Delivered by Laurent Gisel, Head of Arms and Conduct of Hostilities. Mr. Chair, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, This First Committee takes place amid steadily increasing levels of armed conflict, …
In times of war, disaster or displacement, people caught in crisis need one thing above all else: help they can trust and depend on. This is where the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) …
In the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, even people far from the frontlines live under the constant threat of being impacted by missile or drone strikes. All lives are affected, including …
Chair, Since 2008, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has followed with interest the work of the International Law Commission on the protection of persons in the event of disasters …
The Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment on International Humanitarian Law is a collaborative effort, founded by Brazil, China, France, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Africa and the ICRC, …
16-10-2025 Geneva (ICRC) – Rising civilian casualties in urban warfare, increasing attacks on medical facilities and the rapid evolution of cyberweapons demand that states urgently recommit to the …
Mr. Chair, Excellencies, The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) welcomes and supports efforts toward the adoption of a legally binding instrument on the prevention and punishment of …
Lucy Kade was going about her usual chores at home when the sound of heavy gunfire close to her village of Nyaingamuda in the vicinity of the border between South Sudan and Uganda, suddenly jolted …
14-10-2025 Jerusalem/Tel Aviv (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today facilitated the transfer of four deceased hostages to Israeli authorities. ICRC teams also …
14-10-2025 Jerusalem / Tel Aviv – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urges the dignified management of the deceased as it continues its operations to facilitate the transfer of human …
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Created in 1863, the ICRC library, alongside the ICRC archives, provides an indispensable documentary reference on the organization itself and international humanitarian law.
International humanitarian law is based on a number of treaties, in particular the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, and a series of other instruments.
Customary international humanitarian law consists of rules that come from "a general practice accepted as law" and that exist independent of treaty law.
