Addressing sexual violence is a core part of the ICRC’s humanitarian and legal mandate, and preventing it is one of the organization’s priorities. In 2022, the ICRC launched its Prevention of Sexual …
Figures from January to May 2025 During the first half of 2025, the humanitarian situation in Colombia deteriorated considerably, with increasingly severe consequences for civilians. The adverse …
Since 2021, Haiti has been mired in a spiral of armed violence, forcing thousands of people – including many women and children – to flee their homes and communities every day. Often with no …
29-07-2025 Port Sudan (ICRC) - Attacks on civilians and essential infrastructure in Sudan’s Kordofan states — including hospitals, markets and residential areas — have caused a high number of …
29-07-2025 Damascus (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) joined a Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) humanitarian convoy sent to Sweida to deliver essential aid, to assess …
Twelve-year-old Mohammad Ehsan’s eyes are fixed on the ball as he runs across the futsal court. He tackles an opponent, dodges another and dribbles before trying to strike a goal. His excitement and …
The following is a statement attributable to ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric on the humanitarian situation in Gaza New York (ICRC)—There is no excuse for what is happening in Gaza. The scale of …
Health services are among the earliest and most devastating casualties of war, with over 3,000 attacks recorded between 2023 and 2024—despite protection under international humanitarian law. As …
Every day at Klessoum Prison in N’Djamena, some of its inmates set about making soap – a far cry from the typical image of prison life. Since 2022, the prison’s inmates have been taking part in a …
The conflict in Oromia has deeply affected communities’ daily lives, particularly in the western part of the region, not far from the borders with Sudan and South Sudan. Arpita Mitra, an ICRC …
Try one of the following resources:
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.
