After five years of research and consultations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pleased to announce the publication of its updated Commentary on Geneva Convention IV relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (GC IV), available online via the ICRC websiteFootnote ¹ and on the ICRC’s IHL App.Footnote ² The print edition is forthcoming from Cambridge University Press. Several events have been held around the world to give audiences a preview of what they might find in the updated Commentary on GC IV, including a global launch event in Geneva on 27 November 2025,Footnote ³ and more events are planned in 2026.

The ICRC’s updated Commentaries are reference tools that provide up-to-date interpretations of the legal framework of the Geneva Conventions, thereby offering a crucial first step in achieving better respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) by all parties to armed conflict and strengthening their ability to influence others to ensure better respect for the law.

The updated Commentary on GC IV is the latest in a series of updated Commentaries produced by the ICRC and a team of renowned legal experts applying the treaty interpretation methodology set out in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The updated Commentaries on Geneva Conventions I and II were published, both online and in print, in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The updated Commentary on Geneva Convention III was published online in 2020 and in print in 2021.

GC IV is a major cornerstone of the protections afforded to civilians in situations of international armed conflict and occupation – protections that remain relevant amid patterns of urban warfare and persistent harm to people who are not, or are no longer, taking part in hostilities. Drafted in the wake of the Second World War, when the international community vowed to set limits on warfare and to shield civilians from its worst effects, the rules set out in GC IV prohibit violence against civilians, guarantee access to humanitarian relief and regulate the responsibilities of Occupying Powers.

As armed conflict evolves, so does the way IHL is understood and applied. The updated Commentary on GC IV seeks to ensure that this interpretive tool remains accurate, complete and usable by situating GC IV’s provisions in contemporary realities. It consolidates more than seven decades of practice, jurisprudence, scholarly debate and operational experience into a practical guide to applying GC IV’s safeguards effectively today.

This update is essential as we witness armed conflicts marked by urban warfare, attacks on essential services, severe humanitarian needs and mass displacement, where the protective purpose of GC IV is increasingly being tested. As the balance between military necessity and humanity is woven into the Convention itself, it already recognizes the realities of war without allowing exceptional measures to swallow the rule, for example allowing for internment and other security measures while establishing safeguards and setting minimum standards of treatment. The updated Commentary reaffirms GC IV’s protective purpose, providing the clarity and authority necessary to ensure that the law can be properly understood and applied to protect civilians – not to justify harming them.

Interpreting and applying GC IV in good faith means ensuring that its humanitarian purpose is fulfilled in practice. This requires adapting interpretations as warfare and technology evolve – for instance, understanding the prohibition on exposing protected persons to public curiosity as applying not just to print media but also to social media exposure today.

When States or other parties to an armed conflict interpret obligations narrowly (for example, by granting humanitarian relief passage in principle but imposing burdensome procedures that prevent delivery, providing internees with minimal food rations that fail to maintain health and dignity, or treating timelines such as “without undue delay” as flexible rather than urgent), they risk emptying the law of its meaning. Such interpretations violate both the letter and the spirit of the Geneva Conventions, whose drafters knew that protection would only be effective if limits on armed conflict were taken seriously. The principle of good faith in treaty interpretation anchors these limits, ensuring that humanitarian purpose prevails over expediency.

The updated Commentary is a reference tool like no other. For busy legal practitioners, policy-makers and humanitarian actors, it can be used as a starting point for research. It explains, article by article, the obligations contained in GC IV, illustrated with real-world examples drawn from State practice. It integrates developments in human rights law, international criminal law and the means and methods of warfare. It not only explains the ICRC’s view of the law but also acknowledges diverging views and provides extensive citations to further resources on any of the topics raised. This allows the updated Commentary to serve as a short-cut for legal research and provides clarity in understanding how GC IV is interpreted and applied today, which can lead to greater respect for the law and, ultimately, improved protection for civilians impacted by war.