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LAW & POLICY NEWSLETTER

2 February 2023

‘Back to basics’ with a digital twist: humanitarian principles and dilemmas in the digital age

humanitarian principles in a digital era

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.

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What has the ICRC learned from its contact with two-thirds of the 524 armed groups of humanitarian concern in 2022? Learn about the ICRC's success and challenges of its engagement with armed groups in this blog.

Translating for the ICRC for almost a decade now, Rasha Mahmoud Abdel Fattah, Head of Arabic Translation at the ICRC Regional Communication Center in Cairo, examines the linguistic, communicative, and cultural challenges of English-Arabic translation in conflict settings.

🎧 New episode: Humanity In War

Join us as we go back to the basics! In this fresh episode of Humanity in War, we speak to ICRC Director of International Law, Policy and Humanitarian Diplomacy Nils Melzer about humanitarian neutrality and how important it is to our humanitarian protection and assistance for those in need.

P.S. This conversation is also available as blog form!

📝 Advanced IHL Seminar for Academics and Policymakers

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Are you an academic interested in enhancing your capacity to teach and research international humanitarian law? Are you a policymaker seeking an in-depth understanding of contemporary armed conflicts?

Learn more about the seminar organized by the ICRC and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

Policy paper: Present and Engaged – How the ICRC Responds to Armed Conflict and Violence in Cities

How can humanitarian actors better respond to the devastating impact of armed conflict in urban settings? Discover what the ICRC has learned about urban warfare in its latest research. An overview of the paper is available here.

DOWNLOAD THE PAPER

💡 In the spotlight

| IHL APP |

Access to IHL treaties, customary rules, and related documents and links in eight languages. Get IHL in your pocket now!

| IHL Databases |

Explore and share the updated ICRC IHL Databases with maps visualizing States’ ratification status for core IHL treaties among many other new features!

| Humanitarian Carbon Calculator |

Humanitarian organizations can now measure the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions associated with their activities with our newly launched Humanitarian Carbon Calculator.

🌏 Buddhism and IHL

This ICRC Project on Buddhism and IHL does not merely explore correspondences between Buddhism and IHL, but also investigates how Buddhism might help to regulate hostilities and reduce suffering during armed conflict on its own terms.