Domestic law and IHL
For IHL treaties to be universally accepted, all states must adopt them through ratification or accession. States must then enact legislation and take practical measures in order for the rules to be …
Skip to main content
Search results
Restoring Family Links – Families Belong Together
Family members can become separated or go missing as a result of conflict, disaster, along a migratory route or during other situations requiring a humanitarian response. We at the ICRC restore and …
Protected persons: Children
Under international humanitarian law, children affected by armed conflict are entitled to special respect and protection. Highlight Children should be at school, not at war From our archives: …
The Geneva Conventions and their Commentaries
The 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are international treaties that contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. They protect people who do not take part in …
Criminal repression of IHL violations
When violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) occur, states are under an obligation to prosecute alleged offenders. Domestic courts therefore play an important role in enforcing IHL and …
Arms transfers
The widespread and poorly regulated availability of weapons facilitates violations of international humanitarian law and hampers the delivery of assistance to victims. Strengthening and enforcing …
Autonomous weapons
Autonomous weapons are not a work of science fiction from a distant dystopian future. They are an immediate cause of humanitarian concern and demand an urgent, international political response. …
Protected persons: Persons with disabilities
International humanitarian law (IHL) includes provisions to protect people with disabilities during times of armed conflict and other violence. Highlights ICRC preparing for major expansion of sports …
Respect for IHL
States and other parties to armed conflict have an obligation to "respect and to ensure respect for" IHL "in all circumstances" (Art. 1 common to the Geneva Conventions). They must use their …
Strengthening IHL project
Between 2012 and 2015, the ICRC undertook two major consultation processes on strengthening legal protection for victims of armed conflict. These two processes have since moved into a new phase, …
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.