09-02-2015 Following a volatile year in Afghanistan, 2015 has brought no reprieve to civilians suffering the effects of intensifying armed conflict. Countless hardships, including large-scale …
As well as bringing suffering to people in Nigeria, violence in the north-east of the country is having an unprecedented impact in neighbouring countries. "The deteriorating situation in north-east …
04-02-2015 Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is appalled by the repeated damage caused to medical facilities on both sides of the front line in Ukraine. Hospital N27 …
03-02-2015 Violence has been on the rise again in the capital Bangui in recent weeks, with reports of armed robberies and abductions in neighbourhoods in the north of the city. As a result, …
The figures for 2014 speak volumes about the plight of Syrians and the consequent demands placed on humanitarian organizations like the ICRC. With no end to the current crisis in sight, the extreme …
As part of its effort to promote awareness and understanding of international humanitarian law (IHL), the ICRC delegation in Israel and the occupied territories works with academic institutions to …
03-02-2015 Heavy shelling of residential areas in Donetsk and towns like Debaltsevo has continued over the weekend. Despite dangerous conditions, teams from the International Committee of the Red …
Just back from Syria, the ICRC's former head of delegation in Damascus Boris Michel describes the growing needs of the population. Four years of conflict have taken their toll on essential …
International humanitarian law (IHL) is relevant not only to nations suffering conflict, but also to peaceful states. Mauritius and Seychelles are two countries that clearly demonstrate this. While …
Nearly four years of fighting have had a major impact on every aspect of life in Syria. Millions of people have become displaced, tens of thousands been killed, gone missing, detained or separated …
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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.
