12 August 2014

To the Red Cross International Committee

12 August 2014 the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic Ekaterina Gubareva addressed the Red Cross International Committee with the following letter.

To the Red Cross International Committee
19 Avenue de la Paix CH 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
To: Peter Maurer, the President

Dear Mr. Maurer,

We are authorized to address you with the following request. At present we have a very difficult humanitarian situation in Donetsk and Lugansk regions: there is no electricity and water supply, there is a lack of vital medicines and delays in food delivery. Due to this there has appeared a real threat to the life of the civil population who are not taking part in any military actions.
Kiev’s intensifying the military operation violates the Geneva Statement of 17 April 2014, the Berlin Declaration of 2 July 2014 as well as the UN Security Council Resolution 2166 and leads to numerous civilian casualties, including children, and destruction of the infrastructure vital to the population.
Certain countries and organizations have expressed their willingness to provide humanitarian aid to our people but, due to our regions being surrounded by the military operations, there is a necessity of creating humanitarian convoys. On the grounds of the above and according to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 on the civil population protection in the time of war we are asking for your assistance in the humanitarian convoys’ passing through dangerous military zones, including granting them a right to bear RCIC symbols, and any other help available in the current situation.
We hope for your political impartiality and efficiency.
If we can assist you in any way or provide you with any additional information, please, don’t hesitate to contact us immediately.

Sincerely yours
The Foreign Affairs Minister
of the Donetsk People’s Republic
Ekaterina Gubareva

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