COME INTERNATIONAL DE LA CROIX - ROUGE

MEMORANDUM

1. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC ) has already expressed on several occasions its anxiety at the situation of the persons interned in the Centres at Pusan in the Republic of Korea and Omura in Japan.
2. The special mission the Committee sent to Asia visited these two centres, on May 14 and 19, 1956 respectively. Another visit was made to Omura, on November,30, 1956, and the Hamamatsu Centre was inspected on December 13, 1956.
3. This special mission also had an opportunity of explaining clearly to the authorities concerned in the Republic of Korea and in Japan that the closure of these centres was considered by the ICRC to be essential on the grounds of humanity.
4. The ICRC has followed with deep interest the reports in the press concerning the discussions on the question which have been going on for several months.
It finds, much to its regret, that the discussions have not led to a solution being found for the problem facing it, but on the contrary have met with obstacles which have not yet been surmounted.
5. Consequently, the ICRC considers it its duty once again to draw the attention of the authorities concerned in these two States to the lot of the internees, who should no longer be made the innocent victims of a situation brought about by problems of a political nature to which no solution has yet been found. The ICRC considers that such persons should be released and voluntarily repatriated without delay. Such a sept - and there is no need to emphasize its humanitarian nature - could be easily taken if the Korean and Japanese authorities would deal with it quite separately from the problem of sovereignty, or any other problem, without thereby prejudging in any way the futhre solution of those problems.
6. The ICRC recalls that the XVIIIth International Conference of the Red Cross, held at Toronto in July-August 1952, unanimously adopted a resolution concerning the release of persons detained as a result of the second world war and the events which followed it; this resolution fully covers the situation which is the subject of this memorandum.
7. The International Committee therefore urges the Authorities concerned to act in the way it advises and requests the Red Cross Societies of the Republic of Korea and Japan to support this viewpoint in discussions with their Governments.
8. Pending an early positive solution, leading to the release and voluntary repatriation of the persons concerned, the International Committee recommends that the transmission of relief supplies be permitted and facilitated. The sending of relief, whatever its material value, for persons deprived of their liberty, constitutes moral support of which it would be inhuman to deprive them.