Detention / Detainees

This theme explores legal, humanitarian, and operational aspects of detention in armed conflicts, focusing on the treatment of detainees, compliance with international humanitarian law, and safeguarding human dignity in detention settings.

Engaging non-state armed groups on the protection of missing people and their families

March 5, 2026 11 mins read Analysis / Armed Groups / Detention / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Principles / IHL / Special Protections Tilman Rodenhäuser & Ximena Londoño

The ICRC continues to witness unacceptable levels of suffering when the law designed to protect ...

The adoption of the 1949 Geneva Conventions: a humanitarian break and colonial continuity

February 26, 2026 12 mins read Analysis / GCIV Commentary / Generating Respect for IHL / History / Humanitarian Principles / Protecting civilians in good faith: a joint symposium on the updated ICRC Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention / Related bodies of law / Scope of application Srinivas Burra

More than seven decades after their adoption, the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 remain foundational ...

Outsourcing humanity? International law, humane treatment, and artificial intelligence in detention operations

November 13, 2025 14 mins read Accountability / Analysis / Detention / Generating Respect for IHL / IHL / Law and Conflict / New Technologies Terry Hackett & Alexis Comninos

As artificial intelligence (AI) begins to shape decisions about who is detained in armed conflict ...

Peace can start in a prison cell: how IHL and humane detention can build pathways to peace

November 6, 2025 14 mins read Accountability / Analysis / Detention / Generating Respect for IHL / IHL / Law and Conflict / Special Themes / Torture / Upholding humanity in war: the Global IHL Initiative Terry Hackett & Audrey Purcell-O’Dwyer

When wars end, peace rarely begins overnight. It’s built, slowly and painstakingly, through acts that ...

ICRC engagement with armed groups in 2025

October 30, 2025 14 mins read Access / Analysis / Armed Groups / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Action Matthew Bamber-Zryd

In line with its mandate, the ICRC engages with all parties to an armed conflict, ...

Complying with IHL in large-scale conflict: navigating complexities in the Asia-Pacific

September 4, 2025 11 mins read Access / Analysis / Complying with IHL in large-scale conflicts / Conduct of Hostilities / Detention / Humanitarian Action / IHL / Law and Conflict / Special Themes Ansha Krishnan & Eve Massingham

The waters stretching from the Eastern Indian Ocean through Southeast and East Asia to the ...

Complying with IHL in large-scale conflicts: detention operations in international armed conflicts

May 15, 2025 17 mins read Analysis / Complying with IHL in large-scale conflicts / Detention / Generating Respect for IHL / IHL / Law and Conflict / Special Themes Sylvain Vité & Isabelle Gallino

Large-scale detention operations in international armed conflicts (IACs) pose significant humanitarian, legal, and operational challenges. ...

Dehumanizing detention: degrading our collective humanity

November 7, 2024 6 mins read Analysis / Communications / Detention / Social Protection Terry Hackett

Language matters and the protections of international law are crucial when facing global trends of dehumanization. Dehumanizing narratives strip people of their dignity, ...

Internment by non-state armed groups: legal and practical limits

October 15, 2024 8 mins read Analysis / Armed Groups / Detention / GCIV and the internment of protected persons / IHL / Special Themes Tilman Rodenhäuser

Detention by non-state armed groups is a widespread, diverse, and legally complex occurrence in armed ...

Procedures for internment review under the Fourth Geneva Convention: reflections from New Zealand

September 19, 2024 15 mins read Analysis / Detention / GCIV and the internment of protected persons / IHL / Special Protections / Special Themes Tim Wood

The Fourth Geneva Convention was the first humanitarian law convention dedicated to protections for civilians ...

Internment pursuant to the Fourth Geneva Convention during an international armed conflict: practice and reflections from Norway

June 6, 2024 10 mins read Analysis / Detention / GCIV and the internment of protected persons / IHL / Special Protections / Special Themes Camilla G. Cooper

The Fourth Geneva Convention was the first humanitarian law convention dedicated to protections for civilians ...

Civilian internment in international armed conflict: when does it begin?

May 23, 2024 12 mins read Analysis / Detention / GCIV and the internment of protected persons / IHL / Special Protections / Special Themes Jelena Pejic

The legal and practical issues related to the exceptional practice of internment of protected persons ...