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During WW2, the ICRC Central Prisoners of War Agency serves as an intermediary between belligerents. Among its duties: the transmission of correspondence. Sometimes, the Agency finds itself unable to reach the recipient. As a consequence, thousands of letters, written by mothers, spouses, sisters, or fiancées worried about the fate of their loved ones, end up in Geneva. Those messages of love,...

In this Q&A, Henckaerts highlights the importance of preparatory documents and ICRC historical archives in the drafting process of the updated Commentaries.

“Connecting with the Past”, ICRC headquarters, Geneva, 16–17 September 2015. For more than half a century, the Fundamental Principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality have underpinned the global humanitarian work of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. But how have these principles evolved since...

GLOBAL HUMANITARIANISM | RESEARCH ACADEMY International Research Academy on the History of Global Humanitarianism   Academy Leaders: Fabian Klose (Leibniz Institute of European History Mainz) Johannes Paulmann (Leibniz Institute of European History Mainz) Andrew Thompson (University of Exeter) in co-operation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (Geneva) and with support by the...

Cross-posted from : Humanitarianism and Human Rights blog Histories of humanitarianism often cite two specific examples of nineteenth century humanitarianism: the latter parts of slave abolition movements and the founding of the Red Cross in Geneva in 1863. Besides these, particularly for the early part of the century, specific examples of humanitarian activities remain rare, with general...

Sam de Schutter was a fellow during the Global Humanitarianism Research Academy, year 2017, a research training for PhD candidates and early postdocs offered by Imperial and Global History Centre at the University of Exeter and the Leibniz Institute of European History in Mainz with archival sessions at the Archives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva. Cross-posted from:...

The new quarterly IHL Bibliography is out! As usual, it presents references to English and French publications on IHL based on books and articles available at the ICRC Library. Once again, the ICRC librarians highlighted some noteworthy documents:   The conduct of hostilities and international humanitarian law : challenges of 21st century warfare International Law Association Study Group, 2017,...

The new quarterly IHL Bibliography is out! As usual, it presents references to English and French publications on IHL based on books and articles available at the ICRC Library. Once again, the ICRC librarians highlighted some noteworthy documents:   Animals and the law of armed conflict Marco Roscini – Israel yearbook on human rights, Vol. 47, 2017, p. 35-67 Marco Roscini’s article sheds...

This is the first in a series of articles on artistic expression in detention. Starting in 1940, millions of soldiers from the Allied armies were captured by German troops and sent to Prisoner of War camps throughout the Third Reich. Some of them were to remain there for nearly five years. During their detention, they were able to take part in organised activities and leisure pursuits using the...

The new IHL Bibliography is out! As usual, it presents references to English and French publications on IHL based on books and articles available at the ICRC Library. As of 2018, the bibliography will be published every four months (three issues per year). Once again, the ICRC librarians highlighted some noteworthy documents:   The law of war : a detailed assessment of the US Department of...