War WATCH: A New Platform to Track, Assess and Monitor Armed Conflicts and Civilian Harm
Understanding the legal and humanitarian dimensions of today’s armed conflicts is increasingly challenging. Information is often fragmented, civilian harm remains insufficiently documented, and the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) are frequently misunderstood.
Today, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights launches War WATCH, a new portal that brings together up-to-date analysis of armed conflicts and their impact on civilians. War WATCH brings together insights from two key research streams of the Geneva Academy — RULAC and IHL in Focus — into one consolidated platform
A Tool for Clarity in Complex Environments
War WATCH brings together the Geneva Academy’s legal expertise and systematic desk-based research into a single, user-friendly platform. Each entry follows a transparent methodology that identifies the actors involved in the armed conflict and the parties to it, determines the applicable conflict classification, and reviews reliable, publicly available sources from international organisations, investigative bodies and trusted reporting mechanisms. Documented patterns of civilian harm are assessed through this triangulated information and analysed against the relevant rules of IHL and international human rights law.
This approach provides a clear explanation of what is happening and why it matters in legal and humanitarian terms.
Supporting Compliance with IHL and Better-Informed Responses
By presenting conflict information in a structured and accessible manner, War WATCH aims to improve understanding of armed conflict, support early warning and contribute to efforts to promote compliance with international humanitarian law. It offers a resource for diplomats, humanitarian practitioners, civil society organisations, researchers and anyone seeking reliable, legally grounded analysis.
A Timely Response to an Identified Need
The launch of War WATCH comes at a time when access to affected populations is increasingly restricted and when misinformation can distort the picture of ongoing hostilities. The platform provides a neutral, law-focused source of analysis to help users navigate these challenges.
What is available today — and what comes next
The portal launches with five country entries, each offering the legal classification of the armed conflicts to which they are parties or that take place in their territories, and an assessment of civilian harm and IHL compliance. Each entry also includes a snapshot summarising the key points of the situation
Further entries will follow every three weeks: six on 22 December, six on 13 January, and five on 26 January. By then, War WATCH will cover 22 countries with full analysis. Between 8 February and 8 March, 16 additional countries — focused on armed conflict classification only — will be added.
In total, the portal will feature 38 countries: 22 with both armed conflict classification and analysis of civilian harm and compliance with international humanitarian law, and 16 with armed conflict classification only.
Visit War WATCH, explore the first entries, and share the platform with colleagues and networks.