Senegal: New hope for families of missing migrants
Migration wreaks a heavy toll. The families of migrants who go missing have to live with not only the uncertainty about what happened to them, but also psychological, socio-economic and legal …
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Situation in Aleppo “devastating and overwhelming” says ICRC’s most senior official in Syria
21-07-2016 Damascus/Geneva: The head of delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Syria says heavy and indiscriminate shelling around the city of Aleppo is causing untold …
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Returning home to rebuild their lives
In 2012 and 2013, thousands of people were forced to flee their homes in Malemba Nkulu territory, in the upper Lomami area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as a result of violence and clashes …
Strengthening compliance with international humanitarian law: The work of the ICRC and the Swiss government (2012-2015)
Resolution and Reference Documents Insufficient respect for IHL may be said to be the principal cause of suffering during armed conflicts. Between 2012 and 2015, the ICRC and Switzerland conducted a …
Strengthening IHL protecting persons deprived of their liberty in relation to armed conflict
Detention takes a toll on detainees. Regardless of who is holding them and where they are held, detainees are highly vulnerable, as they depend on their captors for their basic needs. It is not just …
Somalia: Well water is creating lush, green farms in Bakool’s semi-arid lands
Huddur, a small town located in the heart of Bako0l region, Somalia, has little in the way of arable land. fadf ak Very few trees and dry shrubs dot the parched landscape. However, clinging on to …
Afghanistan: Getting people with disabilities back on their feet
The ICRC's work with disabled people in Afghanistan helps them live an active role in society through physical rehabilitation, education, employment, micro-credit loans, vocational training and …
Remember the millions of people living in urban armed conflict
When cities becomes front lines In an urbanizing world, armed conflict has been urbanizing too. States negotiating the New Urban Agenda must remember the particular needs of the 50 million people …
Cambodia: Improving health care for detainees
Providing prisoners with timely access to health-care services is a challenge in Cambodia, where 27 prisons house over 18,000 inmates. While most prisons in Cambodia have health posts, challenges …
Sri Lanka: Report released on needs of families of missing persons
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. …
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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.
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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.