Adopted on 8 June 1977, Protocols I and II are international treaties that supplement the Geneva Conventions of 1949. They significantly improve the legal protection covering civilians and the …
The ICRC recently published an interpretative guidance clarifying what international humanitarian law says concerning civilians directly participating in hostilities. The aim is to help distinguish …
Document suggesting model legislative provisions to be used by States as guidance in the drafting of legislation on the protection of missing persons and on the prevention of this situation. ADVISORY …
As the guardian of international humanitarian law (IHL), the ICRC supports efforts to end impunity for international crimes and is keenly interested in the establishment and jurisprudence of …
This is the book that prompted the creation of what is now a worldwide movement with millions of members and made the name of Henry Dunant known everywhere. The account has moved many people and …
In 2007, the 16th General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies requested the Governing Board to establish a Reference Group on Migration to provide …
The Movement has long been active in addressing the needs of individuals and communities affected by internal displacement. The Movement Policy on Internal Displacement, adopted by the Council of …
Hernán Reyes has been an ICRC doctor for 26 years. During this time, he has visited hundreds of prisons across five different continents. In 1984, during the period of military rule in Uruguay, he …
This document contains a summary of the most important issues of constitutionality raised by different national judicial and quasi-judicial bodies with regard to the ratification of the Statute for …
At the end of the Second World War, the ICRC finds itself in an ambivalent position. Its humanitarian work during the conflict – in particular in aid of prisoners of war – has been widely commended. …
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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.
