ICRC Humanitarian Law and Policy Blog

What drives restraint in armed conflict? Recent studies have examined different factors contributing to restraint behaviour, mainly focusing on strategic incentives, such as seeking legitimacy from international audiences or securing support from local communities. In this post, Henrique Garbino, Doctoral Candidate at the Swedish Defence University, and Matthew Bolton, Professor at Pace University, explore, instead, how traditional humanitarian norms protecting the innocent, the land, and the body may influence restraint on the use of landmines and similar explosive devices. They conclude that we should not perceive such norms as inadequate alternatives to international humanitarian law; instead, they may serve as a basis for extending global norms beyond the existing laws of war.

Humanitarian actors broadly agree on the humanitarian principles’ meanings and their utility in responses to armed conflict and disasters. But this consensus can oversimplify the principles’ origins and legal character. In this post, which is based on a longer article forthcoming in the International Review of the Red Cross, international law professor Marina Sharpe examines how the humanitarian principles diffused from the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement to NGOs and the UN, shedding light on their legal character and normative content.

Cyber operations have become a reality of today’s armed conflicts, and their use is likely to continue to grow in the future. In light of this trend, the ICRC has long maintained that international humanitarian law (IHL) governs – and limits – any use of cyber operations during armed conflicts. But what does that really mean in practice? In this post, ICRC legal advisers Kubo Mačák and Tilman Rodenhäuser provide concise explanations of when and how IHL – and especially its principles of humanity, necessity, distinction, and proportionality – apply to the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) by States. With this post, they launch the ICRC’s new series of short papers on cyber operations during armed conflict. Read the full blog post here: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2023/03/07/towards-common-understandings-the-application-of-established-ihl-principles-to-cyber-operations/

States have agreed on the principle that machines cannot be held accountable for violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), but how would accountability be ensured in practice? In this post, Vincent Boulanin and Marta Bo from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) argue that looking at how responsibility for IHL violations is currently ascribed under international law provides useful lessons for the regulation of AWS. Read the full blog post here: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2023/03/02/three-lessons-autonomous-weapons-systems-ihl/

The deadly legacy of armed conflict continues to claim lives long after the fighting is over. As more and more conflicts take place in population centers, including large towns and cities, so does the grave toll of weapon contamination. Unexploded ordnance hamper movement and agriculture, block access to essential services and life-saving humanitarian assistance, and can reverse socio-economic development gains by decades. In this post, ICRC Legal Adviser Eirini Giorgou lays out the obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) for States and non-State armed groups with regard to explosive remnants of war, along with recommendations for practical measures to ensure their effective implementation.

The international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine has seen the involvement of several humanitarian organizations on the ground – including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - working hard to alleviate the suffering of those caught up in hostilities. In this post, ICRC Legal Adviser Melina Fidelis takes a closer look at the role of the ICRC during times of international armed conflict, explaining the organization’s mandate, and the activities it can carry out. Read the full blog piece here: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2023/02/16/war-law-humanity-icrc-international-armed-conflicts/

Humanitarian action involves words as well as deeds, influence as well as operations. Every year presents new influencing challenges for humanitarian diplomats and agency communications teams. With deepening crisis in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar and Ukraine, and upcoming global meetings in 2023 on water, climate change, nuclear weapons and the future itself, University of Oxford Senior Research Fellow Hugo Slim reflects on five ancient and enduring forms of influencing that humanitarians can still use today. Read the full blog piece here:

The digital transformation has been a key vector of progress for the humanitarian sector. It is also a source of additional pressure on principled humanitarian action, triggering dilemmas and risks that tend to be understated or overlooked. In this post, ICRC Senior Policy Adviser Pierrick Devidal reflects on some of the challenges and opportunities that digitalization creates for humanitarian organizations’ ability to operate in line with the fundamental principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. Read the full blog piece here: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2023/02/02/back-to-basics-digital-twist-humanitarian-principles/

How can humanitarian actors better respond to the devastating impact of urban warfare and urban violence? The higher humanitarian stakes in cities – the cumulative impact on large numbers of people and the interconnected systems on which they depend – heighten both the challenges and the importance of putting into practice key hallmarks of effective humanitarian action. In this post, ICRC Policy Advisers Charles Deutscher and Chandni Dhingra overview a new policy paper which takes stock of the ICRC’s experience responding to the impact of war and violence in cities. Rea the full blog post here: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2023/01/19/present-and-engaged-icrc-armed-conflict-violence-cities/

In line with its mandate, the ICRC engages with all parties to an armed conflict, including non-State armed groups. The ICRC has a long history of confidential dialogue with armed groups that has achieved tangible results. However, engagement has become increasingly complex. Accordingly, the ICRC undertakes an annual exercise to assess its current relationships with armed groups in order to both improve its engagement strategies and to determine trends that can impact future engagement. In this post, ICRC Adviser Matthew Bamber-Zryd discusses some of the findings from this year’s exercise, during which time the ICRC had contact with two-thirds of the 524 armed groups that are of humanitarian concern. The ICRC’s success in engaging an armed group is influenced by a group’s structure, the region in which it operates and the extent of its territorial control. However, the ICRC continues to face significant obstacles to such dialogue, emanating from both armed groups and States. Read the full blog post here: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2023/01/12/icrc-engagement-armed-groups-2022/