ICRC

Expert authors examine key interpretive issues and selected topics in the updated Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention​ on protection of civilians during civil war.

Leading legal experts' Q&A analyzes how the law of armed conflict applies to U.S., Israeli, and Iranian strikes - with a focus on targeting rules and civilian protections.

Do data centers qualify as lawful military objectives? If so, under what circumstances are they subject to attack? And what precautions must be taken before targeting them?

Surveys how the 2025 ICRC GC IV Commentary integrates technology into its analysis of specific rules, while raising concerns about its treatment of data as property.

New Commentary on GC IV describes Article 23—the treaty’s key provision governing the duty to allow the passage of essentials to civilians—as "significantly diminished" today.

​The ICRC's updated Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention fills a loophole-closing function and reasserts international humanitarian law's core protective purpose.

What stories or topics merited more attention in 2025, and which might inform law and policy conversations in 2026?

An amnesty in any future peace plan would be unlawful and a moral abdication of the pursuit of accountability for victims in Russia's war in Ukraine.

As combatants sit in the trenches – scrolling, posting, taking selfies – they can be targeted with online ads that espouse the laws of war.

As the international arms trade volume increases, States must act more responsibly to abide by their obligations and the humanitarian imperative of preventing violence and suffering.

Cordula Droege, chief legal officer and head of the legal division of the International Committee of the Red Cross, assesses the laws of war.

Compliance with international humanitarian law must be about fulfilling its humanitarian purpose, not skirting its limits.