Why victory by any means isn't victory at all
Find out how we all lose when the rules of war are ignored. The rules of war, or international humanitarian law, set out what can and cannot be done during an armed conflict. The Geneva Conventions …
Skip to main content
Search results
ICRC launches shocking video on the human cost of ignoring the Geneva Conventions
31-10-2016 Geneva (ICRC) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has today launched an ad-style video which illustrates the terrifying human cost of ignoring the Geneva Conventions and …
Somalia: Supporting communities during protracted conflict
Recurrent armed clashes, seasonal flooding and droughts are events that feature prominently in this year's Somalia humanitarian calendar. Against a backdrop of decades of conflict and political …
Jordan: Facts & figures on ICRC's work from July to September 2016
As the border with Syria remains closed after a suicide car bomb attack on June 21 in Rukban, tens of thousands of stranded asylum seekers are in need of urgent assistance in the berm area. The vast …
Georgia: Facts and figures, January to September 2016
From January to September 2016: 154 ante mortem date questionnaires from the families of missing persons were collected by the ICRC. 75 sets of human remains and body parts from 4 gravesites were …
Zimbabwe: Father and son reunited after five years
Elvis Baliwabo was separated from his father during the war in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2011 when he was only four years old. He is now eight. His mother died in the …
Zimbabwe: Improving the health of prisoners
The International Committee of the Red Cross supports the efforts of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) to treat malnourished inmates in Zimbabwe's prisons. This collaboration led …
Refugees, returnees and displaced persons: ICRC statement to the United Nations, 2016
Statement Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions. Statement given by the ICRC. Sadly, …
Malaysia: Regional training on restoring family links
Every year, thousands of family members are separated by conflicts, disasters or migration. People suffer terribly when they lose contact with their loved ones and do not know where they are or …
Rwanda: 24 prison managers receive training in detention management
A group of 24 Rwandan correctional officers from around the country concluded a five-day training aimed at strengthening their capacity to meet national and international standards in detention for …
Didn’t find what you were looking for?
Try one of the following resources:
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.