Lessons from the ICRC’s responses to the humanitarian consequences of urban warfare and urban violenceīroadly, we found what is important to humanitarian action in cities affected by armed conflict and violence is not hugely different to other environments. Our recent publication, ‘ Present and engaged: How the ICRC responds to armed conflict and violence in cities’, goes into greater detail. Based on these exchanges, a decade of ICRC publications on different aspects of urban response, and external literature and urban-good-practice initiatives, this post shares some of what we learnt. We spoke with ICRC staff involved in urban responses in six countries – Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Libya, the Philippines, and Ukraine – about their experiences, challenges they faced, and what makes urban environments different. That is why we have been taking stock of our experiences and reflecting on what it is about cities as operating environments that creates particular humanitarian consequences, and how we should adapt our responses accordingly – often with other components of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. However, humanitarian actors can and must do better. The responsibility for reducing human suffering amidst war and violence lies primarily with States and other duty bearers, based on their obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) and other relevant law. This is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future as the world continues to urbanize. What is a hypothetical for some is a harsh reality for many: over 50 million people are impacted by urban armed conflict – of which the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine is but another manifestation – and some 1.5 billion people live in fragile settings like the slums of Rio de Janeiro, where chronic armed violence plagues daily life.

It is sobering to contemplate the consequences for the people of this city – or yours – if such artillery actually needed to be used: if swimmers and picnickers were wounded or killed if homes, essential services systems, and cultural monuments were destroyed if encirclement meant food could not get in and people could not get out if streets were contaminated with unexploded ordnance.

The Swiss military occasionally does drills around Geneva – from where we are writing – positioning artillery on Lac Léman where people often swim or picnic.

Present and engaged: how the ICRC responds to armed conflict and violence in cities.

Icrc definition of armed conflict