Complying with IHL in large-scale conflicts: How should states prepare to allow and facilitate delivery of humanitarian relief?

Large-scale armed conflicts consistently sever the systems that sustain civilian life, leaving populations without essential services or access to basic goods. International humanitarian law (IHL) sets out clear obligations for states to anticipate these foreseeable humanitarian needs and to ensure that impartial relief can reach affected communities swiftly and safely. Yet from customs hurdles to restrictive regulatory frameworks, many of the barriers to life-saving assistance are rooted not in conflict itself, but in peacetime choices. In this post, ICRC Legal Adviser Ellen Policinski examines how states can proactively shape legal, administrative, and logistical systems that enable, rather than obstruct, humanitarian relief in moments of crisis. She underscores that meeting IHL obligations requires advance preparation – from easing import restrictions to ensuring postal and customs exemptions – so that when conflict erupts, assistance can move without avoidable delay.

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Complying with IHL in large-scale conflicts: How should states prepare to allow and facilitate delivery of humanitarian relief? is an episode from ICRC Humanitarian Law and Policy Blog by ICRC Humanitarian Law & Policy Blog.

This episode is 00:13:28 long.

This episode was published on Dec 4, 2025.

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