Cordula Droege

Commentary on the guidelines for protecting schools and universities from military use during armed conflict

When schools are turned into battlefields, children, families and communities bear the consequences.
Read the new ICRC Commentary on the “Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use During Armed Conflict”:
www.icrc.org/en/publicati...

Happy to see a strong outcome document from Costa Rica, Ireland & Norway: strengthen national policy & practice (esp. §3.3), empower focal points, improve data on reverberating effects, share detailed good practices, support victims & expand outreach.
#EWIPA #IHL #CivilianProtection

ICRC recommendations for the 2025 EWIPA Conference call for concrete national action: focal points, doctrine updates, transparency, reviews of weapon use & lessons-sharing — to move from endorsement to real protection.
🔗 www.icrc.org/en/article/i...

#EWIPA #IHL #HumanitarianAction #StopTheHarm

ICRC-IFRC joint statement to the second conference on the Political Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas

The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement urges States to turn the EWIPA Political Declaration into practice: avoid wide-area explosive weapons in cities, align policies with commitments & promote universal adherence.
🔗 www.icrc.org/en/article/i...

#EWIPA #RedCross #RedCrescent #CivilianProtection

ICRC president: Use of explosive weapons in populated areas requires a collective response

“What kind of warfare are we prepared to accept?”
@ICRC
President warns that explosive weapons with wide-area effects should be avoided in populated areas. Civilian harm is predictable — and preventable.
🔗 icrc.org/en/statement...
#EWIPA #IHL #ProtectionOfCivilians #UrbanWarfare

The use of artificial intelligence #AI in armed conflict detention is no longer a distant prospect. To be compliant with international humanitarian law #IHL, it must remain human-centred and follow clear principles and safeguards.

Sixty years on: why the Fundamental Principles must be lived, not just remembered The Fundamental Principles are living commitments that must be exercised and defended, to keep humanity alive in the darkest of times.

The fundamental principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are practical tools necessary to carry out our humanitarian mission.
States parties to the Geneva Conventions are bound at all times to respect our adherence to these Principles.
blogs.icrc.org/law-and-poli...

I invite you to read this blog, written by my colleague Jean-Marie Haenckerts, head of the Geneva Conventions commentaries team, about the relevance of doing this huge work, that took almost 5 years of consultations and research.
#GenevaConventions
t.co/nBnvHKN8nV

This is a must-have guide for practitioners. The updated Commentary on the 4th Geneva Convention helps align the interpretation of international humanitarian law with 75 years of legal evolution, new technologies, and modern State practice.
Read it here👉🏽 ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treat...

YouTube video by International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) How should the Geneva Conventions be interpreted in today’s wars?

@icrc.org has updated our Commentary to the Fourth Geneva Convention, translating 1949 protections into today’s realities.
Protecting civilians in the hands of the enemy, in occupied territory - the 4th Geneva Convention remains more relevant than ever.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXd41pXzQuY

You can find the report here:
l1nq.com/3OqNB

The #GenevaConventions were designed to shield those not or no longer fighting. Their protective power must be upheld. The lives of millions of people, and the very core of our shared humanity, depend on states faithfully upholding IHL.

sl1nk.com/jlC5i

📢Watch here the launch of the progress report of the Global initiative to galvanize political commitment for international humanitarian law - the product of consultations with 130 states, expert meetings and events around the world:
#IHL
youtube.com/live/-SzsS0NHG… via @YouTube

Autonomous Weapon Systems and International Humanitarian Law: Selected Issues To support current international efforts to regulate autonomous weapon systems (AWS), the ICRC has prepared this position paper to clarify how international humanitarian law (IHL) applies to AWS

Autonomous weapon systems and international humanitarian law.
This @icrc.org paper examines how the rules of #IHL apply to AWS & why existing IHL does not hold all the answers to the legal, ethical & societal challenges they pose.
#LAWS #GenevaConventions #Disarmament
www.icrc.org/en/article/a...

The Global #IHL initiative goes to Central Asia!
Ambassador-at-Large of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reaffirms strong to upholding international humanitarian law, learning the lessons of World War II, and protecting human dignity, inspiration, and justice in all conflicts.

Legally defining and classifying armed conflicts has real-world consequences. Warring parties must know and respect international humanitarian law and preserve humanity in the chaos of war. In this video, the ICRC's Chief Legal Officer, Cordula Droege, explains how a war or “armed conflict” is defin How is an “armed conflict” legally defined and why do definitions matter?

What is the legal definition of an "armed conflict"? This is more than theory; answer to this question impacts real lives and responsibilities for warring parties, states and non-state armed groups.
Watch this explainer by @corduladroege.bsky.social

We cannot let artificial intelligence in military applications develop without human oversight and regulation, lest algorithms replace human judgment and control in life and death decisions.
@ICRC statement at #UNGA80:
icrc.org/en/statement/w…x.com/ICRC/status/.../1

You can find information on the Global Initiative to galvanise political commitment for #IHL at www.upholdhumanityinwar.org/documentation, including
✅ Workstreams
✅ Next events and consultations
✅ Statements from states in previous consultations

www.un.org/sg/en/conten...

World leaders united in defence of international humanitarian law to uphold humanity in war (21 September 2025) Alarmed by widespread violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) in conflicts around the world and the resulting unconscionable human (…)

In the face of egregious and widespread violations of international humanitarian law in conflicts around the world, we need to act. Leaders of 🇿🇦🇧🇷🇨🇳🇫🇷🇯🇴🇰🇿 together with @ICRC urge States and the international community to uphold the #GenevaConevntions

www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-fo...

Advanced IHL Seminar for Academics and Policymakers

🌍Honoured to open the 16th #IHL Seminar with academics & policymakers at @ICRC.
With 130 armed conflicts worldwide, this dialogue is vital to strengthen compliance, address new technologies of war, and protect people from the human cost of conflict.
🔗 bit.ly/16AdvancedIH...

DIRCO and ICRC call for stronger political commitment to uphold IHL across Africa On World Humanitarian Day, the Deputy Minister of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), Alvin Botes, alongside the Head of the International Committee of the Re...

The Global initiative to galvanize political commitment for #IHL goes to Africa!
🙏to South Africa for a great gathering of AU ambassadors and high commissioners reaffirming the collective responsibility to promote, respect and ensure respect for IHL.
rb.gy/kussag

Philippines: States in Asia Pacific region commit to greater support for rules of war during regional conference

The Global initiative to galvanize political commitment for #IHL goes to Asia-Pacific!
🙏to the Republic of the Philippines for a great regional conference and to participants States to commit to greater support for rules of war. www.icrc.org/en/news-rele...

ICRC president:
"I ask you: What happens to societies – to the world – if we fall prey to the belief that might alone makes right? When we disregard the rule of law, and pursue victory at any cost?"
www.icrc.org/en/statement...

ICRC president: The next 76 years of the Geneva Conventions will be shaped by the choices leaders make today

Whether the #GenevaConventions are respected in today's conflicts or not is a political choice of warring parties and of all states, especially those who support one party or another. It is also their responsibility.
www.icrc.org/en/statement...

The four #GenevaConventions were adopted on 12 August 76 years ago.
@ICRC
is updating its Commentaries to the Conventions (updates to the first three Conventions on our website or our IHL App).
The Commentary to the Fourth Geneva will be published soon 👇

80 years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: A call to eliminate nuclear weapons

So many ‚never again‘ are in peril today.

The only credible way to avoid nuclear war is the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

80 years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: A call to eliminate nuclear weapons www.icrc.org/en/statement...

Israel and the occupied territories: ICRC president calls for urgent collective action by states to end abhorrent suffering in Gaza

#Gaza:
All States have an obligation to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law #IHL, including by ensuring that the arms they transfer do not contribute to violations of IHL. 

www.icrc.org/en/statement...

Can you imagine a day without internet or telecommunication? For civilians in armed conflict zones, losing access to the internet or the ability to make a call isn’t just inconvenient: it's life-threatening. Under the rules of war, parties to conflict must not interfere with civilians’ access to connectivity.

When does disrupting connectivity cross a legal line at war?

From bombing a communication tower to national shutdowns, connectivity disruptions are frequent in armed conflicts.

Read more about the limits #IHL imposes on such acts: http://ms.spr.ly/63324sBMz2

"The brutal conflict in eastern DRC has trapped generations of civilians in a decades-long cycle of suffering, death and displacement. This declaration mediated by Qatar, combined with an agreement signed between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in Washington DC last month, creates an important opportunity for the region to chart a new future rooted in peace and stability.”

DR Congo | We stand ready to help facilitate the release of people detained in relation to the conflict under a declaration agreed between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Congo River Alliance/M23 Movement (AFC/M23).

Read more: ms.spr.ly/63320sDR52