International Organization for Peace, Care and Relief

International Organization for Peace, Care and Relief

Abbreviation	IOPCR
Formation	1999
Type	Non-governmental organization (NGO)
Legal status	Special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
Purpose	Humanitarian
Headquarters	Tripoli, Libya
Region served	International
President	Khaled K. El-Hamedi
Website	iopcr.org

The International Organization for Peace, Care and Relief (IOPCR) is a non-governmental organization based in Tripoli, Libya. Founded in 1999, the organization has special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) and has an independent legal and financial status. The president of the organization is Khaled K. El-Hamedi, a son of Libyan former Major General Khweldi Hameidi.

IOPCR joining Viva Palestina's first convey that was crossing Libya in March 2009

Background

IOPCR was founded to act in different humanitarian fields, with aims to address issues relating to peace, stability and prosperity.

Its objectives^[1] are to:

• Promote a just international peace that respects peoples social and cultural differences.
• Condemn all forms of aggression and military conflicts against peoples and to denounce their instigators.
• Contradict all forms of collective deportations and forced migration, therefore to defend and to strengthen the rights of individuals that guarantee them a home country in which they can live in peacefully and securely.^[2]
• Contradict the production and use of all forms of weapons, in particular weapons of mass destruction, while requesting belligerent countries to disclose information about their planted mines.
• Provide the protection to refugees (groups and/or individuals) until a safe repatriation is made possible for them.^[3]
• Enlighten the world opinion about environment damages and their impact on human health and quality of future generation's life.^[4]
• Cooperate with all organizations and institutions that have similar objectives.^[5][6]

Administrative organs

The General Assembly is the highest authority of the organization whose members are both individuals and artificial persons that includes the founding members, the organizers and the observers as identified by the General Assembly and the administration is organized as follows:

• The organization's General Assembly
• The Executive Bureau
• Secretariats of Local and International Branches
• Technical Divisions

Activities

IOPCR volunteers taking care of illegal immigrants in an accommodation center in Misrata, Libya in February 2007

Since its establishment the organization engaged individually or with cooperation with other organizations in different humanitarian issues aiming to accomplish its objectives in various fields.

The organization has acted in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees and others in the illegal migration across the Mediterranean and refugees cases.^[7] They have also participated in a number of international conferences and assembles concerning these issues, helping to provide the protection and to address these problems.

• Providing humanitarian aids to places that have been inflicted by natural disasters such as the earthquakes that hit Algeria, Iran, Darfur and Kassala - Sudan, and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
• Sending its delegations to approach victims of conflicts and war zones in different regions like Bosnia, Afghanistan, and helping in handling the issue of Kuwaiti prisoners of war (POWs) and those missing in action during the invasion of Kuwait^[8] in 2002, and after that in 2003 IOPCR sent its delegations accompanied with a plane loaded with humanitarian assistants to the Iraqis whom where affected by the Iraq War,^[9] also organized air conveys of aids and assistance to the Palestinian people as well as donating a number of ambulances to hospitals and health centers in Gaza Strip^[10][11] - Palestine and joined the Viva Palestina convey with trucks loaded with tons of assistance,^[12] also helped survivors from the sinking of the Egyptian ferry Al-Salam Boccaccio 98.

In March 2010 the IOPCR launched from Tripoli, Libya, the humanitarian campaign to support the Palestinian people, a fraternity program between the Libyan and Palestinian families under the patronage of the organization^[13] that was signed on January 10, 2010, in Gaza between the president of IOPCR Khaled El Hamedi and the Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh during the organizations delegation's trip to Gaza.

Partners

The arrival of IOPCR's humanitarian aids for the Palestinian people to Al-Arish Airport on January 15, 2009

IOPCR donated ambulance vans to a number of Palestinian hospitals and Health centers in March 2009

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)^[14]
• The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD)^[15]
• The Italian Council for Refugees (CIR)^[16]
• The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)^[17]
• The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC]^[18]
• Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
• The International Organization for Migration (IOM)^[19]

References

1. UNHCR official website , International Organization for Peace, Care and Relief / NGO Directory, October 01, 2008
2. UNHCR chief and Libyan partner discuss protection for refugees in mixed migration flows / UNHCR News , 15 October 2009
3. "Global Detention Project / Libya Detention Profile / UNHCR, IOM, and NGOs / November 2009". Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
4. "Libya 2010 Gas & Oil Expo, Alarab Newspaper, issue 8417, March 10, 2010 / front page / arabic" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
5. "Arab Laws Reform / Activities / Freedom of Association in Libya / February 23, 2010". Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
6. International Organization for Migration / Policy and Research / Regional Consultative Processes / Overview of Principal RCPs / page 5 / April 2009
7. 10 point plan expert round table, Tunis 2009 / Specific good practice example #4
8. Sheikh Mohammed Al-Sabah receives foreign officials, KUNA / news / Politics March 04, 2002
9. "A Libyan relief plane arrives in Baghdad today with a slogan "NO to war, YES to peace", Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, December 23, 2002, issue 8791". Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
10. IOPCR organized a free medical day in Gaza/PNN/March 30,2009
11. Haniyah signs relief deal with Libya to support 1,000 Gazan families / Ma'an News Agency / News January 09, 2010
12. Al-Hayat Journal, issue (4790) Monday,March 02, 2009
13. Signing of the fraternity program between the Palestinian and the Libyan families, Palestine Information Center
14. UNHCR signs agreement aimed at ensuring refugee protection in Libya / News , 4 July 2008
15. "A Comprehensive Survey of Migration Flows and Institutional Capabilities in Libya / ICMPD". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
16. Initiatives in favour of refugees in Libya, CIR Press Release 29 febbraio, 2008 Archived 2011-07-25 at the Wayback Machine
17. UNRWA Signs Memorandum of Understanding with the International Organization for Peace, Care and Relief/ UNRWA Press Releases /11 January 2010
18. Ambassador Mannan conducts important talks in Libya , OIC News 28 December 2008^{[permanent dead link‍]}
19. IOM Partnership with Libyan Civil Society Assists Detained Migrants , migrants at sea ,wordpress , News

External links

• IOPCR
• The Humanitarian Campaign to Support the Palestinian People
• World News Network