Wars have limits that must be respected
Given the multiple armed conflicts around the world today, public debate about the rules governing wars is more relevant than ever. What are the limits to wars? What can be done to prevent human …
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Israel and the occupied territories: Key Facts and Figures from 7 October 2023 to 31 March 2024
Six months since the onset of renewed hostilities between Israel and Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, the violence – unprecedented in scale and nature– continues to exact an immense human toll …
DR Congo: More than 44,000 people receive emergency food aid as violence in eastern provinces intensifies
28-03-2024 Kinshasa (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), together with the Red Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has provided food aid to over …
Visa Pour l'Image: Call for entries for the 2024 Humanitarian Visa d’or Award
From 28 March to 9 June 2024, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is inviting all professional photojournalists to take part in its photojournalism contest, the ICRC Humanitarian Visa …
Mozambique: ICRC operational response in 2023
Maputo (ICRC) - We help people affected by the armed conflict in northern Mozambique, where more than 670,000 people were internally displaced as of the end of the year and humanitarian needs remain …
ICRC Activities in Egypt: Facts & Figures 2023
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of …
Panama: Humanitarian Report 2024
In close collaboration with the Panamanian Red Cross, we work to provide a humanitarian response to migrants after their journey through the Darien region. Learn more in our 2024 activity report. The …
Democratic Republic of the Congo: The forgotten people of North Kivu
The upsurge in armed conflict and other situations of violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is taking a devastating humanitarian toll, especially in the east of the country. Read our …
IHL contributes to the prevention of an arms race in outer space
Statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), delivered by Veronique Christory, Senior Arms Advisor, at the open-ended intersessional informal consultative meeting on further …
ICRC Activities in Jordan: Facts & Figures 2023
Advancing into 2024, we are thrilled to present a comprehensive overview of our significant accomplishments in 2023. Those accomplishments have been realized through our ongoing partnerships with key …
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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.