our detention work looks like on the ground - how our teams support detainees, what we do, and why it matters. 📸 Me on the far left, in Venezuela.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

📢#ICRCvoices | “Seeing human remains as people – not just bodies – is at the heart of forensics. It’s about protecting someone’s dignity in death.” Irish forensic specialist Niamh Smith speaks about her work in Ukraine in our new ICRC Voices article. www.icrc.org/en/article/i...

icrc.org

ICRC voices: Dignity for the Dead in Ukraine

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

I hope the pain and suffering will end, that the flow of casualties will stop and that I won’t have to witness another repatriation. Because although we watch movies and TV shows that depict death so casually, we should never forget that every life lost is a tragedy. - Niamh

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

On the first repatriation I took part in, people lined the road, throwing flowers as we drove back from the border, our lorries bearing human remains of fallen soldiers. In 31 years of forensics, I’ve never cried. But seeing that outpouring of grief brought a lump to my throat.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

During repatriations we act as a neutral observer, supporting efforts to ensure that the process is done with dignity and respect. There have been more than 50 of these transfers since 2022. 👉 More on our neutral role: www.icrc.org/en/article/n...

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

In every repatriation photo, you’ll see us dressed in scrubs, masks, and gloves. Even though we don’t directly handle the remains, we’re in close proximity to them. Wearing it also sets a positive example for the standards that should be applied when dealing with human remains.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

I’m back for my last day of posts. Part of my job is observing the repatriation of human remains, mostly soldiers, between Russia and Ukraine. No matter what side they fought for, every death is a tragedy. 📸Me on the left (in scrubs and a mask), observing a repatriation.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

It’s not CSI. It’s about protecting someone’s dignity in death. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about how we support the transfer of human remains between Russia and Ukraine, which allow the fallen to return to their families and be buried with the respect they deserve. - Niamh

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

I have every respect for Ukrainian forensic staff. I'm not a local - I can leave, but this is their reality. No country could easily deal with this scale of human loss. 📸 Some of the amazing staff, Ruslan and Nataliia, who work for the State Scientific Research Forensic Centre.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

They take samples from bones and teeth to extract DNA, which is crosschecked with DNA from families searching for missing relatives. Every DNA match is an answer…but it’s never the answer a family hopes for. 📸 DNA samples being extracted at a forensic lab.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

For Ukrainian forensic teams, identification doesn't start in the lab - it starts where human remains are found. Every detail is photographed and documented, from clothing to personal items. 📸 Tech devices for example, can help ID the dead (photo taken during training).

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Hi again, Niamh here. Today, I’ll tell you about the support we give to Ukrainian forensic institutions. We provide training, equipment and hundreds of thousands of DNA sample collection kits. 📸 Forensic training in Dnipro, using plastic skeletons.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Tomorrow, I'll explain how Ukrainian authorities recover and identify the dead (which includes DNA testing), and how the team and I support that vital work. Even though we can't take away the pain of grieving families, we can at least support their search for answers. - Niamh

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Recovering and identifying human remains from battlefields and unmarked graves will take years. But each recovery brings that person closer to a dignified burial. 📸 Natalia’s husband went missing and was later confirmed killed. He was returned to her in a recent repatriation.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Whether it's a homicide victim or a soldier killed in conflict, that’s a human being at their most vulnerable. They can’t tell you their name or who they are. 📸Valentina at her son’s grave, who was killed in action.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

I’ve been with the ICRC since 2022, and in Ukraine since 2024, but I’ve worked in forensics for 31 years with the homicide unit at the London Metropolitan Police, Interpol and other agencies. 📸 From my time working in Libya (before I joined the ICRC).

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Hi, I’m Niamh, an Irish forensic specialist working in Ukraine with the @icrc.org. For the next 3 days, I'll be posting here about my work, supporting authorities in their dignified management and identification of the deceased. 📸 On the road in Ukraine.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

“What I witnessed is beyond imagination…hospitals have turned into graveyards.” Speaking to BBC Radio 4 Today, our colleague, Hisham, describes some of the scenes he witnessed in Gaza City and the need for civilians still there to be protected. 👇

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Reposted by ICRC UK & Ireland

International Committee of the Red Cross @icrc.org · 01/10/2025

The intensification of military operations in Gaza City has forced us to temporarily suspend operations at our office there and relocate staff to southern Gaza to ensure safety and operational continuity. We remain committed to returning as soon as conditions allow: ms.spr.ly/63329svlk1

The intensification of military operations in Gaza City has forced us to temporarily suspend operations at our office in Gaza City and relocate staff to ICRC offices in southern Gaza to ensure their safety and operational continuity. This comes as the tens of thousands still in Gaza City face harrowing humanitarian conditions. We will continue to strive to provide support to civilians in Gaza City, whenever circumstances allow, from our offices in Deir al-Balah and Rafah, which remain fully operational. Our teams remain committed to returning to Gaza City as soon as conditions allow. Lives can still be saved today. A cessation of hostilities is imperative and urgent.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

📸 #FromTheArchives | Conflict tears families apart. In difficult times, a simple message from a loved one is enough to spark hope. In this photo from 1995, a woman in Bujumbura, Burundi, receives news from a relative via a Red Cross message.

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Reposted by ICRC UK & Ireland

International Committee of the Red Cross @icrc.org · 26/09/2025

We remain operational in Gaza City and will continue to provide the desperately needed assistance and protection activities to the most vulnerable people as long as security permits us to do so. Sarah Avrillaud, ICRC head of subdelegation in Gaza, shares 👇🏽

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Yesterday, our colleague Ahmed spoke about being displaced from Gaza City to Deir al-Balah. “This is what it’s like every day for people. Many wake thinking the situation cannot get worse, but it continues to deteriorate,” he said. ➡ In his words: ms.spr.ly/6018sWmi2

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Reposted by ICRC UK & Ireland

International Committee of the Red Cross @icrc.org · 17/09/2025

When humanitarian workers and volunteers are not protected, the people we serve are the ones who suffer the most. We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and their loved ones 👇🏽

Three of our colleagues from the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) were injured while carrying out their lifesaving work in Kherson Region. Every day, URCS staff and volunteers continue their duties under dangerous conditions. Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones. International humanitarian law (IHL) is clear: humanitarian workers should be protected, and parties to armed conflicts must take all possible measures to spare them.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

As I sign off from these updates, I wish I could say things have improved since June. But they haven't. All we can do is hold onto small pieces of happiness: watching flowers grow or sharing quiet moments of humanity with colleagues and patients. Until next time. - Rieke

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

My heart breaks for my Palestinian colleagues. They're incredibly brave, but they shouldn't have to be. We praise their strength, but every day they wake up and have to face new challenges with no end in sight. It's exhausting for every civilian. 📸 Neveen teaching a colleague.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

When I returned to Gaza for this rotation, Mohammad had found some seeds to grow flowers for the hospital. 📸 Here are some of his seedlings beginning to sprout.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

As well as making crutches, in his spare time Mohammed crafts small wooden houses to give to patients and staff. In a place where hope is as scarce as medical supplies, his handmade gifts bring small moments of joy to our field hospital.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Ordinarily, we would never have to resort to making our own crutches on site. But with everything in such short supply, we make do and mend. It’s an improvised solution for the ongoing supply issue. 📸 Carpenters checking if this pallet’s planks are strong enough for crutches.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Hi again. Today, I'll tell you about the incredible carpenters at the field hospital, including Mohammed. Thanks to their ingenuity, we're able to provide handmade crutches made from pallets for our patients to help them regain their mobility. 🎥 Mohammed in his workshop.

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

On another note, remember the carpenter I mentioned back in July? His name’s also Mohammed, and he’s still hard at work making crutches and little wooden crafts he gifts to staff and patients. Tomorrow, I’ll talk about how important those small moments of joy can be. – Rieke

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ICRC UK & Ireland @icrc-uk.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

In happier news, I met a former patient Mohamed, and his brother. Mohamed was shot in June, when we had to manage multiple MCIs after the food distribution sites opened. He was caring for his brother at the time, who was also a patient here. 🔊 Mohamed (R) and Ahmed (L).

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