Bangladesh: Helping burn victims heal
"Please, pray for me so I can recover soon. I have just started my final exam." These were the only words Hafiza Shikder Kuntala could whisper lying on her bed at the Burns Unit of Dhaka Medical …
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Prevention and Criminal Repression of Rape and Other Forms of Sexual Violence During Armed Conflicts
Rape and other forms of sexual violence cause physical and psychological harm to their victims (women, girls, men and boys) and have a direct impact on their families and communities. Rape and other …
Myanmar: Women making a difference for women affected by armed conflict
Three unrelated women recently joined hands in support of fighting-affected families in Putao, in the far north of Myanmar's Kachin state. The way these women from the Red Cross Movement lent support …
Mali: Training and discipline to improve army IHL compliance
The ICRC is helping promote international humanitarian law (IHL) among the Malian armed forces, international forces operating in the country and other arms bearers. General Mahamane Touré is Chief …
Malaysia: A regional conference to strengthen protection for victims of war
Experts from governments and Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies of the Asia-Pacific region will gather in Kuala Lumpur from 25–27 March for a regional conference on the Arms Trade Treaty and …
Sri Lanka: Clarifying the fate of missing persons requires sustained commitment
The ICRC's Director of Operations, Dominic Stillhart, recently concluded a five-day visit to Sri Lanka. During his time in the country Mr Stillhart met with a number of senior government officials, …
Mexico and Central America: Missing persons and their families
When dark began to fall, I went to see where my family was. I found 27 people dead, but the bodies of my daughter and my grandchildren weren't there. I felt that my family had been wiped out. [...] I …
Belarus: Someone will be there to answer
Fleeing the fighting in Ukraine, people left behind their homes and belongings and sought refuge where they could. Many went to Belarus. Official estimates put the number of refugees from Ukraine …
United Kingdom: The application and applicability of IHL to multinational forces
Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT), simulation exercise. Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers take position around an internally displaced persons camp. Image: ICRC / FONTANA, …
Colombia: Crossing the bridge back to school
"In 2013 I decided to move closer to the children so that it wouldn't be so difficult for them to get to school. I spent two years teaching in the house of the mother of one of my pupils. That way, …
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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.