INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SERVICES

Tracing and Red Cross Messages

In 1905 the ARC was mandated by the United States Congress to provide tracing, message and reunion services between people in the U.S. and their relatives around the world. Tracing services can reach every community. Tracing is the application of the principles of international humanitarian law. 

Dissemination of International Humanitarian Law

The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 mandate that every government that sign the Geneva Conventions must disseminate information to the public and educate its military about international humanitarian law. Trained instructors provide education about the Geneva Conventions, making presentations and teaching courses to the public and to Red Cross paid and volunteer staff. 

How Tracing and International Social Services Works

The Pioneer Valley Chapter social service staff and volunteers work with the individual to secure information about the lost relative and the circumstances during the war that created the separation. The ISS Division then sends the inquiry to the appropriate Red Cross or Red Crescent Society, Magen David Adom, or the International Committee of the Red Cross. The American Red Cross also has a Holocaust and World Victims Tracing Center in Baltimore, Maryland. 
Some inquiries take several months, some several years to resolve. 

Some inquiries may never be successfully answered. Searching for lost family members often moves beyond the actual time of the war. Often the most miraculous events take place with sisters finding a brother whom they have not seen since WWII, or a Rwandan refugee receiving a Red Cross message that assures him his family has survived. And each day, in chapters across the country, American Red Cross workers participate in these miracles by locating family members at the request of other Red Cross Societies. If you would like to speak to one of our caseworkers to initiate a tracing, message or to volunteer, please call 413-737-4306 ext. 911.

Tracing relatives who are traveling abroad

For information about an immediate family member who is an American citizen traveling in a foreign country or on temporary assignment in a foreign country affected by natural disaster, war or civil unrest, you must contact the Citizen Emergency Center of the United States Department of State in Washington DC. The Department of State can be contacted at (202) 647-6614, (202) 647-5225 or (202) 647-4000. These numbers are subject to change, to find the most current number, call your local director assistance.

To find out more about the work of the International Red Cross, www.redcross.org will link you to our national public web page.