Iraq: Escaping unprecedented levels of horror
Since the outbreak of fighting in Al-Anbar region last December, the humanitarian situation in west and north Iraq has become extremely bad, particularly for displaced people. Minorities in …
Since the outbreak of fighting in Al-Anbar region last December, the humanitarian situation in west and north Iraq has become extremely bad, particularly for displaced people. Minorities in …
27-08-2014 Geneva/Manila (ICRC) – Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), concluded his first official visit to the Philippines today. During his three-day …
The 1989-1997 civil war in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea left as many as 20,000 dead. The fate and whereabouts of many who vanished following the outbreak of violence remain unknown. This causes …
Group work on case studies from "How does law protect in war?" allows students to apply the Geneva Conventions to concrete issues related to sexual violence, such as criminal repression © ICRC / T. …
Hand-in-hand with the South Sudan Red Cross, the ICRC is working to combat the spread of the disease in key locations, in particular those affected by recent violence. In this video we see how the …
People have always used violence to settle disputes. And all cultures have always had the idea that there have to be limits on that violence, if we are to prevent wars from descending into barbarity. …
ICRC director-general Yves Daccord and director of international law and policy Helen Durham call for compliance with the law of war and an end to attacks on civilians, especially health workers. The …
The cities of Dohuk and Khanik are overwhelmed with families who have fled the fighting in Sinjar and elsewhere in northern Iraq. Many of them spent days without food and water on Mount Sinjar before …
1864: Protecting wounded and sick soldiers Ottoman Empire, Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78. First-aid post for wounded soldiers. The 1864 Geneva Convention stipulated that wounded soldiers and those …
Country-wide intensification of hostilities has claimed the lives of thousands and worsened access to water, food, and basic health-care services for tens of thousands of people. Over three million …
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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.