COVID-19: Our response in Yemen
Our priority is to keep helping people affected by the armed conflict while taking all COVID-19 preventive measures possible. However, in a country with only half of its health care facilities …
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ICRC statement on latest developments in Myanmar — 24 July 2021
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is closely following information that has been released recently, on the current situation at various prisons in Myanmar. We are deeply concerned …
Podcast: "It matters who is around the table"
Why are diversity and inclusion crucial in the humanitarian sector? Diversity is about all the ways we are different. Inclusion is about making space for that difference. Recent research on " How …
Legal advisers in armed forces – Factsheet
Each state must make legal advisers available, when necessary, to advise military commanders at the appropriate level on the application of international humanitarian law (IHL). This obligation, …
Brazil: Unprecedented report describes the consequences of the disappearance of people
21-07-2021 Document makes recommendations to authorities and Brazilian society Brasília (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) releases on Tuesday (6) the report "Still? This is …
Afghanistan: Civilians paying steep price of surge in violence and COVID-19
21-07-2021 Afghanistan is among the deadliest places in the world to be a civilian, and where women and children make up nearly half of all civilian casualties. In addition to the increased violence …
Iraq’s perfect storm – a climate and environmental crisis amid the scars of war
As the world builds up to the COP26 summit in the UK, it is important that communities affected by conflict are not overlooked by climate action. In our latest piece exploring the link between …
Ethiopia: Management of the dead training to first and emergency responders.
Participants attending a theoretical session on dead body management. Alemayehu Takele/ICRC Stephen, the instructor, reminding members of the dead body management team (here acting as first …
IHL summer sessions: A decade of unwavering commitment
The tenth International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Summer Session was organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in collaboration with the International Academy of the Red Cross and …
Ethiopia: ICRC starts detention visits to members of the Ethiopian armed forces in the Tigray region.
18-07-2021 Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has started visiting members of the Ethiopian armed forces in the Tigray region earlier this week. “Visiting people in …
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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.
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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.
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Customary international humanitarian law consists of rules that come from "a general practice accepted as law" and that exist independent of treaty law.