Everyday activities come with life-changing risk
Tetiana, a 64 year-old from Donetsk, stepped on an anti-personnel mine while gardening in Gornyak settlement in the Kuybyshevskiy district of Donetsk, changing her life in an instant. "My mother …
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Detention by Non-State Armed Groups
The ICRC’s report on ‘Detention by Non-State Armed Groups: Obligations Under International Humanitarian Law and Examples of How to Implement Them’. Detention – by states and non-state armed groups …
As the Arms Trade Treaty turns ten years old, restraints on international arms transfers remain an urgent humanitarian imperative
Sunday, 2 April, marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) . The treaty seeks to reduce the human suffering caused by insufficient controls over the international …
Ukraine: Much-needed aid delivered to civilians near Bakhmut, but situation remains dire
The past year of international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused significant displacement, innumerable civilian deaths and injuries, and devastating damage to civilian …
The 21st International Committee of the Red Cross Essay Competition for East African Universities
The confluence of climate change, environmental degradation, and armed conflict presents unique challenges to vulnerable populations, such as refugees and internally displaced persons, who are …
What does the law say about the responsibilities of the Occupying Power in the occupied Palestinian territory?
What does IHL say about occupation law and when is a territory considered occupied? The numerous rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) that seek to protect civilians, most prominently in the …
ICRC emphasizes humanitarian access and IHL at EHF 2023
The second edition of the European Humanitarian Forum was held in Brussels, Belgium, on 20 and 21 March 2023. The conference is jointly organized by the European Commission (DG ECHO, …
Overcrowding in temporary detention centres getting worse
The state of the Colombian prison system continued to put the fundamental rights of people deprived of their liberty at risk. Although overcrowding in state prisons has decreased substantially since …
Ukraine: ICRC delivers much-needed aid to civilians near Bakhmut
Kyiv (ICRC) - The International Committee of the Red Cross delivered much-needed humanitarian assistance to Kostiantynivka and Chasiv Yar, two locations close to Bakhmut, where the fighting has been …
Colombia: Humanitarian Challenges 2023
In Colombia, armed conflict and violence continues to have a deep impact on the civilian population. Many civilians have been wounded, killed or gone missing; relatives have been separated from their …
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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.