【Establishment】Established in 1863.
【Objectives】 In accordance with the mission and mandate granted by the Geneva Conventions and the Constitution of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, carry out humanitarian activities of protecting and rescuing wars and conflicts victims in a neutral position, in international or non-international armed conflicts and civil strives.
【Head of the Organization】President Peter Maurer (Swiss), took office in July 2012.
【Headquarters】Geneva, Switzerland.
【Website】http://www.icrc.org.
【Publications】"Annual Report"; "International Review of Red Cross", quarterly, English and French.
【Organization】(1) Congress: the highest authority. Formulate working principles and general policies and supervise all activities of the committee. The Congress is composed of members of the International Committee. The members are elected among Swiss citizens by self-selection every 4 years. (2) Executive Council: Responsible for guiding daily affairs and supervising administrative management. Members are elected by the Congress.
【Main activities】Disseminate international humanitarian law, provide medical services and relief to victims in wars, carry out international tracing work to help reunite separated families, visit prisoners of wars and detained civilians, and assist in the exchange of prisoners of wars.
【Representatives in China】The ICRC established a representative office of East Asia in Beijing in July 2005. Director of Representative Office : Bai Liang (Jacques Pellet, French), took office in September 2019. Office address: No. 3-2, Qijiayuan Diplomatic Apartment, Chaoyang District, Beijing. Telephone: 010-85323290.
【China’s Relationship with ICRC】On May 29-31, 2018, ICRC President Maurer visited China. H.E. Mr. Wang Qishan, Vice President of China, H.E. Mr. Chen Zhu, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of China Red Cross Society, Mr. Zhang Jun, Assistant Foreign Minister, Mr. Liu Zhiqiang, Vice Justice Minister, Mr. Huang Ming, Deputy Minister of Emergency Management, Mr. Wang Xiaotao, Director of the National Agency for International Development Cooperation, and Ms. Zhang Haidi, Chairperson of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, met with him.
On September 2, 2019, the opening ceremony of the 11th National Congress of China Red Cross Society was held in Beijing. Peter Maurer, president of ICRC, delivered a video speech. Bai Liang, special envoy of ICRC for China affairs and director of the East Asia Regional Office, attended the meeting.
On September 23, 2019, ICRC, China, Switzerland, and South Africa co-hosted commemoration for the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions at the United Nations Headquarter in New York, with the theme "Promoting multilateralism and strengthening humanitarian input. State Councilor and Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Wang Yi attended the commemoration and delivered a keynote speech. H.E. Mr. Ueli Maurer, President of the Swiss Confederation, H.E. Mr. Peter Maurer, President of ICRC, and H.E. Ms. Naledi Pandor, Foreign Minister of South Africa, attended the meeting.
On December 9-12, 2019, the 33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent was held in Geneva, with the theme "Action Now, Shape the Future". H.E. Mr. Chen Zhu, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of China Red Cross Society, and H.E. Mr. Chen Xu, Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland, separately led delegations of China Red Cross Society and Chinese Government to attend the meeting and delivered speeches. The meeting discussed and adopted many resolutions on issues such as protection of victims of armed conflicts under international humanitarian law, paying attention to vulnerable groups, and trust building in humanitarian actions.
On February 15, 2020, State Councilor and Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Wang Yi met with H.E. Mr. Maurer, President of ICRC, while attending the 56th Munich Security Conference.