Urban Services during Protracted Armed Conflict
Urbanization is constantly on the rise, with cities already absorbing more than half of the world’s population and armed conflicts increasingly being fought in urban settings. Regions facing …
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Changing the narrative on IHL
On 27 September 2017, the ICRC convened a live-streamed panel of experts at the Humanitarium to discuss how to change the narrative on international humanitarian law (IHL), by thinking of new ways of …
Somalia: Fishing in an old "pirate" town
The sunrise in Eyl glistens off the ocean, giving it a golden sheen. The days start at 4:30 a.m., as the fishermen enter the waters immediately after the morning prayers. Fishing is the main …
Honduras: Dreaming of you
In Honduras, two mothers dream of their missing sons coming back home According to official figures, around five Hondurans go missing along the migration route every month. Over the past few years, …
Papua New Guinea: Health workers train to treat survivors of sexual violence
03-10-2017 MOUNT HAGEN (ICRC) – Training for health workers on how to administer emergency treatment to survivors of sexual violence is being held for the first time in Papua New Guinea by the …
IHL and Persons with Disabilities
International humanitarian law (IHL) is a set of rules that, in times of armed conflict, seeks – for humanitarian reasons – to protect persons who are not, or are no longer directly participating in …
Jordan: First regional meeting on restoring family links
Amman (ICRC): A two-day regional meeting on Restoring Family Links began in Amman on Wednesday. It was co-organized by the ICRC and the Jordan Red Crescent Society. The first-of-its-kind meeting …
Relief assistance for flood affected communities in Bihar
More than 20 million people across Bihar in eastern India are suffering as a result of the worst flood to hit the state in recent decades. With Assam, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal also …
Amnesties and IHL: Purpose and Scope
States party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I of 1977 have an obligation to take measures necessary to suppress all acts contrary to their provisions. Moreover, States must …
Measures to eliminate international terrorism: ICRC statement to the United Nations, 2017
United Nations, General Assembly, 72nd session, Sixth Committee, statement by the ICRC, New York, October 2017. Terrorism negates the fundamental principle of humanity and is contrary to the core …
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ICRC library
Created in 1863, the ICRC library, alongside the ICRC archives, provides an indispensable documentary reference on the organization itself and international humanitarian law.
IHL treaties
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 IHL
Customary international humanitarian law consists of rules that come from "a general practice accepted as law" and that exist independent of treaty law.