Rules of armed conflict derived from widespread and consistent state practice accepted as legally obligatory. Unlike treaty law, customary IHL binds all states regardless of whether they have ratified specific conventions, filling gaps left by treaties.
Source
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl
Related incidents
6 incidents
Updated April 7, 2026Foreign Policy & War
War Crime / Crime Against HumanityOngoingReported record
US forces destroyed Iran's landmark B1 bridge near Karaj in a double-tap strike during Nowruz holiday celebrations, killing 8 civilians and wounding 95. The bridge — 176 meters tall and 1,050 meters …
On April 2, 2026, US forces destroyed the B1 bridge near Karaj, west of Tehran — Iran's most complex engineering project, standing 176 …
The strike used a double-tap tactic: bombing the same location twice, killing first responders and bystanders who rushed to help after the …
Sources
6
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated April 5, 2026Foreign Policy & War
War Crime / Crime Against HumanityOngoingReported record
Repeated strikes near Bushehr nuclear power plant violate Additional Protocol I Article 56's specific protection of nuclear electrical generating stations. Even without a radiation release, strikes on …
Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant has been struck by projectiles at least four times since the war began on February 28, 2026.
One security guard was killed and a side building was damaged in the April 4 strike.
Sources
6
Documents
2
Updates
0
Updated March 26, 2026Foreign Policy & War
War Crime / Crime Against HumanityOngoingReported record
A sustained pattern of strikes on Iranian hospitals, ambulances, and medical infrastructure has killed healthcare workers and forced the evacuation of six hospitals. The WHO has verified 18 attacks on …
WHO has verified 18 attacks on healthcare facilities in Iran since the war began on February 28, 2026, with at least 8 medical workers …
Six hospitals have been evacuated, 29 clinical facilities damaged, and 10 rendered inactive. Patients required evacuation from seven …
Sources
11
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated March 25, 2026Foreign Policy & War
War Crime / Crime Against HumanityOngoingReported record
The US Defense Secretary's public declaration that no quarter would be given to Iran constitutes a textbook war crime under Rome Statute Article 8(2)(b)(xii), which criminalizes 'declaring that no …
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly declared there would be 'no quarter, no mercy' for Iran during the 2026 Iran war.
Declaring that no quarter will be given is explicitly listed as a war crime under Rome Statute Article 8(2)(b)(xii). It is a per se …
Sources
6
Documents
1
Updates
0
Updated March 25, 2026Foreign Policy & War
War Crime / Crime Against HumanityOngoingReported record
A US submarine torpedoed an Iranian frigate returning from a peaceful international naval event, killing 87 sailors. The failure to rescue shipwrecked sailors violates the Second Geneva Convention's …
The USS Charlotte torpedoed the IRIS Dena approximately 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka on March 4, 2026. The Iranian frigate was returning …
Eighty-seven sailors were killed. The Sri Lanka Navy rescued 32 survivors.
Sources
5
Documents
1
Updates
0
Updated March 25, 2026Foreign Policy & War
Serious Rights ViolationOngoingOfficial executive action
The Pentagon's civilian casualty prevention infrastructure was gutted in early 2025, removing safeguards that existed specifically to prevent the kinds of civilian harm documented in the …
The CHMR program and its Civilian Protection Center of Excellence were tagged for elimination by February 2025.
Approximately 200 personnel assigned to civilian harm mitigation were affected.