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Reference.org
International Committee of the Red Cross
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<p>The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a <a href="/facts/Aid_agency/CNfHlVml">humanitarian organization</a> based in <a href="/facts/Geneva/14gXxjcq">Geneva</a>, Switzerland, and is a three-time <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize/3z1Y3oFL">Nobel Prize</a> laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of <a href="/facts/Law_of_war/utYdPbBD">rules of war</a> and promoting <a href="/facts/Humanitarianism/lq8n2I4x">humanitarian norms</a>. </p><p>State parties (signatories) to the <a href="/facts/Geneva_Convention/692ICAy0">Geneva Convention</a> of 1949 and its Additional Protocols of 1977 (<a href="/facts/Protocol_I/1Clq3wBs">Protocol I</a>, <a href="/facts/Protocol_II/cKYCsjje">Protocol II</a>) and <a href="/facts/Protocol_III/tSVHN4gT">2005</a> have given the ICRC a mandate to protect victims of international and internal <a href="/facts/War/MPluTbJ0">armed conflicts</a>. Such victims include war wounded persons, <a href="/facts/Prisoner/wCK9J682">prisoners</a>, <a href="/facts/Refugee/VISfRRnT">refugees</a>, <a href="/facts/Civilian/ApBkSzGP">civilians</a>, and other <a href="/facts/Non-combatant/na4esV7M">non-combatants</a>. </p><p>The ICRC is part of the <a href="/facts/International_Red_Cross_and_Red_Crescent_Movement/KcT9EGnA">International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement</a>, along with the <a href="/facts/International_Federation_of_Red_Cross_and_Red_Crescent_Societies/zNRcDSoS">International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies</a> (IFRC) and 191 <a href="/facts/List_of_Red_Cross_and_Red_Crescent_Societies/AB5JjhCq">National Societies</a>. It is the oldest and most honoured organization within the movement and one of the most widely recognized organizations in the world, having won three <a href="/facts/Nobel_Peace_Prize/2wVhmLrX">Nobel Peace Prizes</a> (in 1917, 1944, and 1963). </p>