ICRC in the G20
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will participate in official activities of the Group of Twenty (G20) in São Paulo, Brazil. On April 30, the ICRC will be represented by Digital …
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Nigeria: Displaced mother set up small business, trades uncertainty for hope
Fatsuma, a 40-year-old mother, managed to escape an attack on her village, along with her four children, 10 years ago. Today, she is striving to cater for her children in displacement, but the …
Costa Rica: Humanitarian Report 2024
We collaborate closely with the Costa Rican government to promote the implementation, development, and respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) and applicable international standards for law …
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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of …
War in cities: Why protecting the natural environment matters even when fighting is taking place in urban areas
Cities contain many natural features, biodiversity and ecosystems. Those provide a multitude of particularly interconnected services to people, which are commonly referred to as “ecosystem services”. …
As conflict drags on, daily routine helps Sudanese women escape horrors of war
Squatting on the sandy ground, a young girl is weaving grass stems into a roof. The tiny hut she is making is surrounded by tens of thousands of others like it, made hastily of sticks and leaves …
Empress Shôken Fund announces 103rd funding distribution to support projects in 17 countries
The Joint Commission of the Empress Shôken Fund (ESF) has announced a new funding distribution that totals CHF 485,597 and supports projects administered by Red Cross and Red Crescent National …
ICRC Communication Strategy 2024 – 2027
Standing for humanity. Reaffirming our identity in a polarized world. Every day, millions of victims of conflict fall through the cracks, unseen by the rest of the world. Millions around the world – …
Strengthening our support for families of missing people in Peru
For the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), helping families search for missing people is of vital importance, both to assist the people who are directly affected by the situation and …
Guatemala editorial: "Recognizing and ensuring the rights of missing people and their families: putting right a wrong from the past"
By Karim Khallaayoun, head of the ICRC's mission in Guatemala When someone disappears, the life of their family and community is turned upside down, never to be the same again. For families …
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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.