International humanitarian law (IHL) and the Islamic laws of war have more in common than you might think. Here’s why the ICRC takes the overlap of these two legal traditions seriously. The …
On 13 february, the ICRC and the Blue Shield have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to commit to work more closely together to ensure the protection of cultural property during armed conflict. …
In December 2013, barely two years after its independence, South Sudan sank into a bloody conflict. Hundreds of thousands of dead and injured later, a national unity government was formed on 22 …
Life hasn't been easy for 24-year-old Khin Myat Myat Kyaw. She always wanted to earn money so that her parents could have an easier life, however, this seemed impossible until very recently. Now, the …
"When you mention the word engineer, the local communities immediately think that a man will show up," says Mary Hkawn Tsin, an engineer with the ICRC's team in Kachin State. Mary is part of the …
Editorial Christoph Harnisch Head of the ICRC Delegation in Colombia In 2019, explosive devices and mines killed or maimed a new victim nearly every day; people had to flee their homes or …
Humanitarian challenges 2020 In 2020, the peace agreement signed between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army) will be four years old. This …
Humanitarian challenges 2020 New dynamics in the violence, coupled with old types of behaviour by armed actors, draw a complex map of increasingly destructured armed groups, hindering our ability …
A newly-inaugurated two-storey building is infusing hope among young detainees at Mandalay Central Prison in Myanmar. The result of a collaboration between the International Committee of the Red …
The resurgence of armed activities shows that peace has not yet borne the promised fruit in the most vulnerable regions of the country, where the State has not fully consolidated its presence and the …
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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.
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 international humanitarian law consists of rules that come from "a general practice accepted as law" and that exist independent of treaty law.
