Cordula Droege
@corduladroege.bsky.social
Chief Legal Officer @icrc.org
International humanitarian law #IHL, humanitarian disarmament, humanitarian action.
International humanitarian law #IHL, humanitarian disarmament, humanitarian action.
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.
🤖 As AI begins to shape decisions on who is detained and how facilities are managed, questions once reserved for science fiction have become urgent matters of law and ethics.
Can technology optimize detention without erasing what makes it humane?
Read more → bit.ly/3JAPmzM
Can technology optimize detention without erasing what makes it humane?
Read more → bit.ly/3JAPmzM
November 13, 2025 at 7:47 PM
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...
States parties to the Geneva Conventions are bound at all times to respect our adherence to these Principles.
blogs.icrc.org/law-and-poli...
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.
blogs.icrc.org
October 23, 2025 at 2:09 PM
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...
States parties to the Geneva Conventions are bound at all times to respect our adherence to these Principles.
blogs.icrc.org/law-and-poli...
@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
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
How should the Geneva Conventions be interpreted in today’s wars?
YouTube video by International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
www.youtube.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:47 PM
@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
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
📢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
#IHL
youtube.com/live/-SzsS0NHG… via @YouTube
YouTube
Share your videos with friends, family, and the world
https://youtube.com/live/-SzsS0NHG…
October 17, 2025 at 6:06 PM
📢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
#IHL
youtube.com/live/-SzsS0NHG… via @YouTube
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...
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...
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
www.icrc.org
October 14, 2025 at 9:18 AM
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...
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.
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.
October 8, 2025 at 12:16 PM
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.
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.
Reposted by Cordula Droege
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
Watch this explainer by @corduladroege.bsky.social
How is an “armed conflict” legally defined and why do definitions matter?
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
www.youtube.com
October 2, 2025 at 8:05 AM
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
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
@ICRC statement at #UNGA80:
icrc.org/en/statement/w…x.com/ICRC/status/.../1
x.com
September 27, 2025 at 1:49 PM
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
@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
✅ Workstreams
✅ Next events and consultations
✅ Statements from states in previous consultations
Humanity in War
www.upholdhumanityinwar.org
September 22, 2025 at 8:43 PM
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
✅ Workstreams
✅ Next events and consultations
✅ Statements from states in previous consultations
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...
www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-fo...
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 (…)
www.diplomatie.gouv.fr
September 21, 2025 at 4:13 PM
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...
www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-fo...
🌍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...
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...
Advanced IHL Seminar for Academics and Policymakers
bit.ly
August 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
🌍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...
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...
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
🙏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
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...
rb.gy
August 20, 2025 at 10:08 AM
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
🙏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
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...
🙏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...
Philippines: States in Asia Pacific region commit to greater support for rules of war during regional conference
www.icrc.org
August 20, 2025 at 9:55 AM
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...
🙏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...
"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: "International humanitarian law only as strong as leaders’ will to uphold it"
Speech given by Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the ICRC, on 18 August 2025 and the 11th HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Lecture on IHL.
www.icrc.org
August 18, 2025 at 8:08 PM
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...
"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...
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...
www.icrc.org/en/statement...
ICRC president: The next 76 years of the Geneva Conventions will be shaped by the choices leaders make today
www.icrc.org
August 12, 2025 at 9:49 AM
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...
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 👇
@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 👇
August 12, 2025 at 8:18 AM
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 👇
@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 👇
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...
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...
80 years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: A call to eliminate nuclear weapons
www.icrc.org
August 5, 2025 at 12:29 PM
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...
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...
#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...
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...
Israel and the occupied territories: ICRC president calls for urgent collective action by states to end abhorrent suffering in Gaza
www.icrc.org
July 25, 2025 at 9:20 PM
#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...
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...
Reposted by Cordula Droege
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
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
July 17, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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
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
Reposted by Cordula Droege
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
Read more: ms.spr.ly/63320sDR52
July 21, 2025 at 7:32 AM
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
Read more: ms.spr.ly/63320sDR52
Reposted by Cordula Droege
In 2024, we supported over 1,400 hospitals and health facilities, many of them in conflict affected areas.
Under the laws of war, the wounded and sick, medical staff, and hospitals are all protected.
Learn more about our health related activities 👉🏼 www.icrc.org/en/what-we-d...
Under the laws of war, the wounded and sick, medical staff, and hospitals are all protected.
Learn more about our health related activities 👉🏼 www.icrc.org/en/what-we-d...
July 21, 2025 at 9:49 AM
In 2024, we supported over 1,400 hospitals and health facilities, many of them in conflict affected areas.
Under the laws of war, the wounded and sick, medical staff, and hospitals are all protected.
Learn more about our health related activities 👉🏼 www.icrc.org/en/what-we-d...
Under the laws of war, the wounded and sick, medical staff, and hospitals are all protected.
Learn more about our health related activities 👉🏼 www.icrc.org/en/what-we-d...
Reposted by Cordula Droege
Armed conflict, hunger and floods have plunged over 3.7 million civilians in northeast Nigeria into a relentless nightmare, where, for some communities, the search for food has become their daily struggle.
🎥 New media footage to download 👇🏼
www.icrcnewsroom.org/story/en/105...
🎥 New media footage to download 👇🏼
www.icrcnewsroom.org/story/en/105...
Nigeria: “We go to bed hungry sometimes for two to three days”: Hunger deepens as farmers in conflict-affected northeast struggle to survive
Every morning, a procession of villagers make their way from Dikwa, a town in northeastern Nigeria to farmlands, often several kilometres away, where they are able to cultivate crops for a few hours a...
www.icrcnewsroom.org
July 21, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Armed conflict, hunger and floods have plunged over 3.7 million civilians in northeast Nigeria into a relentless nightmare, where, for some communities, the search for food has become their daily struggle.
🎥 New media footage to download 👇🏼
www.icrcnewsroom.org/story/en/105...
🎥 New media footage to download 👇🏼
www.icrcnewsroom.org/story/en/105...
Reposted by Cordula Droege
Irish physiotherapist Rieke Hayes spent six weeks in Gaza, facing relentless mass casualty events, stray bullets, and shortages of vital equipment.
Her harrowing first-hand account reveals the reality of treating patients at the Red Cross Field Hospital 👇🏽
ms.spr.ly/63326sEEl0
Her harrowing first-hand account reveals the reality of treating patients at the Red Cross Field Hospital 👇🏽
ms.spr.ly/63326sEEl0
ICRC voices: Life and Death in the Red Cross Field Hospital
Skip to main content In a series of online articles, the ICRC team in London interviews British and Irish delegates working across the world. This month, we speak to Rieke Hayes, a physiotherapist from Ireland. After training in the NHS, she joined the ICRC in 2018, and has deployed to North Korea, Ukraine, Iraq, and Yemen.
ms.spr.ly
July 22, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Irish physiotherapist Rieke Hayes spent six weeks in Gaza, facing relentless mass casualty events, stray bullets, and shortages of vital equipment.
Her harrowing first-hand account reveals the reality of treating patients at the Red Cross Field Hospital 👇🏽
ms.spr.ly/63326sEEl0
Her harrowing first-hand account reveals the reality of treating patients at the Red Cross Field Hospital 👇🏽
ms.spr.ly/63326sEEl0
Thank you @janethanderson.bsky.social and
@svdberg.bsky.social for inviting me to talk about the need to preserve healthcare in armed conflict and the IHL rules that ensure that they are respected and protected.
@svdberg.bsky.social for inviting me to talk about the need to preserve healthcare in armed conflict and the IHL rules that ensure that they are respected and protected.
www.asymmetricalhaircuts.com/episodes/epi...
With @janethanderson.bsky.social @svdberg.bsky.social @corduladroege.bsky.social with support of @justiceinfo.bsky.social
With @janethanderson.bsky.social @svdberg.bsky.social @corduladroege.bsky.social with support of @justiceinfo.bsky.social
Episode 137 – Hospitals and IHL with Cordula Droege
What International Humanitarian Law (IHL) – the laws of war – say about hospitals, with Cordula Droege of the ICRC. Do like, subscribe and leave us a review. Want to find out more? Chec…
www.asymmetricalhaircuts.com
June 26, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Thank you @janethanderson.bsky.social and
@svdberg.bsky.social for inviting me to talk about the need to preserve healthcare in armed conflict and the IHL rules that ensure that they are respected and protected.
@svdberg.bsky.social for inviting me to talk about the need to preserve healthcare in armed conflict and the IHL rules that ensure that they are respected and protected.