Education programmes for young people
Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) is an education programme that introduces young people between 13 and 18 years of age to the basic rules and principles of international humanitarian law (IHL).The …
Skip to main content
Search results
How does international humanitarian law protect journalists in armed conflict situations?
Media professionals are increasingly at risk of being wounded, killed, detained or kidnapped while reporting in armed conflict situations. Robin Geiss, an ICRC legal expert, talks about the …
Working for the ICRC: Communication delegate
A complete introduction to how the ICRC communicates, in an age when clear, precise and convincing communication has never been more …
1919-1939: consolidation among crises
The carnage of 1914-18 should have made this conflict the last. The public was horrified at the amount of blood that been spilt and war now seemed to have no place. But events themselves would …
Founding and early years of the ICRC (1863-1914)
The Red Cross came into being at the initiative of a man named Henry Dunant, who helped wounded soldiers at the battle of Solferino in 1859 and then lobbied political leaders to take more action to …
1945-1965: two decades of challenges
At the end of the Second World War, the ICRC finds itself in an ambivalent position. Its humanitarian work during the conflict – in particular in aid of prisoners of war – has been widely commended. …
Issues raised regarding the Rome Statute of the ICC by national Constitutional Courts, Supreme Courts and Councils of State
This document contains a summary of the most important issues of constitutionality raised by different national judicial and quasi-judicial bodies with regard to the ratification of the Statute for …
Prison visits in Uruguay: memories of an ICRC delegate
Hernán Reyes has been an ICRC doctor for 26 years. During this time, he has visited hundreds of prisons across five different continents. In 1984, during the period of military rule in Uruguay, he …
Movement policy on internal displacement
The Movement has long been active in addressing the needs of individuals and communities affected by internal displacement. The Movement Policy on Internal Displacement, adopted by the Council of …
Didn’t find what you were looking for?
Try one of the following resources:
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.