New weapons - Factsheet
International humanitarian law (IHL) is a set of rules which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict. It restricts the means and methods of warfare permitted to combatants and protects those …
International humanitarian law (IHL) is a set of rules which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict. It restricts the means and methods of warfare permitted to combatants and protects those …
The ICRC acts as the guardian of international humanitarian law, a complex role that is closely connected with its own foundation and was later formally entrusted to it by the international …
Extract from "International Humanitarian Law: An introduction", Henry Dunant Institute, Geneva/Paul Haupt Publishers, Bern, 1993. Updated by the author in November 1998. Dr Hans-Peter Gasser, …
International Symposium on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, Geneva, 19-21 October 1995. Paper presented by Dr Hans-Peter Gasser, Senior Legal Adviser, International …
The Fundamental Principles are the result of a century of experience. Proclaimed in Vienna in 1965, they bond together the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee …
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 …
The climate is changing everywhere, but it is people living in fragile circumstances who feel the effects most severely. Climate change and conflict continue to cause massive suffering among people …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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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.