15 Key Rules for Fighters

The full list

Every rule, at a glance

Each rule below restrains how conflict is conducted so that civilians, civilian property and medical and humanitarian services are protected. They apply to any party to a conflict.

1. 01

   Do not bomb indiscriminately.

2. 02

   Treat all people under your control humanely.

3. 03

   Do not commit summary executions.

4. 04

   Do not use prohibited weapons.

5. 05

   Do not recruit children or use them in hostilities.

6. 06

   Do not target or attack civilian property or public buildings.

7. 07

   Do not execute prisoners.

8. 08

   Respect women and do not commit sexual violence.

9. 09

   Bombing and attacks on civilians are forbidden.

10. 10

    Do not use schools and universities for military purposes.

11. 11

    Protect children and education.

12. 12

    Do not arm children under 18.

13. 13

    Respect cultural heritage.

14. 14

    Allow humanitarian access.

15. 15

    Respect the red cross/red crescent emblem.

The rules page presents the fifteen key rules that fighters must comply with, drawing on international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions to limit the impact of armed conflict on civilian populations. Each rule restrains how hostilities are conducted so that civilians, civilian property, and medical and humanitarian services remain protected. The framing is deliberately simple: in times of war, not everything is allowed, because war itself is governed by law. The content is organized so that readers can move from a summary of the principles to a fuller exploration of individual rules and the scenarios in which they apply.

Topics covered include the prohibition of attacks on schools, hospitals, and medical personnel, as well as the duty to distinguish between combatants and civilians and between military objectives and protected civilian objects. The rules address why human shields and indiscriminate bombing are unlawful, why recruiting children into hostilities is prohibited, and why sexual violence, executions, looting, and the mistreatment of prisoners and the wounded fall outside permitted conduct. They also clarify the obligations of commanders and parties to a conflict, including the requirement to comply with the limits of the law rather than treat them as optional guidance.

Conflict places civilians and those who aid them in grave danger, yet even in war there are limits that fighters are expected to respect. The Geneva Call's campaign sets out the fifteen key rules enshrined in international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, covering how hostilities may be conducted so that civilian populations, civilian property, and medical and humanitarian services remain protected. These commitments are shared by parties to a conflict and by those who recruit or direct fighters, giving communities a plain-language reference for what is permitted, what is prohibited, and what obligations commanders carry.

Each rule in the list restrains the methods and means of warfare in a specific, practical way, addressing issues such as attacks on civilians and schools, indiscriminate bombing, hostage-taking, human shields, abuse of women and children, looting and theft, executions, sexual violence, and harm to wounded and dead persons. Alongside the full list and an at-a-glance summary, the campaign offers short videos, a downloadable app, and a quiz, with materials available in several languages so that armed groups and the public alike can engage with the same framework and commit to respecting the rules of war.

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See and carry the rules