Rules of war: Why they matter
The rules of war, or international humanitarian law (as it is known formally) are a set of international rules that set out what can and cannot be done during an armed conflict. The main purpose of …
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Data Protection Awareness Symposium: A collaborative Event with the Data Commissioner
What are the challenges faced by Humanitarian Agencies in the application of data protection principles? What is the context of data protection in Kenya? In partnership with the Kenya Red Cross …
Pakistan: Working to reduce preventable amputations
The Muzaffarabad Physical Rehabilitation Centre (MPRC), supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) , is the primary source of physical rehabilitation services in …
Pakistan: Training the police in safer handling of explosives
Police inspector Shafiq Ahmed is a hero of sorts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP, formerly North-West Frontier Province). Dedicating nearly 30 years of his life to handling explosives and training bomb …
Afghanistan: Red Cross-supported health facilities treat more than 4,000 people wounded by weapons since 1 August
Geneva/Kabul (ICRC) – Hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk as fighting intensifies in and around Kunduz, Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, and other Afghan cities. The International Committee of the …
Sudan: Ethiopian refugees face increasingly difficult conditions as more people flee their homes
09-08-2021 Operational Update As fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region and other areas in the north of the country forces more people to flee their homes, Ethiopian refugees in the camps in south-east …
Ethiopia: ICRC scales up lifesaving medical support to respond to increased armed violence in several parts of the country
Hospitals have been receiving and treating an increasing number of wounded people, following armed clashes in different parts of the country. While dealing with the influx of wounded, a number of …
Restoring contact between separated Pemon indigenous family members in Brazil
In an indigenous community in Roraima, in northernmost Brazil, a family anxiously awaits a phone call. Though brief, this satellite call will give farmers John Cliffe, 75, and his wife Basilia, 55, a …
ICRC and RRU conduct online Certificate Course on Maritime Security Operations
From 12 -16 Jul 2021, ICRC Regional delegation in New Delhi conducted an online certificate course on Maritime Security Operations and Contemporary challenges in collaboration with the Rashtriya …
Health Situation in Yemen
After seven years of unabated conflict, the health system across the country has been severely weakened. About half of the health facilities in country are out of service while many of the …
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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.