Section 47p. 47

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME II

nationals of the same country shall not be separated

merely because they have different languages.

Throughout the duration of their internment, members

of the same family, and in particular parents and children,

shall be lodged together in the same place of internment,

except

when

separation

of

a

temporary

nature

is

necessitated for reasons of employment or health or for

the purposes of enforcement of the provisions of Chapter

IX of the present Section. Internees may request that their

children who are left at liberty without parental care shall

be interned with them.

Wherever possible, interned members of the same family

shall be housed in the same premises and given separate

accommodation

from other internees, together with

facilities for leading a proper family life.

Chapter II. Places of Internment

Art. 83. The Detaining Power shall not set up places of

internment in areas particularly exposed to the dangers

of war.

The

Detaining

Power shall give the enemy Powers,

through the intermediary of the Protecting Powers, all

useful information regarding the geographical location of

places of internment.

Whenever

military

considerations permit, internment

camps shall be indicated by the letters IC, placed so as to

be clearly visible in the daytime from the air. The Powers

concerned may, however, agree upon any other system of

marking. No place other than an internment camp shall

be marked as such.

Art.84.

Internees

shall

be

accommodated

and

administered separately from prisoners of war and from

persons deprived of liberty for any other reason.

Art.

85.

The

Detaining

Power

is

bound to take all

necessary

and

possible

measures

to

ensure

that

protected

persons

shall,

from

the

outset

of

their

internment, be accommodated in buildings or quarters

which afford every possible safeguard as regards hygiene

and health, and provide efficient protection against the

rigours of the climate and the effects of the war. In no

case shall permanent places of internment be situated in

unhealthy areas or in districts, the climate of which is

injurious to the internees. In all cases where the district, in

which a protected person is temporarily interned, is in an

unhealthy area or has a climate which is harmful to his

health, he shall be removed to a more suitable place of

internment as rapidly as circumstances permit.

The premises shall be fully protected from dampness,

adequately heated and lighted, in particular between

dusk and lights out. The sleeping quarters shall be

sufficiently

spacious

and

well

ventilated,

and

the

internees

shall have suitable bedding and sufficient

blankets, account being taken of the climate, and the

age, sex, and state of health of the internees.

Internees shall have for their use, day and night, sanitary

conveniences which conform to the rules of hygiene, and

are constantly maintained in a state of cleanliness. They

shall be provided with sufficient water and soap for their

daily

personal

toilet and for washing their personal

laundry;

installations

and facilities necessary for this

purpose shall be granted to them. Showers or baths shall

also be available. The necessary time shall be set aside for

washing and for cleaning.

Whenever

it

is

necessary,

as

an

exceptional

and

temporary measure, to accommodate women internees

who are not members of a family unit in the same place

of internment as men, the provision of separate sleeping

quarters and sanitary conveniences for the use of such

women internees shall be obligatory.

Art. 86. The Detaining Power shall place at the disposal of

interned persons, of whatever denomination, premises

suitable for the holding of their religious services.

Art. 87. Canteens shall be installed in every place of

internment, except where other suitable facilities are

available. Their purpose shall be to enable internees to

make purchases, at prices not higher than local market

prices, of foodstuffs and articles of everyday use, including

soap and tobacco, such as would increase their personal

well-being and comfort.

Profits made by canteens shall be credited to a welfare

fund to be set up for each place of internment, and

administered for the benefit of the internees attached to

such

place

of

internment.

The

Internee

Committee

provided for in Article 102 shall have the right to check the

management of the canteen and of the said fund.

When a place of internment is closed down, the balance

of the welfare fund shall be transferred to the welfare

fund of a place of internment for internees of the same

nationality, or, if such a place does not exist, to a central

welfare fund which shall be administered for the benefit

of all internees remaining in the custody of the Detaining

Power. In case of a general release, the said profits shall

be

kept

by

the

Detaining

Power,

subject

to

any

agreement

to

the

contrary

between

the

Powers

concerned.

Art. 88. In all places of internment exposed to air raids and

other hazards of war, shelters adequate in number and

structure to ensure the necessary protection shall be

installed. In case of alarms, the measures internees shall

be free to enter such shelters as quickly as possible,

excepting those who remain for the protection of their

quarters against the aforesaid hazards. Any protective

measures taken in favour of the population shall also

apply to them.

All

due

precautions

must

be

taken

in

places

of

internment against the danger of fire.

Chapter III. Food and Clothing

Art. 89. Daily food rations for internees shall be sufficient

in quantity, quality and variety to keep internees in a good

state

of

health

and

prevent

the

development

of

nutritional deficiencies. Account shall also be taken of the

customary diet of the internees.

Internees shall also be given the means by which they

can prepare for themselves any additional food in their

possession.

Sufficient drinking water shall be supplied to internees.

The use of tobacco shall be permitted.

Internees who work shall receive additional rations in

proportion to the kind of labour which they perform.

Expectant

and nursing mothers and children under

fifteen years of age, shall be given additional food, in

proportion to their physiological needs.

Art. 90. When taken into custody, internees shall be given

all facilities to provide themselves with the necessary

clothing, footwear and change of underwear, and later

on, to procure further supplies if required. Should any

internees not have sufficient clothing, account being

taken of the climate, and be unable to procure any, it shall

be provided free of charge to them by the Detaining

Power.

The

clothing

supplied

by

the

Detaining

Power

to

internees and the outward markings placed on their own

clothes shall not be ignominious nor expose them to

ridicule.

Workers shall receive suitable working outfits, including

protective clothing, whenever the nature of their work so

requires.

© Compiled by RGL

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