Protecting civilians in good faith: the updated Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention

Protecting civilians in good faith: the updated Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention

Following five years of research and consultations, the ICRC has published a new, updated Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention (GC IV) of 1949. GC IV is the cornerstone of protection for civilians in international armed conflict and occupation – protections that remain urgently relevant amid patterns of urban warfare, strikes on essential services, and persistent harm to people who are not, or are no longer, taking part in hostilities. The 2025 Commentary consolidates seven decades of practice, jurisprudence, and operational experience into a practical guide to applying GC IV’s safeguards effectively today. In this post, Jean-Marie Henckaerts, the head of the ICRC project to update the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977, situates the updated Commentary in contemporary conflict realities and explains why GC IV’s protective purpose must steer its interpretation. He argues that good faith interpretation – required by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties – means reading GC IV in a way that realizes its humanitarian object and purpose, not hollowing it out through technical argumentation that defeats protection in practice.

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Jaksot(304)

Before the fighting begins: IHL and the location of military objectives

Before the fighting begins: IHL and the location of military objectives

International humanitarian law (IHL) is primarily associated with the conduct of hostilities and the protection of people during armed conflict. Yet some of the decisions that determine civilian risk ...

27 Elo 11min

Civilian protection has a dependency-chain problem

Civilian protection has a dependency-chain problem

Civilian protection is often assessed by whether a person has been warned, evacuated, registered, sheltered or reached with relief. For many persons with disabilities, each measure depends on a wider ...

20 Elo 21min

The machines must not choose who dies: a humanitarian case for disarming AI

The machines must not choose who dies: a humanitarian case for disarming AI

As states race to develop autonomous weapons systems, the effort to agree binding international rules on machine decisions over life and death has reached a critical moment. In this post, Eberechukwu...

13 Elo 18min

Memorializing IHL violations in the age of AI: opportunities and risks for transitional justice

Memorializing IHL violations in the age of AI: opportunities and risks for transitional justice

Memorialization, one of the five pillars of transitional justice, plays a vital role in preserving the memory of international humanitarian law (IHL) violations and gross human rights violations, supp...

23 Heinä 17min

“A number that learned how not to scream”: the case for community-led metrics on protection

“A number that learned how not to scream”: the case for community-led metrics on protection

The international humanitarian system has built a sophisticated architecture for the protection of civilians, namely political resolutions, cluster coordination mechanisms, reporting frameworks, and a...

7 Heinä 15min

Amplifying Pacific voices: the region’s crucial role in advancing IHL

Amplifying Pacific voices: the region’s crucial role in advancing IHL

Pacific Island states have long demonstrated leadership in promoting peace, disarmament, and humanitarian values. From traditional customs that reflect principles contained in contemporary internation...

2 Heinä 15min

The shelter that shone in the distance | Written and Performed by Mamuch Bey

The shelter that shone in the distance | Written and Performed by Mamuch Bey

For the world's more than 120 million forcibly displaced people, the idea of refuge is not an abstraction – it is a horizon, an act of imagination, and sometimes the only thing that keeps hope alive. ...

18 Kesä 4min

African traditions and the protection of children in armed conflict

African traditions and the protection of children in armed conflict

Across Africa, norms regulating the conduct of hostilities long predate the codification of modern international humanitarian law (IHL). The ICRC Tool on African traditions and the preservation of hum...

16 Kesä 12min

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