1. Stephane Ojeda Legal Adviser ICRC Delegation to the United Nations sojeda@icrc.org The International Committee of the Red Cross & The challenges of contemporary armed conflicts

2. The ICRC Created in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland Part of the largest humanitarian network: the Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement Mandate to protect & assist victims of war Humanitarian actor & guardian of IHL Active in more than 80 countries About 15’000 employees Top operations: Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria Funding from States & national societies Independent, impartial & neutral 3 Nobel peace prizes

3. International Humanitarian Law Rules of war (in a nutshell) The ICRC & IHL  Dissemination / training / teaching  Advisory services  Dialogue & interventions with all parties  Clarification work  DPH (2009)  Law of Occupation (2012)  Detention & compliance initiatives (2015) Multilateral humanitarian diplomacy

4. Some challenges Majority of non-international armed conflicts A global battlefield? Total war: no humanity considerations Autonomous weapon systems Humanitarian access Security Current humanitarian system seems broken Politicization of aid Enforcement of IHL