Geneva Convention

The term Geneva Convention (GC) is commonly used to denote a system of four international treaties and three additional protocols regulating the treatment of noncombatant personnel (wounded, shipwrecked, and captured soldiers) as well as civilians in cases of armed conflicts between states. These treaties do not refer to the use of weapons, which is covered by the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. The GC is not to be confused with the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which bans the use of chemical and biological weapons. Only states can become members of the conventions; nonetheless, nongovernmental organizations and substate organizations may still voluntarily declare compliance with the GC. The GC names the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as the sole body empowered to enforce compliance on the part of the member states.

The first convention (GC1: “For the Amelioration of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces and Field”) followed the founding of the ICRC in 1863 and was ratified by 12 European nations in 1864. The initiator of the GC was Henry Dunant, the founder of the ICRC. With the first revision in 1906, the Hague Conventions III (1899) and X (1907) became the cornerstones of the GC2 (“For the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea”) in 1949. In 1929, another revision led to the framework of GC3 (“Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War”—at that time GC2 but became GC3 in 1949), and in 1949, the third revision, in the aftermath of World War II, resulted in the addition of GC4 (“Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War”). The four GCs have now been ratified by 194 countries. They include, famously, a ban on the use of torture to extract information from prisoners of war.

The protocols were added in 1977 (I: “Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts” and II: “Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts”) and 2005 (III: “Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem”). Protocol I has been ratified by 168 (as of July 2009), II by 164, and III by 43 states.

GC1 calls for equal treatment of personnel and wounded, regardless of race and religious or political affiliation. This guarantee extends to both the ICRC personnel and noncombatants in all matters. Article 17, Chapter 2, ensures that the treatment of corpses and burial or cremation standards meet the religious requirements of the deceased as far as possible. GC2 extends this stipulation to include naval personnel. GC3 (Chapter V, Articles 34–37) regulates the conduct of religious activities during captivity, stating that prisoners of war (POWs) must be allowed to exercise their religion (Article 34) and ensuring the provision of all relevant necessities. The convention mandates that captured military chaplains be allowed to fulfill all their duties; to that end, chaplains must be provided with all necessities and free correspondence with their religious institutions in the nation in which they are held (Article 35). The same applies to any captured person who is not an army chaplain but a clergyman (Article 36). POWs have the right to the services of a clergyman even if none has been captured (Article 37). GC4 calls for the [Page 440]provision of spiritual services for occupied civilians and for the facilitation of the distribution of religious texts (Articles 58, 86, Part III). Any regulation of GC3 also applies to detained civilians.

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