The importance of drawing attention to the protection of women in situations of armed conflict cannot be overstated. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has always been concerned by the situation of women, and in recent years has made extra efforts to ensure that their needs are being consistently met throughout ICRC activities. This commitment was reflected in a specific“pledge” made by the ICRC at the 27th International Red Cross and Red Crescent Conference in 1999. This study on the impact of armed conflict on women has been undertaken as part of the ICRC’s endeavour to draw attention to the plight of women in wartime. It also pays tribute to their enormous strengths and capacities demonstrated on a daily basis in conflicts throughout the world. It will serve as a basis for targeted action and the ICRC will, to the extent that this is not already the case, gradually implement its main conclusions.