Joint Statement from ICRC President and IFRC President to mark World Red Cross Red Crescent Day

This World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, we mourn our colleagues who were appallingly killed while trying to save lives. Their deaths demand far more than empty words of outrage—they demand action.

The international community cannot continue to look away as the rules of war are ignored, and humanitarian workers are deliberately targeted. Every attack on a humanitarian is an attack on the community they served, and a betrayal to the laws designed to protect civilians and alleviate suffering in conflict.  

The brutal killing of our colleagues at the Palestine Red Crescent Society in March sparked a global outcry. But their story is not isolated. From Gaza to Sudan, Ukraine, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, our colleagues are coming under fire while driving ambulances, distributing aid, and reaching frontline communities in need.

Already this year, we have lost 10 colleagues. This follows the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers, with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement alone losing 38 staff and volunteers in 2024. If this horrifying pattern continues, 2025 may be even worse.

States and parties to conflict bear direct responsibility for reversing this disturbing and dangerous trend by protecting humanitarian workers, upholding international humanitarian law, and standing up for our shared humanity. The time to act is now.

🧭 Help Us Improve

Take our 3-minute anonymous survey and help guide the ICRC’s law and policy outreach. Your feedback is key to enhancing the way we serve you and advancing global conversations around international humanitarian law (IHL) and policy.

📑 In Case You Missed it

Addressing landmine pollution: how the ‘polluter pays’ principle can help

From disenchantment to a universal culture of compliance: IHL education “2.0”

Complying with IHL in large-scale conflicts: key preparedness measures 

📅 Mark your calendars

To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, this event will spotlight the urgent need to reduce stigma against victims and survivors of sexual violence in armed conflict. Building on the ICRC’s newly released Stigma Impact Model and its operational findings from 19 countries, the discussion will bring together humanitarian practitioners, researchers, and community leaders to identify knowledge gaps and strengthen stigma-informed interventions.

Join us in advancing solutions that center the voices of survivors and help shape the conversation by sharing your insights in this short survey!

📝 International Review of the Red Cross

📢 Call for Papers - Mental Health and Armed Conflict

The International Review of the Red Cross (IRRC) invites contributions for an upcoming issue on “Mental Health and Armed Conflict.” Armed conflicts, whether international or non-international, have profound consequences on mental health, affecting civilians, humanitarian workers, and military personnel. Exposure to hostilities, displacement, violence, and loss can lead to both immediate and long-term psychological harm. Submissions must include a 500-word abstract and a biography of up to 300 words and be submitted by 15 May 2025. Contributions can be submitted in English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. 

💡 In the Spotlight

Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment to IHL

UNESCO's Memory of the World Register

Two important IHL publications are now available in Serbian

Books behind barbed wire: ICRC’s intellectual relief for POWs during the Second World War

Check out this recent article from the ICRC Library and Archives blog to learn about the intellectual relief for prisoners of war (POWs) organized by the ICRC during WWII.

Was this email forwarded to you?

Subscribe here to receive ICRC's monthly Law & Policy Newsletter.