National committees
National Committees for the implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL) exist in many countries to advise and assist governments in implementing and spreading knowledge of IHL. Setting up …
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Strengthening compliance with IHL: Meeting with a group of States, April 2013
2nd Discussion on Strengthening Compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Functions of a possible IHL compliance system and their features 8–9 April 2013 Background document Geneva, March …
Falklands / Malvinas: The ICRC’s role, 30 years on
2 April 2012 is the 30th anniversary of the start of the conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falklands/Malvinas. Edmond Corthésy was head of the ICRC's Buenos Aires delegation …
International Conference – the Pacific perspective
183 nationalities gathered in Geneva under the banner of "Our World, Your Move – For Humanity." This video looks at the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and …
Development of national legislation to implement the Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines – Information kit
ADVISORY SERVICE ON INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW ____________________________________ Development of national legislation to implement the Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines - …
"Scraps of men do not exist"
Alberto Cairo runs the ICRC's orthopaedic programme in Afghanistan . At the end of November 2011, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement hosted its first-ever TEDx event, called …
Conventional weapons
International humanitarian law bans or restricts certain types of conventional weapons in order to protect civilians from their indiscriminate effects and to spare combatants from excessive injuries …
Weapons
International humanitarian law contains basic principles and rules governing the choice of weapons and prohibits or restricts the employment of certain weapons. The ICRC plays a leading role in the …
Explosive remnants of war
Each year large numbers of civilians are killed and injured by "explosive remnants of war". These are the unexploded weapons such as artillery shells, mortars, grenades, bombs and rockets, left …
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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.