The signing of the first Geneva Convention of august 22, 1864, marked the appearance of international humanitarian law as a new branch of international public law. International humanitarian law protect the victims of armed conflicts and the personal responsible for taking care of them. This law has continued to develop ever since.
The initial idea which inspired it gave rise to a series of conventional convened in the light additional experience of wars, of new theaters of operations (maritime warfare, the use of new offensive means, new weapons, etc.) and the need to provide better protection for the victims facing such changes and technological advance.
First of all, the protection ensured by the 1864 Geneva Convention for the Wounded and Sick of Armed Forces in the Field was improved (Conventions of 1906 and then of 1929). It was also adapted to the conditions of maritime warfare by a Convention signed at the Hague in 1899, which was replaced in 1907 by another Convention on the same issue. These Conventions were adopted in the course of Peace Conferences, which aspired to provide a universal settlement for all problems related to war.
The experience of the First World War, soon after, focussed attention on the need to improve the treatment of prisoners of war, and a Convention was concluded to this effect in Geneva in 1929. It extended and completed the provisions which had already been adopted in 1899 and 1907 at the aforesaid Peace Conferences.
Then, after the Second World War and the mass atrocities inflicted upon the civilian population, a fourth Geneva Convention appeared in 1949 to protect civilians in enemy or occupied territory.
The preceding Conventions were likewise reviewed at the 1949 Diplomatic Conference, with the result that the four Geneva Conventions now in force all date from August 12, 1949, and are generally referred to as the "Geneva Conventions". These Conventions are as follows:
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field (First Convention)
This Convention is the fourth version, extended and revised in the light of experience gained, of the Convention of 1864, the tangible embodiment of the principle which inspired the foundation of the Red Cross, namely that wounded and sick members of the armed forces shall be respected and cared for without distinction, particularly with regard to nationality; consequently military ambulances and hospitals and their medical personnel shall likewise be respected and protected, the visible sign of this immunity being the red cross or the red crescent on a white ground.
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea (Second Convention)
This Convention is an adaptation of the First Convention to conditions of maritime warfare. It has the same purpose, in different circumstances, as the first, and protects the same persons, whilst adding the shipwrecked as a specific category of victims of maritime warfare.
Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (Third Convention)
This Convention defines the rights and duties of members of the armed forces who are captured by the enemy and thus become prisoners of war.
Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Convention)
This Convention is essentially concerned with the protection of civilian persons in the power of a country at war. It may refer to persons who happen to be on the territory of the enemy State or to the entire population of an occupied territory. The Geneva Conventions are now binding on 151 States, which virtually means on the entire international community. It is generally accepted that their fundamental provisions have the force of custom and are therefore binding on the whole of the international community. Besides the specific provisions proper to each one of them, the Geneva Conventions contain many provisions common to them all, relating, for instance, to their scope of application, the system of supervision and repression, their implementation, and the minimum provisions to be applied in the case of armed conflicts not of an international character (common article 3). Drawn up in the same spirit as that which inspired the first Convention in 1864, they all call for the respect and protection, in time of armed conflict, without discrimination, of all persons who do not or no longer take any active part in the hostilities.
Since the adoption of these Conventions in 1949, the number of armed conflicts has increased, more and more civilians have suffered the effects of ever deadlier weapons, and methods of guerrilla warfare have been widely employed. Moreover, most of these conflicts have not taken place between two or more States; they have flared up within the State itself, the result of clashes between rival factions, or between dissidents or liberation movements in opposition to the established government.
In view of such situations, two Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 were first drafted, then adopted by a Diplomatic Conference on June 8, 1977.
As these Protocols are "additional" to the Geneva Conventions, the latter retain their complete validity. The two Protocols are complementary to the four Conventions as a whole. The Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) is applied in the case of international conflicts, whilst the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II) is complementary to article 3 common to all four Conventions and is applicable to the non-international armed conflicts.
The essential purpose of these Protocols is to ensure better protection for the entire civilian population during armed conflicts. When this Manual was published, they were formally binding only upon 20 States, but their principles are very widely accepted.
The initial idea which inspired it gave rise to a series of conventional convened in the light additional experience of wars, of new theaters of operations (maritime warfare, the use of new offensive means, new weapons, etc.) and the need to provide better protection for the victims facing such changes and technological advance.
First of all, the protection ensured by the 1864 Geneva Convention for the Wounded and Sick of Armed Forces in the Field was improved (Conventions of 1906 and then of 1929). It was also adapted to the conditions of maritime warfare by a Convention signed at the Hague in 1899, which was replaced in 1907 by another Convention on the same issue. These Conventions were adopted in the course of Peace Conferences, which aspired to provide a universal settlement for all problems related to war.
The experience of the First World War, soon after, focussed attention on the need to improve the treatment of prisoners of war, and a Convention was concluded to this effect in Geneva in 1929. It extended and completed the provisions which had already been adopted in 1899 and 1907 at the aforesaid Peace Conferences.
Then, after the Second World War and the mass atrocities inflicted upon the civilian population, a fourth Geneva Convention appeared in 1949 to protect civilians in enemy or occupied territory.
The preceding Conventions were likewise reviewed at the 1949 Diplomatic Conference, with the result that the four Geneva Conventions now in force all date from August 12, 1949, and are generally referred to as the "Geneva Conventions". These Conventions are as follows:
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field (First Convention)
This Convention is the fourth version, extended and revised in the light of experience gained, of the Convention of 1864, the tangible embodiment of the principle which inspired the foundation of the Red Cross, namely that wounded and sick members of the armed forces shall be respected and cared for without distinction, particularly with regard to nationality; consequently military ambulances and hospitals and their medical personnel shall likewise be respected and protected, the visible sign of this immunity being the red cross or the red crescent on a white ground.
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea (Second Convention)
This Convention is an adaptation of the First Convention to conditions of maritime warfare. It has the same purpose, in different circumstances, as the first, and protects the same persons, whilst adding the shipwrecked as a specific category of victims of maritime warfare.
Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (Third Convention)
This Convention defines the rights and duties of members of the armed forces who are captured by the enemy and thus become prisoners of war.
Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Convention)
This Convention is essentially concerned with the protection of civilian persons in the power of a country at war. It may refer to persons who happen to be on the territory of the enemy State or to the entire population of an occupied territory. The Geneva Conventions are now binding on 151 States, which virtually means on the entire international community. It is generally accepted that their fundamental provisions have the force of custom and are therefore binding on the whole of the international community. Besides the specific provisions proper to each one of them, the Geneva Conventions contain many provisions common to them all, relating, for instance, to their scope of application, the system of supervision and repression, their implementation, and the minimum provisions to be applied in the case of armed conflicts not of an international character (common article 3). Drawn up in the same spirit as that which inspired the first Convention in 1864, they all call for the respect and protection, in time of armed conflict, without discrimination, of all persons who do not or no longer take any active part in the hostilities.
Since the adoption of these Conventions in 1949, the number of armed conflicts has increased, more and more civilians have suffered the effects of ever deadlier weapons, and methods of guerrilla warfare have been widely employed. Moreover, most of these conflicts have not taken place between two or more States; they have flared up within the State itself, the result of clashes between rival factions, or between dissidents or liberation movements in opposition to the established government.
In view of such situations, two Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 were first drafted, then adopted by a Diplomatic Conference on June 8, 1977.
As these Protocols are "additional" to the Geneva Conventions, the latter retain their complete validity. The two Protocols are complementary to the four Conventions as a whole. The Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) is applied in the case of international conflicts, whilst the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II) is complementary to article 3 common to all four Conventions and is applicable to the non-international armed conflicts.
The essential purpose of these Protocols is to ensure better protection for the entire civilian population during armed conflicts. When this Manual was published, they were formally binding only upon 20 States, but their principles are very widely accepted.
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