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PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME II

Geneva Conventions of 1949

History

The original Geneva Convention was adopted in 1864 to

establish the red cross emblem signifying neutral status

and protection of medical services and volunteers. Other

emblems

were

later

recognized,

and

the

Geneva

Conventions

of

1949,

the main topic of this article,

confirmed them all.

Overview

The Geneva Conventions is a body of Public International

Law , also known as the Humanitarian Law of Armed

Conflicts,

whose

purpose

is

to

provide

minimum

protections,

standards

of

humane

treatment,

and

fundamental guarantees of respect to individuals who

become

victims

of

armed

conflicts.

The

Geneva

Conventions are a series of treaties on the treatment of

civilians, prisoners of war (POWs) and soldiers who are

otherwise rendered hors de combat (French, literally

"outside the fight"), or incapable of fighting. The first

Convention was initiated by what is now the International

Committee for the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC).

This convention produced a treaty designed to protect

wounded and sick soldiers during wartime. The Swiss

Government agreed to hold the Conventions in Geneva,

and a few years later, a similar agreement to protect

shipwrecked soldiers was produced. In 1949, after World

War II, two new Conventions were added, and all four

were ratified by a number of countries. The 1949 versions

of the Conventions, along with two additional Protocols

(1977), are in force today.

Convention I : This Convention protects wounded and

infirm soldiers and medical personnel who are not taking

active part in hostility against a Party. It ensures humane

treatment without discrimination founded on race, color,

sex, religion or faith, birth or wealth, etc. To that end, the

Convention

prohibits

torture , assaults upon personal

dignity, and execution without judgment (Article 3). It

also grants the right to proper medical treatment and

care.

Convention II : This agreement extended the protections

described in the first Convention to shipwrecked soldiers

and other naval forces, including special protections

afforded to hospital ships.

Convention III : One of the treaties created during the

1949 Convention, this defined "Prisoner of War," and

accorded such prisoners proper and humane treatment

as

specified

by

the

first

Convention.

Specifically,

it

required POWs to give only their names, ranks, and serial

numbers to their captors. Nations party to the Convention

may not use torture to extract information from POWs.

Convention

IV :

Under

this

Convention,

civilians

are

afforded the same protections from inhumane treatment

and attack afforded to sick and wounded soldiers in the

first Convention. Further, additional regulations regarding

the treatment of civilians were introduced. Specifically, it

prohibits attacks on civilian hospitals, medical transports,

etc. It also specifies the rights of internees (POWs) and

saboteurs. Finally, it discusses how occupiers are to treat

an occupied populace.

Protocol

I :

The

signing

Nations

agreed

to

further

restrictions

on the treatment of "protected persons"

according to the original Conventions, and clarification of

the terms used in the Conventions was introduced.

Finally,

new

rules

regarding

the

treatment

of

the

deceased, cultural artifacts, and dangerous targets (such

as dams and nuclear installations) were produced.

Protocol II : In this Protocol, the fundamentals of "humane

treatment" were further clarified. Additionally, the rights

of

interned

persons

were

specifically

enumerated,

providing protections for those charged with crimes

during wartime. It also identified new protections and

rights of civilian populations.

Protocol III : Adopted in 2005 to add another emblem, the

"red crystal," to the list of emblems used to identify

neutral humanitarian aide workers.

■

The United States has signed and ratified the four

Conventions of 1949 and Protocol III of 2005, but

has not ratified the two Protocols of 1977, though

it has signed them.

■

Disputes arising under the Conventions or the

Protocols are settled by courts of the member

nations

(Article

49

of

Convention

I)

or

by

international tribunals .

■

The ICRC has a special role given by the Geneva

Conventions: it handles, and is granted access to,

the wounded, sick, and POWs.

Article 3, Commonly Applied to All Four

Protocols of the General Conventions.

Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions covered, for the first

time,

situations

of non-international armed conflicts.

Types vary greatly and include traditional civil wars or

internal armed conflicts that spill over into other States , as

well as internal conflicts in which third-party States or

multinational forces intervene alongside the government.

Common

Article

3

functions

like a mini-Convention

within

the

larger

Geneva

Convention

itself,

and

establishes fundamental rules from which no derogation

is permitted, containing the essential rules of the Geneva

Convention in a condensed format, and making them

applicable to non-international conflicts.

■

It requires humane treatment for all persons in

enemy

hands,

without

discrimination.

It

specifically prohibits murder, mutilation, torture ,

the taking of hostages, unfair trial, and cruel,

humiliating and degrading treatment.

■

It

requires

that

the

wounded,

sick

and

shipwrecked be collected and cared for.

■

It grants the ICRC the right to offer its services to

the parties to the conflict.

■

It calls on the parties to the conflict to bring all or

parts

of

the

Geneva

Conventions

into

force

through "special agreements."

■

It recognizes that the application of these rules

does not affect the legal status of the parties to

the conflict.

■

Given

that

most

armed

conflicts

today

are

non-international, applying Common Article 3 is

of the utmost importance. Its full respect is

required.

Applicability of the Geneva Conventions

■

The Conventions apply to all cases of declared

war between signatory nations. This is the original

sense of applicability, which predates the 1949

version.

■

The Conventions apply to all cases of armed

conflict between two or more signatory nations,

even in the absence of a declaration of war. This

language was added in 1949 to accommodate

situations that have all the characteristics of war

without the existence of a formal declaration of

war, such as a police action (a military action

undertaken without a formal declaration of war).

© Compiled by RGL

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