Urban warfare: an age-old problem in need of new solutions

April 27, 2021 16 mins read Analysis / Humanitarian Action / Law and Conflict / Urban warfare Laurent Gisel, Pilar Gimeno Sarciada, Ken Hume & Abby Zeith

Urban warfare is not a new phenomenon; cities have featured as a stage for violence ...

ICRC engagement with non-State armed groups: why and how

March 4, 2021 9 mins read Access / Analysis / Armed Groups / Humanitarian Action / Influencing Behaviour in Armed Conflict Jelena Pejic, Irénée Herbet & Tilman Rodenhäuser

In 2020, the ICRC counted 614 armed groups of concern to the organization’s humanitarian operations ...

Aggregated intensity: classifying coalitions of non-State armed groups

October 7, 2020 14 mins read Analysis / Armed Groups / Law and Conflict Jelena Nikolic, Thomas de Saint Maurice & Tristan Ferraro

With an ever-increasing number of non-State armed groups and a growing tendency for non-international armed conflicts (NIAC) to be fought by coalitions, it ...

Black magic, zombies and dragons: a tale of IHL in the 21st Century

September 3, 2019 13 mins read Armed Groups / Conduct of Hostilities / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Principles / Law and Conflict / New Technologies / Scope of application / Technology in Humanitarian Action / Terrorism and IHL / The most read blog posts in 2019 Helen Durham

As we marked the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions last month, I want to ...

Administration of justice by armed groups: Some legal and practical concerns

November 22, 2018 12 mins read Analysis / Armed Groups / Detention / Law and Conflict Ezequiel Heffes

Geneva Call recently issued a report on challenges faced by armed non-State actors (ANSAs) in the administration of justice. This post highlights some ...

Out of balance: Global counter-terrorism & the laws of war

September 15, 2017 5 mins read Analysis / Law and Conflict / Scope of application / Terrorism and IHL Stéphane Ojeda

In recent years, the UN Security Council has strengthened its global counter-terrorism (CT) framework, perhaps ...

Fighting together: Obligations and opportunities in partnered warfare

March 28, 2017 9 mins read Analysis / Law and Conflict / Partnering in Warfare Cordula Droege & David Tuck

Partnered warfare — i.e. activities in support of Parties to armed conflict—is a reality that demands attention. For civilians, the sick, the wounded and for ...

Introducing the second multi-blog series on the updated Geneva Conventions Commentaries

February 21, 2017 2 mins read Analysis / Conduct of Hostilities / ICRC Commentaries / Law and Conflict The editors

In order to bring to light the significance of the updated Commentary on the First Geneva ...

Behind the scenes: Updated commentary on the First Geneva Convention

February 1, 2017 5 mins read ICRC Commentaries / Law and Conflict / Online publications Jean-Marie Henckaerts

Last month saw the publication of the updated Commentary on the First Geneva Convention which is now available from Cambridge University Press in ...

Global counter-terrorism must not overlook the rules of war

December 13, 2016 10 mins read Analysis / Law and Conflict / Terrorism and IHL Stéphane Ojeda

Branding an armed group as “terrorist” cannot alone cancel the applicability of international humanitarian law (IHL). The vast majority of contemporary armed conflicts ...

Terrorism, counter-terrorism and IHL: Primer on a recurring conversation

November 2, 2016 5 mins read Law and Conflict / Primers Ellen Policinski

Terrorism is not limited to any one part of the world. It can be seen everywhere, and is often linked to armed conflict. ...

Modern conflict: Address by ICRC’s vice-president to SWIRMO 2016

October 27, 2016 1 min read Events and highlights / Law and Conflict Mme Christine Beerli, vice-president of the ICRC

Address by Mme Christine Beerli, vice-president of the ICRC, at the opening of the Senior Workshop on International Rules Governing Military Operations (SWIRMO), ...

non-state armed groups