Rather than try to present let alone summarize this long report, I am including an article from the Guardian which sets out the major findings from the report.
Tom
War Watch - IHL in Focus
Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights1 July 2024 to 31 December 2025
Click here for the full report
International law meant to limit effects of war at breaking point, study finds
Dan Sabbagh, Defence and security editor
The Guardian
Monday, February 2, 2026
Click here for the article: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/feb/02/more-than-100000-civilians-killed-war-crimes-out-of-control-study
Click here for the report
Summary:
An 18,592 children were killed in Gaza by the end of 2025, part of a broader crisis that has reduced the territory's population by 254,000 people—a 10.6% decline. About 12,400 women also died in the conflict.
The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights surveyed 23 armed conflicts between July 2024 and the end of 2025, concluding that international humanitarian law is at a "critical breaking point" with more than 100,000 civilians killed in each of 2024 and 2025.
In Ukraine, civilian deaths increased 70% to 2,514 in 2025—more than the previous two years combined—as Russian drone attacks deliberately targeted civilians and millions lost electricity. Sexual violence is documented in almost every conflict studied. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, "an epidemic of such violence" affects victims ranging from year-old infants to 75-year-olds. After El Fasher's fall to rebels in October 2025, survivors in Sudan reported gang-rape by RSF fighters lasting hours or days, sometimes in the presence of family members.
The study found torture and rape are committed with near impunity across conflicts, with limited efforts to prosecute war crimes. The report proposes banning arms sales where clear risk exists of facilitating violations, prohibiting unguided bombs and inaccurate artillery in populated areas, and ensuring systematic war crimes prosecution through the International Criminal Court and national tribunals.
Quotes:
"Atrocity crimes are being repeated because past ones were tolerated. Our actions – or inaction – will determine whether international humanitarian law vanishes altogether." —Stuart Casey-Maslen, lead author
"Serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) were wrought on a huge scale and with rampant impunity."
"Addressing widespread impunity for serious violations of international law should be treated as a policy priority."
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