Red Cross and Red Crescent Emblems
This new leaflet is designed to help members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement address misuse of the emblem. It explains the purpose of the emblems and why it is important to …
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Speech by ICRC president: Protecting civilians in peacekeeping operations
Speech by Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, at the United Nations Security Council in Geneva, Switzerland. War equals destruction. Destruction of the enemy, of …
Fighting in Libya rages on: Portraits of four brave men
Five years since the revolution in Libya the bullets are still flying. The situation is getting worse as fighting intensifies, pushing people out of their homes. The following are portraits of four …
Update for customary IHL database
We have just updated the customary IHL database to include additional practice from Chad , Côte d'Ivoire , Cuba , the Russian Federation and Viet Nam . The database contains: the 161 rules of …
Is the law of armed conflict in crisis and how to recommit to its respect?
On 21 April 2016, the ICRC hosted a panel at the Humanitarium to discuss whether adherence to international humanitarian law (IHL) has been eroding in today's armed conflicts and if so, how to …
Explosive weapons in populated areas: Technical considerations relevant to their use and effects
Too often, explosive weapons that have wide-area effects are used in populated areas, with devastating effects on civilians and civilian infrastructure. Explosive weapons use the detonation of a …
Russian Federation: Regulating private military and security companies
How to regulate private military and security companies (PMSCs) was the subject of a recent meeting in Moscow organized jointly by the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, …
Ensuring respect of IHL in multinational operations
Addis Ababa (ICRC) - The ICRC delegation to the African Union (AU) held a roundtable on 26-27 May on the obligation to ensure respect of international humanitarian law in multinational operations in …
Web of violence drags Yemen closer to edge
There have always been wars. But the conflict in Yemen is receiving precious little attention right now. 6,000 people have died in the last 14 months, half of them civilians. Belgian Antoine Grand …
Georgia / Abkhazia: Remains returned to families provide relief and dignity
The unresolved issue of missing persons continues to burden Georgian and Abkhaz families and society many years after the end of the 1992–1993 armed conflict in Abkhazia. ICRC records show there are …
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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.