100 countries, 1 humanitarian mission: to promote respect for the laws of war #IHL and help people caught up in armed conflicts and violence. International Committee of the Red Cross: 100 countries, 1 humanitarian mission: to promote respect for the laws of war #IHL and help people caught up in armed conflicts and violence. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles. Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the Geneva Conventions and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It directs and coordinates the international activities conducted by the Movement in armed conflicts and other situations of violence.