Respect for IHL

This theme highlights efforts to promote adherence to international humanitarian law (IHL) through education, voluntary compliance tools, historical codification, and national implementation, and fostering a universal culture of respect for the law in armed conflicts.

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. ...

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, ...

International humanitarian law and Islamic law: a principled and inclusive dialogue

July 25, 2024 7 mins read Analysis / Conduct of Hostilities / Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Principles / IHL / Islamic Law / Localisation / Related bodies of law / Religion / Special Themes Ahmed Al-Dawoody

Around two thirds of ICRC operations are in Muslim countries where armed conflicts are in ...

Voluntary reports: a new tool ‘toward a universal culture of compliance with IHL’

April 11, 2024 14 mins read Analysis / Generating Respect for IHL / IHL / Special Themes / The Geneva Conventions at 75 Giulio Bartolini

The draft elements of the resolution ‘Toward a universal culture of compliance with international humanitarian ...

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 ...

Towards national implementation of IHL: Arab states pledge their commitment

February 15, 2024 7 mins read Analysis / Generating Respect for IHL / IHL / Special Themes / The Geneva Conventions at 75 Yasmin Bedir & Omar Mekky

The work and contribution of national committees on IHL (NCIHLs) can be relevant in a ...

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 ...

Two truths and a lie: seventy years of the Geneva Conventions

November 14, 2019 7 mins read Generating Respect for IHL / Humanitarian Action / Law and Conflict / Sexual Violence / The most read blog posts in 2019 Jean-Marie Henckaerts

This year’s anniversary of the Geneva Conventions provides the space for humanitarian practitioners and legal ...

Strengthening compliance with IHL: Disappointment and hope

December 14, 2018 6 mins read Analysis / Generating Respect for IHL / Law and Conflict Helen Durham

Last week, participants in an intergovernmental process on ‘Strengthening Respect for International Humanitarian Law’ were forced to acknowledge a significant challenge facing the ...

Universal Meeting of National IHL Committees: At the heart of efforts towards better respect for the law

December 15, 2016 7 mins read Events and highlights / Generating Respect for IHL / Law and Conflict ICRC Advisory Service on IHL

Facing the formidable task of implementing international humanitarian law (IHL) in their national legislation, States ...