Families displaced by war, disaster, civil disturbance, and refugee displacement have turned to the Red Cross for help in contacting relatives since the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The Geneva Conventions confer on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) responsibility to protect people affected by conflict situations, to locate missing family members, and to re-establish communications.

International Services works in providing a number of services. The psychological and emotional distress over a missing relative is just as important to address as their physical well being. We have helped hundreds of families in Los Angeles County to find missing loved ones and recover information about the well-being or wartime experiences of their families.

International Services initiatives focus on restoring family links through international family tracing and Holocaust tracing and International Humanitarian Law dissemination.

1. International Family Tracing Services / Restoring Family Links

Restoring Family Links alleviates the suffering of family members separated by armed conflict or disaster worldwide. Free of charge, this service gives families a way to restore contact. Restoring Family Links services include:

• Family Tracing and Location Services
• Red Cross Messages
• Health and Welfare Inquires
• Disaster Welfare Inquires
• ICRC Travel Documents
• Information and Referral Services

 2. Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Service

The mission of Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Service is to help alleviate the emotional, spiritual and psychological distress of survivors and their families by providing them with humanitarian tracing, reunification and certification services, and information about missing loved ones. Holocaust survivors can search – for themselves or family members – for proof of:

• Internment
• Forced and slave labor
• Deportation, evacuation or dislocation from occupied regions.

The Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Service uses the combined resources from a worldwide network of national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, the Magen David Adom and approximately 900 chapters throughout the United States, as well as countless museums, archives and organizations around the world.

3. International Humanitarian Law Dissemination

The American Red Cross has a unique mandate to educate the American public about the guiding principles and International Humanitarian Law framework as it applies to the protection of members of the armed forces. including prisoners of war and civilians. International Humanitarian Law serves as the internationally agreed upon standard of humane treatment and response to non-combatants and combatants alike during armed conflict. Its principal legal documents are the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and two sets of protocols that further expand these rights.

 Resources:

 International Services Overview…

• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
• National American Red Cross Internal Services page
• Measles Initiative
• Restoring Family Links, brochure
• International Humanitarian Law Dissemination
• Introduction to International Humanitarian Law
• Holocaust Tracing brochure
• Spanish: El Derecho Internacional Humanitario y el Movimiento Internacional de La Cruz Roja y de la Media Luna

*To initiate a search contact, please contact International Services, Los Angeles Region 626-407-4536. All services are free and confidential.