Air and naval warfare
International humanitarian law covers all armed conflicts – on land, at sea or in the air. Nevertheless, some treaty and customary law applies specifically to naval and aerial warfare. Highlights War …
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Military operations in space
Despite the international community’s long-term desire to explore and use space for peaceful purposes, military use of space and space objects has been an integral part of contemporary warfare for …
The environment and warfare
International humanitarian law protects the natural environment and aims to limit the damage caused to it during war. Highlight Is it ever justifiable to damage nature when waging war? Can nature be …
Food security
Nowhere are the consequences of the global food crisis felt more than in countries already facing humanitarian crises and torn apart by decades of warfare or instability. International humanitarian …
Detention
The Third Geneva Convention protects prisoners of war. It establishes their rights and sets out detailed rules for their treatment and release. International humanitarian law also protects other …
Funds and medals
The ICRC administers a number of funds established over the past century by special donations from individuals or organizations. Our funds and medals Our funds and medals aim to: help promote and …
Protected persons
International humanitarian law protects a wide range of people and objects during armed conflict. The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols protect sick, wounded and shipwrecked people …
Conduct of hostilities and protection of civilians
International law regulates the methods and means of warfare. It aims to strike a balance between legitimate military objectives and the humanitarian objective of reducing suffering, particularly …
Chemical and biological weapons
The international community banned the use of chemical and biological weapons after the First World War and strengthened the ban in 1972 and 1993 by prohibiting their development, stockpiling and …
Conventional weapons
International humanitarian law bans or restricts certain types of conventional weapons to protect civilians from their indiscriminate effects and to spare combatants from excessive injuries that …
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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.