Statute of the International Criminal Court
The United Nations had considered the idea of establishing a permanent international criminal court at various times since the end of the Second World War. In 1993 and 1994, it set up two ad hoc …
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1972 Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction is one of the instruments of international …
Making sense of absence: remembering the missing
Laia Abril for ICRC All around the world, people go missing every day. For every missing person, there are countless people missing them. How do those left make sense of their absence? How do they …
International Day of the Disappeared in Georgia
30-08-2018 Time is running out for families of 2,400 people who went missing as a result of armed conflicts. Tbilisi (ICRC) – Every year, worldwide, the International Day of the Disappeared is marked …
My time as an intern at ICRC Pakistan
Sitting through my first course of International Law during my bachelors, I remember thinking what it would be like to be a part of an organization that is committed to the mission of upholding …
International Day of the Disappeared: the ICRC calls for respect of the International Humanitarian Law
30-08-2018 Tel Aviv/ Gaza - On the International Day of Disappeared, the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Israel and the Occupied Territories highlights that four …
Kenya: A journey of fear and hope
Shamsa is using 'Trace the Face' to try to locate her son who decided to take the risky journey to Europe. Each year, thousands of migrants go missing on their way to Europe. Families get separated, …
Tajikistan: The marks of war
Sadafmo was born in Dashtijum, a remote mountainous village located in the southern part of Tajikistan. In 1995, when she turned 18, her parents decided to marry her to a villager. Everything was …
Tajikistan: Beyond the folklore, the untold story of modern-day Leilah
"I was fascinated that after so many years, somebody still wanted to know my story." It has been 17 years since Lola's husband went missing. When she was pregnant with their third baby, Lola's …
Singapore: With a ‘smile’, Sandy Tan wins Youth Humanitarian Challenge
Encouraging young people to think and write about humanitarian concerns, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Singapore Red Cross (SRC) organized a short essay competition as part …
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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.