International Committee of the Red Cross Press Releases

• Published on May 26, 2025 - 17:04 GMT

  

  ICRC President: All parties to an armed conflict have non-negotiable legal obligations to ensure water remains accessible during ...

  Mr. Chair, Excellencies, esteemed colleagues, Water is an issue of immense humanitarian concern that cannot be emphasised enough and cannot be placed high enough on states’ agendas. I thank the Permanent Mission of Slovenia and co-sponsors for their …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 26, 2025 - 11:46 GMT

  

  ICRC grieves two colleagues killed in strike in Gaza

  We are heartbroken by the deaths of two of our dear colleagues, Ibrahim Eid and Ahmad Abu Hilal, who were killed in a strike on their homes in Khan Younis on 24 May 2025. Ibrahim worked as a Weapon Contamination Officer for the ICRC, and Ahmad worked as a …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 26, 2025 - 11:42 GMT

  

  ICRC in Syria: Year in Review 2024

  This included our response during the escalation of conflict in Lebanon and subsequent displacement of hundreds of thousands of people to Syria, as well as during the hostilities across the country in November and December.  We did so through support to …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 26, 2025 - 08:16 GMT

  

  South Sudan: ICRC medical teams perform over 1,000 surgeries on weapon-wounded patients as armed conflict and violence escalate

  The influx of patients is the direct consequence of the escalation of armed conflict and violence the country has experienced in the past months and the scope of the resulting humanitarian crisis. Thousands of people have fled their homes, often repeatedly …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 23, 2025 - 06:52 GMT

  

  Philippines: Eight years after Marawi Conflict, unresolved issues of displaced, missing people hamper lasting peace

  Since 2017, the ICRC has advocated for people whose lives were upended by the Marawi conflict, including the families of the missing. They continue to suffer from the anguish and uncertainty of not knowing the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones. The …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 22, 2025 - 13:07 GMT

  

  ICRC president: “It is possible to protect civilians in war”

  Mr President,  I will not repeat the horrors being inflicted on civilians because of widespread violations of international humanitarian law. This Council is briefed – week after week – about civilians being maimed and murdered, about civilians being …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 22, 2025 - 08:53 GMT

  

  “We arrived from Sudan with nothing but our lives”

  Zamzam and Tawila, the camps she and so many others have fled, were already marked by overcrowding and shortages. Now, the escalation in fighting and violence has driven entire communities out, adding another layer of desperation to an already dire …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 22, 2025 - 06:26 GMT

  

  Special Appeal 2025 - From relief to resilience: strengthening food security in conflict

  Climate change worsens the situation by damaging crops, displacing communities, and destabilizing food systems. Meanwhile, global food markets remain volatile, with trade disruptions, currency depreciation, and rising import costs making food unaffordable …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 21, 2025 - 14:30 GMT

  

  Afghanistan: Physical rehabilitation programme leaflet 2024

  After days of relentless rainfall, an old muddy wall in Mehrnaz’s home collapsed on her leg, crushing it beyond repair. The pain was sharp, but the deeper wounds were yet to come. At the time, Mehrnaz had no understanding of what it meant to live with a …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 19, 2025 - 10:54 GMT

  

  China: Conflict Prevention Tool launched in Beijing to support corporate overseas security management

  The Tool, co-developed by the ICRC-DCAF Partnership and other partners, supports businesses working in complex overseas environments to undertake more effective conflict analysis and heightened due diligence to deepen their understanding of local security …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 19, 2025 - 07:25 GMT

  

  Ukraine: ‘We lost a part of our soul, not just a hospital’

  From that moment, the rescue of wounded people was added to the usual workload. "The number of strokes, heart attacks and neurological diseases among local communities also rose sharply", Svitlana recalls. "The increase in workload was so …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 18, 2025 - 00:04 GMT

  

  QFFD and ICRC Sign Agreement to Support Core Humanitarian Operations

  Fragility and conflicts are on the rise, undermining access to essential services, the unearmarked contribution will reinforce the ICRC’s global operations, particularly its efforts to ensure protection and assistance for people affected by armed conflict …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 15, 2025 - 11:01 GMT

  

  DRC: 1,359 disarmed members of government forces and their families have arrived safe and well in Kinshasa, with the support of ...

  “This operation shows how important and irreplaceable the role of neutral intermediary is during armed conflicts, whether in Africa or elsewhere,” said Mirjana Spoljaric, ICRC president. “I hope that this operation will lead to other humanitarian …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 15, 2025 - 08:58 GMT

  

  ICRC Director-General Highlights Humanitarian Imperatives at Global Security Forum

  Held on the margins of the Global Security Forum, the ICRC convened a closed-door roundtable as part of its Global Initiative on IHL, specifically within the “IHL and Peace” workstream, with support from the Soufan Center. The session brought together …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 15, 2025 - 02:24 GMT

  

  Standing behind communities, to do more and better together

  In an increasingly polarized and complex world, where more and more people struggle to meet their basic needs, this shared commitment to humanity is more than just a guiding principle – it is a lifeline. This is particularly true in Haiti, which is facing …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 14, 2025 - 11:20 GMT

  

  Burundi: Fleeing violence, families face the agony of separation

  “Recently, we registered an unaccompanied child who seems to be only a year and a half old,” says Noemie Niyongere, who works with the ICRC’s Protection of Family Links program in Burundi. “We don’t even know exactly how old he is because a guardian just …

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• Published on May 14, 2025 - 07:40 GMT

  

  Colombia: "Most Colombians are engulfed in the conflict against their will"

  Three elements differentiate us. First, we reach the most remote areas of the country, places where no other organization goes. This allows us to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable. Being where communities need us most is fundamental, even if it …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 14, 2025 - 01:21 GMT

  

  ICRC president in first official visit to Democratic Republic of the Congo

  Ms Spoljaric met the prime minister, Judith Suminwa Tuluka, the deputy prime minister and minister of defence, Guy Kabombo Mwadiamvita, and the minister for foreign affairs, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, to discuss the humanitarian situation in the Great …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 14, 2025 - 01:21 GMT

  

  Israel and the occupied territories: ICRC facilitates hostage release, calls for renewed and sustainable ceasefire agreement

  “We are relieved that one more family has been reunited today. This nightmare, however, continues for the remaining hostages, their families, and hundreds of thousands of civilians across Gaza,” said Mirjana Spoljaric, ICRC president. “We urgently need …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights
• Published on May 14, 2025 - 01:21 GMT

  

  Preserving human control over the use of force: A call to regulate lethal autonomous weapon systems under international law

  Excellencies, distinguished delegates, In October 2023, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and I issued a joint appeal to states to act now to preserve human control over the use of force. We called on world leaders to launch negotiations of a new …

  Distribution channels: Human Rights