Armed conflict in Ukraine: a recap of basic IHL rules
For the past two weeks, the world has watched a humanitarian crisis unfold across Ukraine. Many of our readers have reached out to us directly with questions on how the rules of war – international hu...
17 Mars 202216min
Consumer drones in conflict: where do they fit into IHL?
The skies over the conflict in Ukraine are filled with identical-looking consumer drones piloted by combatants and civilians alike – aircraft that promise to be a regular feature of war in the future....
15 Mars 202219min
In Bruges: the enduring relevance of IHL and the updated Commentaries
Since its creation in 2000, the Bruges Colloquium on International Humanitarian Law has been jointly organized by the ICRC and the College of Europe, bringing together government representatives, inte...
23 Feb 20229min
Revisiting the history of the Geneva Conventions
With armed conflicts persisting in various parts of the globe and at risk of breaking out in others, it is crucial to take a step back. In this post, Boyd van Dijk, a McKenzie Fellow at the Universit...
17 Feb 202210min
A new Solferino moment for humanitarians
This year marks the 160th anniversary of the publication of Henri Dunant’s classic text, ‘A Memory of Solferino’, in 1862. Dunant’s powerful book inspired the founding of the International Red Cross a...
10 Feb 202214min
Carve-out in Kabul: hard won resolution lifts humanitarian roadblock in Afghanistan
On 22 December 2021, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution on Afghanistan introducing, for the only the second time in 30 UN sanction regimes, an explicit humanit...
3 Feb 202210min
Explosive weapons with wide area effects: a deadly choice in populated areas
The use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area in populated areas is one of the main causes of civilian harm in today’s armed conflicts. Despite their widespread and reverberating effects, they ...
25 Jan 202216min
Shifting the narrative: not weapons, but technologies of warfare
Debates concerning the regulation of choices made by States in conducting hostilities are often limited to the use of weapons . . . but our understanding of weapons is outdated. New technologies – esp...
20 Jan 202215min
