Respecting and ensuring respect for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) requires extensive political mobilisation. The ratification of IHL treaties and other relevant instruments is a critical first …
A growing global problem The destructive force of urban violence on people's lives and livelihoods – and the suffering it causes is a major concern of the ICRC in many contexts in which it works …
174 families received an emergency delivery of food and household essentials in the Sancharak and Kohistanat districts of Afghanistan's Saripul province in August 2016. Most had fled fighting around …
26-09-2016 Bogotá (ICRC) ‒ The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) welcomes the peace agreement between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's …
This report draws on some recent operational experiences of the ICRC to describe the theory and practice of the ICRC's approach to humanitarian assistance in protracted conflict. The ICRC spends …
'Commemorating the Missing' portrays the efforts of the families of the missing in Nepal to honour their loved ones. Fifty-nine commemorative memorials such as water wells, pillars, gates, waiting …
The years that have passed since the armed conflict in Sri Lanka ended in 2009 have not brought solace to the families of the over 16,000 persons who, according to the ICRC's records, remain missing. …
Tens of millions of the world's most vulnerable people live in increasingly unsafe and impoverished conditions because of armed conflicts and violence that dominate the cities, towns and informal …
In central Mindanao and in the Sulu archipelago, fighting between government security forces and armed opposition groups led to temporary displacement of thousands of civilians. Meanwhile, sporadic …
Too often, explosive weapons that have wide-area effects are used in populated areas, with devastating effects on civilians and civilian infrastructure. Explosive weapons use the detonation of a …
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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.
