Malaysia: Regional training on restoring family links
Every year, thousands of family members are separated by conflicts, disasters or migration. People suffer terribly when they lose contact with their loved ones and do not know where they are or whether they are safe. The ICRC and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies work together around the world to locate people and put them back into contact with their relatives. This work includes looking for family members, restoring contact, reuniting families and seeking to clarify the fate of those who remain missing.
Malaysia played host to the first ICRC Restoring Family Links (RFL) regional training recently. This first regional training session, organized by ICRC regional protection training office in Bangkok and the ICRC regional delegate, Kuala Lumpur, gathered 23 ICRC RFL practitioners from seven delegations across Asia.
Based on requests from participants the training topics ranged from management of a protection office to RFL in detention and tracing activities, looking also at specific issues such as RFL in emergencies and RFL activities for migrants and their families. Participants took time to share experiences, best practices and challenges, as well as discussing in groups on RFL cases and exercises.
After a disaster, natural or man-made, the remains of the deceased must be collected in a timely manner, properly managed and identified. Participants simulated a disaster scenario to look at the forensic work of the ICRC. CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / M. Djuly
