Urban wars in Iraq, Syria and Yemen are among the deadliest conflicts of our time. Through first-hand stories of residents of cities like Aleppo in Syria, Mosul in Iraq and Taiz in Yemen, this report vividly explores the consequences of these conflicts for communities, cities and entire countries. The report also makes urgent recommendations about the immediate and longer-term steps that military forces and armed groups, governments and others can and must take to help to alleviate and prevent human suffering.
Available in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish
This report describes the impact that the Additional Protocols have had on norms, how they have shaped the practice of parties to conflict and why they remain relevant 40 years after their adoption on 8 June 1977.
Available in English
Gathering and analysing data — to study the consequences of crises and carry out activities in response — is an essential element of humanitarian work. It helps to ensure the relevance and effectiveness of such work and enables accountability. This book is a technical guide for field staff who, though not specialists in this area, need to collect and analyse data in connection with assessments and monitoring and evaluation.
Available in English
Published as part of the Brussels Privacy Hub and ICRC’s Data Protection in Humanitarian Action project, this handbook is aimed at the staff of humanitarian organizations involved in processing personal data as part of humanitarian operations, particularly those in charge of advising on and applying data protection standards.
Available in English
Following the March 2016 agreement between the European Union and Turkey, which regulated the level of migration to Europe from Turkey, the central Mediterranean route to Italy became the most popular migration channel to Europe. This document describes a modelling exercise in which experts involved in assistance to migrants imagined and discussed various potential scenarios critical to next steps in the humanitarian response.
Available in English
This report is a contribution to the ongoing efforts of governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to design national Zika virus responses. The report was prepared by a joint team of experts, led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the IFRC, with the collaboration of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and Johns Hopkins University.
Available in English and Spanish
The application and interpretation of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977 have developed significantly in the 60 years since the ICRC first published its commentaries on these important humanitarian treaties. This article-by-article commentary takes into account developments in the law and practice to provide up-to-date interpretations of the convention.
Available in English
During the Lebanese armed conflict, Ali lost a leg and an arm, while Qassem lost both legs. However, as this short video reveals, their will to live was stronger than their traumatic experience. With the aid of the ICRC’s Prosthetics Rehabilitation Programme, Ali and Qassem received prosthesis, which helped them pursue their dreams. Ali is now doing a PhD on international humanitarian law and Qassem is a renowned writer.
It’s the stuff of science fiction: machines that make decisions about who and when to kill. Referred to as “autonomous weapons”, they’re already in use to some degree. But as more sophisticated systems are being developed we wanted to an expert in the field about whether such systems comply with international humanitarian law and what it means for humanity to give machines the power over human life and death.
In this episode, we talk with humanitarian communicator Kathy Mueller who produced our first magazine podcast series, The Wildfire Diaries, about massive wildfires in Northern Canada in 2017. We talk about that series, her many international missions, and the big changes in humanitarian communications since she began with the Canadian Red Cross almost 20 years ago.
In this episode, we talk about the power of storytelling to inform and inspire. “Storytelling is a fundamental aspect of human communication,” says our guest Prodip, a volunteer and multi-media storyteller for the Bangladesh Red Crescent. “It inspires us to be a hero of our own community.” We also speak with one such community hero, Dalal al-Taji, a longtime volunteer and advocate for inclusion of people with disabilities in emergencies response. “In disasters. persons with disabilities sometimes get forgotten.”
Refugees, migrants and asylum seekers often become “cultural mediators” to help other newcomers deal with challenges such as COVID-19.
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