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News Section Weapons and international humanitarian law International humanitarian law contains basic principles and rules governing the choice of weapons and prohibits or restricts the employment of certain weapons, means and methods of warfare.
©ICRC/J. Sohlberg/V-P-iq-n-00054-22
Anti-tank mines and unexploded munitions
As part of its mandate to promote the implementation and development of international humanitarian law, the ICRC seeks to ensure that weapons in use and under development conform to the existing rules.
Combatants are prohibited to use weapons which are inherently indiscriminate or which are of a nature to inflict suffering greater than that required to take combatants "out of action". Weapons which violate the "dictates of the public conscience" may also be prohibited on that basis alone. The use of weapons which cause widespread, longterm and severe damage to the natural environment is prohibited.  Key document5-5-2008 States party to the main treatiesStates party to the main IHL and other related treaties: Protection of Victims of Armed Conflicts - International Criminal Court - Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict - Environment - Weapons (Humanitarian law\Treaties and customary law) Includes PDF 18-3-2008 The development of an international arms trade treatyA comprehensive global agreement that would strengthen controls over international arms transfers is urgently needed. The continued unregulated supply of weapons to areas where they are likely to be used to violate international humanitarian law demonstrates that existing controls are far from adequate - comments by the International Committee of the Red Cross (Humanitarian law\Weapons\Arms availability) Official Statement 26-5-2006 Unregulated arms availability, small arms & light weapons,
and the UN processBackground paper (Humanitarian law\Weapons\Arms availability) Report 21-7-2005 ICRC activities in the field of weaponsThe question of arms and their use has been a concern of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) since its establishment in 1863. The founder of the ICRC, Henry Dunant, warned already in 1862 that new technologies threatened to make war more barbaric. (Humanitarian law\Weapons) Official Statement 4-3-2003 Use of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons: current international law and policy statementsInformal information note to Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies about the ICRC position (Humanitarian law\Weapons) ICRC film28-3-2008 Cluster munitions: Time to actCluster munitions can contain up to 650 explosive submunitions. These are scattered over a wide area and many of them fail to explode as intended. As a result, they have caused death, injury and suffering among civilians in nearly every conflict in which they have been used. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\Humanitarian law) ICRC film Includes Audio ICRC Publication10-4-2008 Cluster munitions: Decades of failure, decades of civilian sufferingCluster munitions can contain up to 650 explosive submunitions. These are scattered over a wide area and many of them fail to explode as intended. As a result, they have caused death, injury and suffering among civilians in nearly every conflict in which they have been used. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Publications\Humanitarian law) ICRC Publication 11-1-2008 Cluster munitions: Decades of failure, decades of civilian sufferingCluster munitions have been a persistent problem for decades, killing and maiming tens of thousands of civilians in war-affected countries. These weapon's unique characteristics present grave dangers for civilian men, women and children, not only at the time they are used but also long after the fighting has ended. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Publications\Humanitarian law) ICRC Publication Includes PDF 16-8-2007 Arms transfer decisions: Applying international humanitarian law criteriaIn recent years, many states have committed themselves to taking the recipient's respect for international humanitarian law into account in their arms transfer decisions. However, the question of how to apply such humanitarian law criteria in practice has so far received limited attention. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Publications\Humanitarian law) ICRC Publication Includes PDF 31-5-2007 Expert Meeting Report: "Humanitarian, Military, Technical and Legal Challenges of Cluster Munitions"This publication is a summary report of the ICRC Expert Meeting on the Humanitarian, Military, Technical and Legal Challenges of Cluster Munitions, held 18 to 20 April 2007 in Montreux, Switzerland. This event was organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to examine the cluster munitions problem and to consider all possible means of reducing their negative impact on civilian populations. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Publications\Humanitarian law) ICRC Publication Includes PDF International Review of the Red Cross30-9-2005 Interview with Terence TaylorMember of the Directing Staff of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and President and Executive Director of IISS-US. (Info resources\International Review\2005 - No. 859) International Review of the Red Cross Includes PDF 30-9-2005 Special issue: Means of warfare Weapons are an integral feature of every armed conflict and conventional weapons will always remain the arms the most used. However, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the potential misuse of advances in life sciences are also working their way up the security agenda. The present edition of the International Review of the Red Cross illustrates some aspects related to humanitarian law and humanitarian action. (Humanitarian law\Weapons) International Review of the Red Cross 31-3-2003 The 1899 Hague Declaration concerning expanding bullets: A treaty effective for more than 100 years faces complex contemporary issues (Info resources\International Review\2003 - No. 849) International Review of the Red Cross Includes PDF International Review of the Red Cross Interview5-2-2008 Cluster munitions: ICRC calls for urgent actionThe head of the ICRC's arms unit, Peter Herby, explains why the ICRC is calling for national and international action to address the devastating consequences these weapons have on civilian populations. (Humanitarian law\Weapons\Cluster munitions) Interview Official Statement25-10-2007 The ICRC's position on cluster munitions and the need for urgent actionStatement to Geneva Diplomatic Missions by Dr Jakob Kellenberger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 25 October 2007 (Humanitarian law\Weapons\Conventional weapons) Official Statement 16-10-2007 ICRC statement on weapons to the United NationsUnited Nations, General Assembly, 62nd session, First Committee, Items 98 & 102 of the agenda, Statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), New York, 16 Octobre 2007 (ICRC Activities\Humanitarian diplomacy\United Nations\62nd General Assembly) Official Statement 9-10-2006 ICRC statement on weapons to the United NationsUnited Nations, General Assembly, 61st session, First Committee, item 90, 94 and 97 of the agenda, Statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), New York, 9 October 2006 (ICRC Activities\Humanitarian diplomacy\United Nations\61st General Assembly) Official Statement 16-11-2005 Weapons and International Humanitarian LawPresentation by Jean-Philippe Lavoyer, head of the legal division, ICRC, Council of Delegates, Seoul, 16 - 18 November 2005 (Humanitarian law\Weapons) Official Statement 10-6-2005 Preventing the use of biological and chemical weapons: 80 years onSpeech delivered by Jacques Forster, vice-president of the ICRC, during the International seminar on the Biological and Chemical Weapons Threat, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibiting asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases.
and bacteriological methods of warfare. (Humanitarian law\Weapons\Chemical weapons) Official Statement More in this section2-10-2007 Weapons and international humanitarian lawCouncil of delegates of the international Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Geneva, 23-24 November 2007 (Focus\RC Movement\Council of Delegates\2007) Includes PDF 9-2-2000 ICRC involvement in banning or restricting the use of certain weaponsICRC delegation to the 17th annual seminar for diplomats on international humanitarian law, United Nations and New York University School of Law. Presentation by Yves Sandoz, former Director for International Law and Communication. (Humanitarian law\Weapons)  |
