The International Committee of the Red Cross is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and employs some 16 thousand people for its humanitarian work. The ICRC is funded mainly by voluntary donations from governments and from National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. CGTN's reporter Meng Qingsheng sat down with Ms. Katharina Ritz, the ICRC's head of delegation in Iraq, and discussed their involvement in Iraq's reconstruction.

MENG QINGSHENG "Your delegation has direct access to different parties in Iraq, the government, armed militants, religious groups, and tribes among others. Why is that?"

KATHARINA RITZ, HEAD ICRC DELEGATION, IRAQ "Our mandate held us as first of all a neutral organization who acts impartially focusing on the humanitarian need, and need-based response. That means we seeks proximity from the communities, meaning we really need to go to the people so that we can help them, and this often entails that we have to have dialogues with the armed groups. This can be soldiers at check points, anybody who is controlling the area, tribes, community leaders, and so on, and the purpose always to be transparent, and they know what we are doing in the area and to have the proximity."

MENG QINGSHENG "You have personally participated in several missions under the ICRC across the world. How does your mission in Iraq differ from your previous ones?"

KATHARINA RITZ, HEAD ICRC DELEGATION, IRAQ "I think it's totally different, the 2005 and 2006 conflicts were obviously very devastating, despite the problems what we saw today, Iraq has improved drastically since 2005 and 2006. On the other hand, it was faced again on a second round urban fighting, the destruction of towns and cities, have incredible on the communities, rebuild once more the lives, we have helped people who have lost after they houses and the businesses have been destroyed. The second time and the third time. What strikes me most is the resilience of the people, which they want to go back home again. They want to go and rebuild the houses again, and also to try to seek a better future for their children. But it's true that it's challenging I think one conflict after another has had I mean it takes time to rebuild and bring Iraq back to a good level and national level access to education and good health system. That's a big challenge increase from one conflict to another."