After a young migrant from Sudan died of illness while crossing the Mediterranean, cooperation between the Italian Red Cross and the ICRC ensured that his family could rapidly identify the body and …
The 1989-1997 civil war in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea left up to 20,000 people dead. Many of those who vanished at the outbreak of violence are still unaccounted for and their loved ones are left …
Speech given by Christine Beerli, vice-president of the ICRC, at the UN Security Council debate on the protection of civilians. Mr President, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for …
A stray bullet killed Um Ali's daughter as they fled fighting in Salahuddin. Now, in al Takia camp in Baghdad, she struggles to cope with both her grief and the hardships of life as a displaced …
"My heart is melting when I think I am going to see my son-in-law for the first time in six years." Jamal Sardar, Afghanistan Jamal Sardar recently travelled to Pul-i-Charkhi prison, Afghanistan, …
In 2009, Shah Nazar (now 18) was alone with his parents at their home in Farah Rod, a village in Bala Buluk district in Farah, where they ran a small grocery shop. His younger brother, Allah Noor …
"I am 52 years old... or maybe 53, I'm not sure," says Haji Shahzada with a smile as he arrives in Kabul after a full day's journey by bus from Lashkar Gah, the capital city of Helmand province. Haji …
The Advanced IHL Learning Series are addressed to lecturers and trainers who wish to be abreast of the latest developments in international humanitarian law (IHL) and other related areas. The series …
Hundreds of thousands are living under harsh conditions in the makeshift camps of Anbar, Baghdad and other provinces after fleeing fighting in and around Ramadi. The ICRC recently delivered …
In the immediate aftermath of the 13 November 2015 attack against an Israeli family in the Hebron area, which resulted in the tragic death of two civilians, numerous reports referred to an alleged …
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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.
