The Agency Archives contain individual data regarding victims of armed conflicts and other situations of violence that has been collected by the ICRC in the course of its humanitarian activities since the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. These archives reflect the efforts made by the ICRC to restore family links or, at least, to keep families informed on the fate of their beloved ones. They are composed of millions of index cards as well as of other individual data about people held in captivity and detention on all continents.

Highlighting the history of this core activity of the ICRC and exploring the richness and variety of these archives are the purposes of this blog section.