Complying with IHL in large-scale conflicts: key preparedness measures

April 3, 2025 12 mins read Analysis / Complying with IHL in large-scale conflicts / Conduct of Hostilities / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Principles / IHL / Law and Conflict / Special Themes / Topics / Type of post Isabelle Gallino & Sylvain Vité

As states increasingly focus on strengthening their defense capabilities, discussions on military preparedness are gaining ...

A call to make international humanitarian law a political priority

February 6, 2025 8 mins read Accountability / Analysis / Conduct of Hostilities / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian diplomacy / Humanitarian Principles / IHL Mirjana Spoljaric

As the devastating impacts of armed conflicts continue to mount, civilians are enduring unimaginable suffering. ...

War in cities: a solemn appeal from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

January 7, 2025 6 mins read Access / Accountability / Analysis / Armed Groups / Conduct of Hostilities / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Action / Humanitarian diplomacy / Humanitarian Principles / IHL

Around the world, civilians in cities at war face immense risks. Urban warfare devastates lives ...

If you teach it, they’ll enroll: IHL education in Canadian law schools

December 17, 2024 11 mins read Analysis / Education in Armed Conflict / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Principles / IHL / Law and Conflict Marina Sharpe

Members of armed forces receive international humanitarian law (IHL) training as a matter of course, ...

War’s long legacy: the continued importance of the Geneva Conventions 75 years later

August 8, 2024 14 mins read Accountability / Analysis / Conduct of Hostilities / Generating Respect for IHL / IHL / Law and Conflict / Special Themes / The Geneva Conventions at 75 Ellen Policinski

Next week marks the 75th anniversary of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. Against a ...

War and what we make of the law

July 18, 2024 10 mins read Accountability / Analysis / Conduct of Hostilities / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Principles / IHL / Special Themes / The Geneva Conventions at 75 Cordula Droege

Preventing the catastrophic human cost of war is a central purpose of modern international law. ...

Trapped in conflict: urban sieges and encirclement

June 20, 2024 23 mins read Analysis / Conduct of Hostilities / Generating Respect for IHL / Special Themes / Topics / Urban warfare Abby Zeith

Based on the ICRC’s firsthand observations in and around cities in conflict across the globe, ...

Can IHL training influence military conduct in war?

May 7, 2024 12 mins read Analysis / Conduct of Hostilities / Generating Respect for IHL / IHL / Influencing Behaviour in Armed Conflict / Law and Conflict / Special Themes Andrew Bell

This post is a summary of research from the ICRC’s report on Military Training in ...

Codifying IHL before Lieber and Dunant: the 1820 treaty for the regularization of war

April 4, 2024 13 mins read Analysis / History / Humanitarian Principles / IHL / Law and Conflict / Related bodies of law / Special Themes / The Geneva Conventions at 75 Jacob Coffelt

Before the Lieber Code and Geneva Conventions came a treaty between the Spanish Empire and ...

Armed conflict in Sudan: a recap of the basic IHL rules applicable in non-international armed conflicts

June 15, 2023 15 mins read Analysis / Conduct of Hostilities / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Action / Law and Conflict Julie Lefolle & Jelena Nikolic

On 15 April 2023, the world watched the eruption of hostilities in Khartoum, the capital ...

War on the coastline: mitigating civilian harm in the littorals

May 17, 2023 12 mins read Analysis / Humanitarian Action / Law and Conflict Prashant Kahlon

With 80 per cent of the world’s population living within 100 kilometers of a coastline, and maritime trade accounting for around 90 per ...

IHL in action: seven patterns of respect

November 19, 2020 16 mins read Analysis / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Action / Influencing Behaviour in Armed Conflict / Law and Conflict / Religion Juliane Garcia Ravel & Madalena Vasconcelos Rosa

While violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) are seemingly pervasive and remain a brutal reality ...

law of armed conflict