Costa Rica: Humanitarian Report 2024
We collaborate closely with the Costa Rican government to promote the implementation, development, and respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) and applicable international standards for law …
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As conflict drags on, daily routine helps Sudanese women escape horrors of war
Squatting on the sandy ground, a young girl is weaving grass stems into a roof. The tiny hut she is making is surrounded by tens of thousands of others like it, made hastily of sticks and leaves …
Strengthening our support for families of missing people in Peru
For the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), helping families search for missing people is of vital importance, both to assist the people who are directly affected by the situation and …
Guatemala editorial: "Recognizing and ensuring the rights of missing people and their families: putting right a wrong from the past"
By Karim Khallaayoun, head of the ICRC's mission in Guatemala When someone disappears, the life of their family and community is turned upside down, never to be the same again. For families …
Guatemala: Humanitarian Report 2024
Identifying the needs of families of missing persons enables us to develop tailored solutions that empower them to continue their tireless search for their loved ones. Learn more in our 2024 activity …
Pakistan: The Citizen Storyteller Award 2024 is accepting video entries
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) brings to you The Citizen Storyteller Award, an initiative that celebrates stories told by citizen journalists about people affected by …
Honduras: Humanitarian Report 2024
In Honduras, humanitarian needs persist. Protecting the lives and dignity of migrants, internally displaced persons, families of missing persons, individuals deprived of liberty, and communities is …
El Salvador Editorial: "Protecting humanitarian action: A shared commitment"
By Karim Khallaayoun, head of the ICRC's mission in El Salvador In 2023, millions of people around the world faced a complex situation resulting from natural disasters, migration and poverty, but …
Honduras Editorial: "a decade of promoting humanity in detention"
By Guela Sekhniachvili, head of the ICRC's mission in Honduras Humanity should know no bounds. Even in prisons, people must be treated with dignity, regardless of the reason they were incarcerated. …
Mine Awareness Day: Deaths of 9 Afghan children underscore the ongoing danger from unexploded ordnance
Geneva (ICRC) – On the occasion of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on 4 April, Erik Tollefsen, the head of the weapons contamination unit for the International …
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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.