The International Committee of the Red Cross was first formed in 1863. They are based in Geneva, Switzerland with a total 185 countries that recognize their work. The Red Cross is a private organization who is neutral and independent towards all countries, disregarding their nationality, race, religion, social class, and political opinion. Their goal is to help and protect all humans that are victims of war and internal violence in their countries. They direct and perform all international relief activities after a conflict.

One of their biggest focuses is to protect women and children during times of war. In most third world countries, culture recognizes men as most important while women and children are often part of the crossfire. Women and children are innocent victims in most of these wars, being killed and tortured, ending up having to suffer the most. Families are miserably separated, with most of the males in the family forced into armed forces, female children killed if they are of no use, and women forced to work for the men or sometimes even sent into battle. These are the reasons that provide motivation for the Red Cross to focus more on helping the victims who often have more chances of surviving, the women and children. During peacetime, they also help people who are affected by a major natural disaster or a man made disaster.  They have won a total of three noble peace prizes (1917, 1944, and 1963) for their efforts to help humans in all situations of need.