A war down memory lane
"When the prisoners of war finally saw the plane, and they went up, that's when the excitement got a little bit contagious. It was just something you couldn't envision, people being prisoners in …
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Venezuela: ICRC to expand humanitarian effort
11-04-2019 Caracas/Geneva (ICRC) – The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has completed a five-day visit to Venezuela as the organization looks to ramp up its …
Snapshots: Photos that really matter
Snapshots are helping people in South Sudan find their loved ones We all love pictures: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are full of them. We use them to laugh, remember, create, complain, …
Armenia: Inside a border village affected by conflict
We recently visited Baghanis an Armenian village located just one and a half kilometers away from the border with Azerbaijan. We arrived in the village during the day and found the earthen streets …
Venezuela: ICRC president on 5-day visit to view operations, re-affirm commitment
05-04-2019 Caracas (ICRC) – The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, is making a five-day visit to Venezuela from 6 to 10 April. Maurer will view the ICRC's …
Our work in Armenia in 2018
In Armenia, the ICRC focuses on providing civilians living along the international border, missing persons and their families, mine victims and people deprived of their liberty with assistance. In …
UK armed forces come face-to-face with ICRC in training exercise
Newly-recruited soldiers are interacting with the ICRC during field-based training exercises here in the UK – ahead of likely encounters when deployed overseas. A key priority for the ICRC's …
The Harvest - The ghosts of Rwanda
Documentaire "The ghosts of Rwanda" offers the rare and personal testimony of Philippe Gaillard, head of the ICRC delegation in Kigali, during the genocide in Rwanda. This movie is not about the …
“Populations will suffer” if humanitarian workers are not protected
A lack of progress on tackling violence against humanitarian workers means populations will ultimately suffer, the ICRC told a Parliamentary committee hearing this week. Giving evidence to the …
Mexico: Migrants using WhatsApp can get advice on how to stay safe and avoid illness, sickness
03-04-2019 Mexico (ICRC) – Migrants travelling through Central America and Mexico began receiving WhatsApp messages on Monday with advice on how to avoid and prevent accidents, illness and being …
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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.
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.