Protected persons: Missing persons
Many people go missing in war, causing anguish and uncertainty for their families and friends. People have the right to know what has happened to their missing loved ones. Governments, armed forces …
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Protected persons: Women
International humanitarian law aims to prevent and alleviate suffering in war without discrimination based on sex. That means that women’s needs must be accounted for. Highlight General and Specific …
Protected persons: The wounded, the sick and health-care providers
Protecting the sick and wounded in armed conflict was the founding principle of the 1864 Geneva Convention. That principle remained the core of international humanitarian law as it extended to other …
Customary IHL
Customary international humanitarian law (IHL) consists of rules that come from "a general practice accepted as law" and exist independent of treaty law. Customary IHL is of crucial importance in …
Direct participation in hostilities
A clear distinction between armed forces and civilians is a key element of international humanitarian law. In contemporary conflict, however, the proximity of civilians to military operations and …
Occupation
Recent years have seen an increase in extraterritorial military action. Some of these interventions have given rise to new forms of foreign military presence in the territory of a state, and these …
Cultural property
The law protects cultural property during armed conflict. That protection stems from the principle that damage to the cultural property of any people, in the words of the 1954 Hague Convention, is …
Private military and security companies
Parties to armed conflicts are increasingly recruiting private military and security companies to undertake tasks traditionally carried out by the armed forces. The involvement of these companies in …
Urban warfare and violence
It is heartbreaking to watch a city you love die. Yet that is exactly what happens when armed conflicts are fought in the middle of cities, endangering the lives of civilians and the infrastructure …
Artificial intelligence
Advances in artificial intelligence for military purposes raise profoundly worrying questions for humanity. Featured articles What you need to know about artificial intelligence in armed …
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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.