Almost all National Societies and States consider the independence, neutrality and impartiality of the ICRC to be essential for the performance of its tasks, and to be important factors in the cohesion and unity of the Red Cross Movement. In the main, that independence, neutrality and impartiality are based on three special characteristics of the ICRC:

— its members are co-opted, thereby excluding any kind of external influence;

— its members are all of the same nationality, thereby preventing governments from influencing the ICRC in reaching its decisions;

— being Swiss, its members are citizens of a country which is bound by neutral status in perpetuity.