War WATCH is the portal from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights that tracks armed conflicts worldwide and analyzes compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL).
The portal does two things. First, it identifies which situations of armed violence around the world qualify as armed conflicts under IHL, classifies them as either international or non-international, and identifies who the parties are and other actors involved in the armed conflict without being parties to it. Second, for a selection of these armed conflicts, it goes deeper – examining how parties to the armed conflict are conducting themselves during the fighting and analysing whether civilian harm amount to a violation of IHL.
War WATCH brings together two of the Geneva Academy’s major research initiatives: the RULAC database (which has classified armed conflicts since 2007) and the IHL in Focus project (which analyzes compliance with IHL in selected conflicts). Therefore, one can find both conflict classification and compliance analysis in one place.
Why does this matter? Because understanding where armed conflicts exist and how they are being fought is essential for protecting civilians. By documenting patterns of violations across different conflicts – from those dominating headlines to forgotten wars – War WATCH builds a comprehensive picture of how IHL is being applied (or ignored) globally. This evidence can help counter double standards in how the international community responds to different armed conflicts and push for stronger, more consistent enforcement of the rules that protect civilians in war.
War WATCH starts with extensive coverage of armed conflicts across multiple regions in a given reporting period, but its goal is to document all armed conflicts and related civilian harm during more reporting periods.
Who is WAR WATCH for?
War WATCH is designed for multiple audiences:
- Humanitarian organizations and international bodies will find the legal analysis and data needed to develop policies that better protect civilians caught in armed conflict.
- States can use it to fulfill their obligation not just to respect IHL themselves, but to ensure others respect it too.
- Researchers and practitioners in IHL and war studies can identify key patterns of violations and compliance challenges, whether in specific conflicts or across regions.
- Journalists, students, and anyone interested in understanding modern warfare can use it to track conflicts and learn about the legal framework that govern them.
What is covered?
War Watch provides classification of all armed conflicts worldwide. For a growing number of these, it also includes IHL compliance and civilian harm analysis, with more countries being added on a rolling basis.
War Watch entries are updated on a rolling basis throughout the year as each country’s analysis for the current reporting period is completed, rather than all at once. When major developments occur, particularly changes in conflict classification, these will be updated in a timely manner and reflected on the portal.
War Watch is also introducing a versioning feature that will let users move back in time to see how a conflict’s classification and analysis have evolved since the portal’s launch in December 2025. As the platform matures, this will build into an increasingly valuable historical record.