Cases of identity
Patricio Bustos says visits from ICRC delegates when he was imprisoned in Chile in the 1970s likely saved his life. Now, as head of the country's forensic services agency, he's working, with help …
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Key conference on curbing spread of nuclear weapons ends in failure
An important UN-hosted conference to review progress on curbing the spread of nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament has ended in failure. The 2015 Review Conference of the Treaty on the …
Strengthening international humanitairan law protecting persons deprived of their liberty
This report provides an account of the October 2014 thematic consultation of government experts on grounds and procedures for internment and detainee transfers. The consultation was part of the …
Children traumatized, families broken - life inside Maiduguri
They arrived in the middle of the night from the nearby town of Bama, more than a thousand people, mainly children and the elderly. They had been transported on trucks, under heavy military escort, …
Niger: Thousands displaced from Lake Chad islands
Niamey/Geneva (ICRC) – The situation is deteriorating in Diffa in Niger, just across the border from north-eastern Nigeria. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Red Cross …
South Sudan: Desperate humanitarian situation in Leer
Juba/Geneva (ICRC) - Residents slowly returning to the South Sudanese town of Leer, in the aftermath of fighting in and around the town last week, say they have little or no food and need advanced …
Philippines: Clean water for vulnerable communities in Pikit
Residents in the village of Panicupan, Pikit, had to travel more than eight kilometers on unpaved roads to the town plaza to get potable water. Others relied on dug wells for water, but not for …
Philippines: The uncertainty of displacement
In central Mindanao, thousands of people have been living precariously due to recurrent fighting. Pockets of skirmishes often erupt that result in civilian displacement. The hostilities between armed …
Cultural property is protected during warfare
The protection of cultural property during armed conflict is based on the principle that: damage to the cultural property of any people means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind (1954 …
Somalia: The plight of a Yemeni refugee
"We were used to the sound of gunfire but it later changed to aerial bombardments coming down like rain. I had nowhere to run, no underground shelter to hide in. We had to flee Yemen for safety." …
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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.