War WATCH is the Geneva Academy’s authoritative portal for the legal monitoring of armed conflicts and the assessment of civilian harm worldwide. Drawing on more than fifteen years of systematic research in international humanitarian law (IHL), it provides structured, up-to-date analysis of every active armed conflict — covering legal classification, patterns of civilian harm, and compliance with IHL obligations.
The portal integrates two longstanding research streams of the Geneva Academy — Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts (RULAC) and IHL in Focus — into a single, continuously updated analytical environment. It is designed as a practical resource for diplomats, humanitarian practitioners, civil society organisations, policymakers, legal professionals, and researchers navigating the legal and humanitarian dimensions of today’s armed conflicts.
Coverage
War Watch currently covers 112 armed conflicts across the globe, comprising 34 international armed conflicts (IACs) — including 9 situations of military occupation — and 78 non-international armed conflicts (NIACs). All active armed conflicts receive legal classification analysis; those active during the current calendar year additionally receive a full assessment of civilian harm and IHL compliance under IHL in Focus.
Entries are updated on a rolling basis as situations evolve, new information becomes available, or the legal characterisation of a conflict changes. This continuous update cycle ensures that War Watch reflects the most current picture of armed conflict worldwide.
What each entry contains
Every War Watch entry follows a transparent and consistent methodology. For each country or territory, the portal identifies the actors involved in the armed conflict and the parties to it, determines the applicable conflict classification under IHL, and draws on reliable, publicly available sources — including reports from international organisations, UN investigative bodies, and trusted documentation mechanisms.
Where IHL in Focus analysis is available, entries additionally assess documented patterns of civilian harm against the relevant rules of IHL, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack. Each entry includes a synopsis summarising the key features of the situation, a classification section setting out the applicable legal framework, and — where relevant — a violations section analysing civilian harm.
Why it Matters
Understanding armed conflict today is increasingly difficult. Information is often fragmented, civilian harm remains under-documented, and the rules of IHL are frequently misunderstood or misapplied. At the same time, access to affected populations is often restricted and misinformation can distort the picture of ongoing hostilities.
War Watch provides a neutral, law-focused source of analysis to help users navigate these challenges. By presenting conflict information in a structured and accessible manner, it aims to support early warning, improve understanding of the legal dimensions of armed violence, and contribute to efforts to promote compliance with international humanitarian law. It is built on the conviction that clear, grounded legal analysis is an essential part of any effective humanitarian or policy response.
War Watch builds on RULAC (Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts), the Geneva Academy’s conflict classification database established in 2007, which has for nearly two decades provided authoritative legal analysis of armed conflict classification to governments, international organisations, and civil society. It integrates this foundation with IHL in Focus, the Geneva Academy’s flagship project for the legal assessment of civilian harm, launched in 2023 and now in its second phase with comprehensive global coverage.
Together, these two streams make War Watch the only platform that systematically combines conflict classification with civilian harm analysis under a unified IHL framework, updated continuously and at global scale.
In addition to the rolling entries on the portal, War Watch produces an annual global report under IHL in Focus, providing a comprehensive legal assessment of civilian harm across all active armed conflicts for the year. The War Watch podcast series brings the platform’s analysis to broader audiences through conversations with conflict specialists, legal experts, and humanitarian practitioners.
War WATCH: Episode 5 – Iran: No Ceasefire for Civilians
War WATCH: Episode 4 – Haiti: Crossing the Threshold
War WATCH – IHL in Focus Report – July 2024 to December 2025
Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
War WATCH: Episode 3 – Syria: The Search for Accountability After Assad
War WATCH Episode 2 – Mozambique: A War of Neglect and Impunity
War WATCH: Episode 1 – Sudan: A War of Atrocities
The War Watch platform is developed and maintained by the Geneva Academy’s IHL research team, working across the RULAC and IHL in Focus projects.
The team brings together legal experts in international humanitarian law, researchers specialising in conflict analysis and civilian harm documentation, and digital specialists supporting data integration and platform development.
Technical partners supporting the digital platform’s development: WonderWeb
War Watch is supported by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), an agency of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAE). SDC has taken over support for the legal classification of armed conflicts under RULAC and the broader War Watch platform, succeeding the DFAE’s Directorate of International Law (DDIP), which provided foundational support from the inception of RULAC through to 2025.
ECHO supports the IHL in Focus project’s violations monitoring and analysis. SDC supports the legal classification of armed conflicts and the broader War Watch platform.
This external funding does not influence the project’s methodology, analytical choices, or conclusions. War Watch operates with full independence in its research and legal analysis.