South Sudan: Helping the disabled walk again
Conflicts in the region have left many people injured for life, suddenly dealing with disability. Physical rehabilitation is key in helping them cope with their new reality. In two containers in Wau, …
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Indonesia: Memories of the Tsunami, ten years on
It's ten years since one of the worst natural disasters on record claimed almost 250,000 lives in 14 countries, when a Tsunami swept across the Indian Ocean. Indonesia was hardest hit, followed by …
South Sudan: Grace finds her mother
Grace Macon, a volunteer at the South Sudan Red Cross in Awerial County, describes how she first came in to contact with the Restoring Family Links service. Re-establishing contact with her mother, …
The ICRC in 2014 – Rising to the challenge
2014 has been a tough year. New and lasting conflicts, natural disasters and one of the worst epidemics in recent times have pushed people to their limits and beyond. The ICRC has been working in 80 …
Iraq: A tough year for civilians, especially the displaced
29-12-2014 Another year in nearly three decades of turbulence in Iraq that saw various armed conflicts and other violence is coming to an end, but is also taking an immense toll on the civilian …
150 years of humanitarian action: Photos past and present
2013 was the 150th anniversary of the ICRC. 2014 marked the 150th birthday of the original Geneva Convention. So for the last two years, we've been retracing our history and the history of …
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help us Just one franc can buy a day’s worth of food for someone. bring hope every day Imagine what a donation of 30 francs a month could achieve! Every day, thousands of people are affected by armed …
Violence and the Use of Force
The line separating disturbances and tensions from armed conflict can sometimes be blurred and the only way to categorize specific situations is by examining each individual case. This categorization …
The ICRC Advisory Service on international humanitarian law
As a specialized structure of the ICRC, the Advisory Service assists States to implement IHL at the national level. With a global network of legal advisers, the Service provides guidance to national …
International humanitarian law in domestic law
For the treaties of international humanitarian law (IHL) and other relevant instruments to be accepted worldwide, national governments must formally adopt them by the process of ratification or …
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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.