Taking the high road in military operations
Many of today’s armed conflicts involve opponents who significantly differ in terms of military capacity and resources. Military experts who recently gathered at the ICRC, Geneva, discussed how...
View Article“The contamination from nuclear test explosions is in every one of our bodies”
Selected passages from Professor Tilman Ruff’s speech, delivered at the Australian launch of The human cost of nuclear weapons, Melbourne, 10 October 2016. I am pleased to be invited to help launch the...
View ArticleHabitat III: The smartest city is a safe city
The humanitarian commitments in the New Urban Agenda are significant and will form clear policy guidance on urban humanitarian action for national governments and city authorities in the next 20 years....
View ArticleHow humanitarians safeguard the law of armed conflict
In situations of armed conflicts and violence across the world, humanitarian actors operate amidst recurring violations of international humanitarian law (IHL). Not only do they witness breaches of the...
View ArticleModern conflict: Address by ICRC’s vice-president to SWIRMO 2016
Address by Mme Christine Beerli, vice-president of the ICRC, at the opening of the Senior Workshop on International Rules Governing Military Operations (SWIRMO), 26 September – 1 October 2016. The post...
View ArticleTerrorism, counter-terrorism and IHL: Primer on a recurring conversation
Terrorism is not limited to any one part of the world. It can be seen everywhere, and is often linked to armed conflict. The phenomenon, just as counter-terror measures taken by States, do not take...
View ArticleBeyond ratification: National committees and the implementation of...
Armed conflicts continue to cause immense suffering and large-scale destruction, despite the existence of a well-developed body of law designed specifically to limit the effects of war. It bears...
View ArticleTorture: Primer on a wrong and illegal practice
The ICRC’s position on torture is clear: torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, degrading or humiliating treatment are banned under international law. Unfortunately, the use of torture is a topic...
View ArticleAre we living through the worst period in history?
Vincent Bernard is the editor in chief of the International Review of the Red Cross. This article is an adaptation of his editorial for The evolution of warfare, and is the first instalment of a blog...
View ArticleFighting together: Obligations and opportunities in partnered warfare
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 persons deprived of their liberty, it can...
View ArticleA global ban on nuclear weapons: Are we there yet?
In the heart of the Cold War, nuclear weapons were the central issue of international peace and security debates, with a devastating nuclear war considered a realistic possibility. After several...
View ArticleCourage, responsibility and the path towards a world without nuclear weapons:...
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted in July 2017, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, aimed at their eventual total...
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