“We arrived from Sudan with nothing but our lives”
Thousands flee violence in Darfur to reach relative safety – and face new humanitarian challenges – in eastern Chad As a scorching hot African sun rises high in the sky and the temperature soars …
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Update of customary IHL database – May 2025
New update of the customary IHL database We have just updated the customary IHL database to include to include additional practice from Panama and Uganda . The database contains : the 161 rules of …
Ukraine: ‘We lost a part of our soul, not just a hospital’
As frontlines shift, entire communities have had to evacuate. In Donetsk Region, we helped relocate hospitals and primary healthcare centres away from the frontline so they can continue to operate …
Afghanistan: Physical rehabilitation programme leaflet 2024
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been at the forefront of humanitarian action in Afghanistan for decades, responding to the needs of people affected by armed conflict and …
QFFD and ICRC Sign Agreement to Support Core Humanitarian Operations
Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have signed a funding agreement to support the ICRC’s core activities around the world. This contribution …
DRC: 1,359 disarmed members of government forces and their families have arrived safe and well in Kinshasa, with the support of the ICRC
15-05-2025 Goma (ICRC) – Between 30 April and 15 May, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) helped transport 1,359 disarmed members of the government forces of the Democratic Republic …
ICRC Director-General Highlights Humanitarian Imperatives at Global Security Forum
Doha, 28-30 April 2025: The Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Pierre Krähenbühl, visited Doha to participate in the 2025 Global Security Forum (GSF), where he …
Burundi: Fleeing violence, families face the agony of separation
The air in Musenyi camp, Burundi is thick with uncertainty. As children cling to their mothers, their eyes scan the dusty horizon for familiar faces that may never return. Since the start of the …
Colombia: "Most Colombians are engulfed in the conflict against their will"
Patrick Hamilton leads ICRC's operations in Colombia and has two decades’ experience in protecting people in armed conflicts. He explains the challenges the civilian population in the country must …
China: Conflict Prevention Tool launched in Beijing to support corporate overseas security management
At a high-level event hosted by the Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing on 12 May 2025, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) and …
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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.
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.