Afghanistan: Facts and figures for 2014
A summary of activities carried out by the ICRC in Afghanistan during 2014 Visiting detainees and maintaining family contact The ICRC visits detainees in Afghanistan and other countries around the …
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Afghanistan: Escalating violence brings increased suffering to war-weary Afghans
09-02-2015 Following a volatile year in Afghanistan, 2015 has brought no reprieve to civilians suffering the effects of intensifying armed conflict. Countless hardships, including large-scale …
Chad: Training Chadian soldiers on rules of war
Members of the Chadian armed forces in the south-west of the country have been given training by the ICRC on international humanitarian law (IHL). It is vital that these soldiers, who are setting off …
Ukraine: Donetsk residents struggle for survival
Donetsk, Ukraine, January 2015. A girl cowers in fear as shelling hits Hospital No. 3, which specializes in older people and children. Donetsk lies in opposition-controlled territory. It has been the …
Ukraine crisis: Delivering aid to Schastye on the front line
Schastye. The name of this small town in Ukraine's Lugansk region means "happiness," in both Russian and Ukrainian. But Schastye lies on the front line, and has suffered extensive damage. This video, …
Lebanon: Strengthening the resilience of communities affected by violence
Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, has been the scene of recurrent outbursts of armed violence between the marginalized communities of the Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighbourhoods. Since …
Colombia: Dutch citizen released
11-02-2015 Geneva / Bogotá (ICRC) – A Dutch citizen who was captured last month by the National Liberation Army (ELN) was today handed over to a team made up of delegates from the International …
Shades of conflict in Iraq
Children and their amazing resilience At 1:00 a.m. on 10 June, in Mosul, exactly a month before this picture was taken, family members shook these two boys awake. As one of the boys explains: "We …
Red Cross Red Crescent denounces continued violence against volunteers working to stop spread of Ebola
11-02-2015 The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is deeply concerned about continued violence perpetrated against its volunteers in Guinea. Due to the fear and mistrust surrounding …
Syria: Four years of conflict and human suffering
Almost four years have gone by since armed conflict broke out in Syria. It’s estimated that more than six million Syrians are now living in besieged areas or are internally displaced. That’s almost a …
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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.
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Customary international humanitarian law consists of rules that come from "a general practice accepted as law" and that exist independent of treaty law.