International committee of the Red Cross

The mission and the mandate of the ICRC

All the action of the ICRC is founded on the following mission, which is the synthetic expression of its nature and its specificity:

Impartial, neutral and independent organization, the International committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to the exclusively humane mission to protect the life and dignity from the victims of the war and internal violence, and to carry assistance to them. It directs and coordinates the international activities of help of the Movement in the conflict situations. He also endeavors to prevent the suffering by the promotion and the reinforcement of the right and the universal humane principles.

Created in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the international Movement of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.

The vocation of the ICRC is exclusively humane; it intervenes in the conflict situations armed or of internal disorders, with for essential mission of decreasing the sufferings of the victims of these violences, without reference to membership political, ethnic, religious or social. With this intention, it must be recognized by all the parts with the conflict in the zones where it works. In addition, it directs and coordinates the international activities of help of the international Movement of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent where there exists already a conflict.

The mandate of the ICRC is recognized in right and was entrusted to him by the international community: Geneva Conventions quote indeed by name the ICRC for the achievement of various essential humane tasks in the event of armed conflict. To that the Statutes of the ICRC are added, on the basis of which the organization can develop its activities in the situations of internal violence although those are not covered by Geneva Conventions.

History of the ICRC

August 1st

The action of the ICRC

The activities of the ICRC are tallied by the seven basic principles of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent: Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntariate, unit and universality.

To achieve its mission, the ICRC articulated its activities around four poles or programs:

the protection of the people affected by a conflict, which they are prisoners of war, of prisoners of safety, or civilians undergoing the effects of the engagements. The delegates visit the places of detention, discuss without witnesses with certain prisoners their choice, then subject their observations and recommendations to the responsible authorities so that these last ensure of the material conditions and psychological in conformity with the right in force. For the civil population, the delegates enquièrent themselves of their situation and possible violations made in their opposition by the parts with the conflict (armed or rebels). The dialog between the ICRC and the alleged leaders of the violations is in theory confidential, except durable blocking or particularly serious violation, in which case the ICRC can choose to be expressed publicly as it was the case for example with the Myanmar, denounced on June 29th, 2007. An important side of the work of protection of the ICRC aims at restoring the family ties, if a family were separated by the engagements: this re-establishment can be done by the exchange of Croix-Rouge messages (form allowing the exchange of family news and conveyed by the delegates of the ICRC or the volunteers of the National companies of the Red Cross or the Red Crescent), or seeks it of a reported person missing, that is at the time of an arrest, of an act of war or a precipitated displacement, during which the children lose the contact with their parents.

the assistance of the people affected by a conflict. There too, that can relate to the civil population, the prisoners, the casualties, the patients, etc In addition to the distributions of food or of well-known material of first need, the ICRC developed techniques of orthopedic equipment particularly adapted to the precarious conditions prevailing in the countries in war, and also trains surgeons with the specific practices of the surgery of war.

the prevention of the war crimes and other violations of DIH (international law humane, also called (but improperly) " right of the guerre"). The ICRC works with this objective by the promotion and the reinforcement of the right and the universal humane principles, through the DIH. Thus it is at the origin in 1864 the first Geneva Convention, then of the four Geneva Conventions in 1949, from their two Additional protocols in 1977, and of their third Additional protocol of 2005, which is currently in force. The ICRC supports the States which wish to ratify the treaties of DIH or which, after the ratification, must put their national legislation in conformity with the DIH. They are initially Geneva Conventions and their three Additional protocols, but also other treaties which protect the people affected by the conflicts, like the Traité of Ottawa aiming to the prohibition of the anti-personnel mines. The ICRC also actively promoted the preventive prohibition of the plugging weapons laser.

the co-operation with the other components of the international Movement of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. It is about the International federation of the Companies of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, as well as National companies, currently (2007) 183. Within the framework of its prerogatives, the ICRC has indeed the responsibility to recognize the National companies (e.g. French Croix-Rouge, Afghan Red Crescent or, more recently, the Magen David Adom Israeli and Palestinian Red Crescent, etc) when those answer ten basic criteria aiming at ensuring that the lately recognized Company will be able to act in the respect of the DIH, but also of the basic principles and the Statutes of the Movement. Before and after their recognition, the ICRC also supports them in their own country, so that they develop and can fulfill their role of auxiliaries of the public authorities and provide the humane services according to the noted needs.

The ICRC has a statute of observer with UNO. He also collaborates with other international authorities like the European Union, African Union, the SOEC, as well as the non-governmental organizations with which he as well as possible coordinates his activities of assistance on the ground for the interest of the recipients.

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