The Red Cross is a charitable relief organization with a global reach.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was founded on October 29, 1863, at the initiative of Swiss Henri Dunant. It was then known as the International Committee for the Relief of Wounded Soldiers and was renamed the International Committee for the Relief of Wounded Soldiers in 1880. It is the first Red Cross organization in the world and a civil society organization in Switzerland.
It is composed entirely of Swiss citizens and is protected and bound by Swiss law, with its headquarters in Geneva. Its supreme authority is the annual general assembly, with an executive board leading day-to-day affairs during the closing period of the assembly. The purpose of the Board is to do good in war.
Under the Geneva Conventions, the Commission is able to act as a neutral body for the protection and relief of the victims of war, to receive allegations of violations of the humanitarian conventions, to work for the improvement and dissemination of the humanitarian conventions, and to cooperate with interested groups in the training of medical personnel and the development of medical equipment.
Purpose of the International Committee of the Red Cross:
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization with a unique humanitarian mission to protect the life and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance.
The ICRC also seeks to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and the universal principles of humanity. Founded in 1863, the ICRC is the initiator of the Geneva Conventions and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The organization is responsible for guiding and coordinating the international action of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in armed conflicts and other situations of violence.
Legal mandate of the ICRC:
This mandate has two origins:
The Geneva Conventions, which give the ICRC the task of visiting detainees; organizing rescue operations; and assisting in the reunification of separated families and similar humanitarian activities during armed conflicts. .
The Statutes of the ICRC, which encourage the organization to undertake similar work in situations of internal violence to which the Geneva Conventions do not apply.
The Geneva Conventions are binding treaties of international law which have worldwide application. The Statutes of the International Committee of the Red Cross were adopted at the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
The Conference, which meets every four years and is attended by the States Parties to the Geneva Conventions, gives the ICRC Statutes a quasi-legal or "soft law" status.
References: Baidu Encyclopedia - International Committee of the Red Cross