Photos illustrating ICRC activities around the world in 2008. The media is welcome to use these images, which can be downloaded at high resolution.

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For a month in 2008, Carl de Keyzer, a member of Magnum Photos, was embedded in the ICRC teams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the east of the country, where tens of thousands of people have had to flee from the fighting, this famous photographer observed the daily life of displaced persons and local communities. Here he looks back on his experiences.

To mark the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, the ICRC conducted an opinion survey in eight countries affected by armed conflict. The newest findings indicate that an overwhelming majority of people agree that even wars should have limits, but far fewer are aware that rules on warfare already exist. The research results are illustrated here by award-winning photographers from the VII photo agency.

Almost three years after the summer 2006 conflict, the people of southern Lebanon still live with the threat of time-bombs in the form of cluster-munition bomblets. Chappatte has worked for many publications, including the International Herald Tribune and Swiss daily Le Temps. He went to Lebanon as part of the "Our world. Your move." campaign.

An estimated 7,000 Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers gathered in Solferino in June 2009 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of the idea that led to the creation of the Movement. The momentous occasion is captured here in words and images.

The ICRC's Eugenio Vagni has been held hostage on the Philippine island of Sulu for over five months. Between 23 and 28 June, hundreds of Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers gathering in Solferino in northern Italy to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Solferino, which led to the idea of the Red Cross/Red Crescent, showed their support for Eugenio – an Italian – and his family. On 1 July some 230 young Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers from around the world arrived in Geneva from Solferino. They gathered in the courtyard of the ICRC's Ecogia training centre to express their solidarity with Eugenio.

The weekend of 26-28 June 2009 thousands of people gathered together in northern Italy to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Solferino and celebrate the birth of an idea that led to the founding of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

A selection of photos from the book Humanity in War. These images illustrate the history of armed conflict from the second half of the 19th century to the present. They bear witness not only to the brutality of war and the suffering inflicted on combatants and civilians but also to the efforts that have been made to relieve this suffering. The photos are accompanied by an extract from the introduction to the book, written by photographer James Nachtwey.

The ICRC cares for all the victims of conflict but it adapts this care to meet their needs. Specific services for women affected by conflict include support for rape victims, medical care for women in places of detention, antenatal and postnatal care for mothers and babies, the provision of hygiene requisites/training and rehabilitation for female mine victims.

They are forced to travel huge distances, often on foot, to seek safe refuge from the fighting – these are the displaced populations of Africa. The following collection provides a glimpse of the many places in Africa where people are forced to leave their homes.

The suffering of families without news of what has happened to a relative is one of the cruellest consequences of war and disaster. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement's global network seeks to restore and maintain links between separated family members and to establish the fate of missing persons.

Photographs illustrating some of the projects carried out by the ICRC to ensure that victims of armed conflict or other violence have sufficient access to clean drinking water and sanitary facilities.

A large majority of those who disappear or are killed in armed conflict or other situations of violence are men, and thus the burden and anguish of clarifying their fate falls to the women left behind. This collection of images and text describes the ordeals women face when their male relatives go missing and what the ICRC is doing to support them.

Photos illustrating ICRC activities around the world in 2007. The media is welcome to use these images, which can be downloaded at high resolution.

This collection of images and text illustrates the worldwide human tragedy of the missing and describes the ICRC's efforts to prevent disappearances and help families of the victims learn the fate of their loved ones.

Series of photos illustrating rules laid down by the 1977 protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions, which aim to limit the suffering of people affected by armed conflict.

In our efforts to protect and assist victims of conflicts and natural disasters, fight poverty and reduce the impact of diseases, it is essential to join forces.

Women bear the brunt of the burden of displacement, having to strike a delicate balance between the risks they run in often hostile environments and the imperative to provide for the immediate needs of the family. This gallery provides a glimpse of contexts from around the world in which the ICRC is active and in which courageous women come together in their struggle to survive in sometimes impossibly difficult environments.

A series of images that illustrates the ICRC's work in support of internally displaced persons (IDPs), portraying the great diversity of contexts in which people are forced to leave their homes.

Photos illustrating ICRC activities around the world in 2006. The media is welcome to use these images, which can be downloaded at high resolution.

The red cross and red crescent emblems are visible symbols of the protection afforded to war victims under the Geneva Conventions. They also stand for the neutrality of those who use them and indicate membership in the Movement. To resolve certain problems, an additional emblem known as the red crystal, has been adopted by a diplomatic conference in December 2005 in Geneva.

A collection of photographs that gives an impression of the ICRC's work in the field of detention, including images of visits to those deprived of their freedom in different parts of the world.

Photos illustrating the ICRC's work to ensure that the victims of conflict have adequate access to water and sanitation.

Selection of photos 2004-2005. Journalists can download this series of photographs in order to illustrate articles on ICRC activities.

The ICRC's mandate to provide protection and assistance to people caught up in conflict remains as essential as ever, while its ability to do so depends on a deep and wide-reaching acceptance of its neutrality and independence.