Adopted on
International Conventions for the Protection of
Victims of War, held in Geneva
from 21 April to
GENERAL PROVISIONS
The High Contracting
Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention
in all circumstances.
In addition to the
provisions which shall be implemented in peacetime, the present Convention
shall apply to all cases of declared war or of any other armed conflict which
may arise between two or more of the High Contracting Parties, even if the
state of war is not recognized by one of them.
The Convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total
occupation of the territory of a High Contracting Party, even if the said
occupation meets with no armed resistance.
Although one of the Powers in conflict may not be a party to the
present Convention, the Powers who are parties thereto shall remain bound by it
in their mutual relations. They shall furthermore be bound by the Convention in
relation to the said Power, if the latter accepts and applies the provisions
thereof.
In the case of armed
conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of
the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to
apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members
of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat
by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances
be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any
other similar criteria.
To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any
time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds,
mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(b) Taking of hostages;
(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and
degrading treatment;
(d) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions
without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court,
affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by
civilized peoples.
2. The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of
the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.
The Parties to the conflict should further endeavor to bring into
force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of
the present Convention.
The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal
status of the Parties to the conflict.
Persons protected by
the Convention are those who, at a given moment and in any manner whatsoever,
find themselves, in case of a conflict or occupation, in the hands of a Party
to the conflict or Occupying Power of which they are not nationals.
Nationals of a State which is not bound by the Convention are not
protected by it. Nationals of a neutral State who find
themselves in the territory of a belligerent State, and nationals of a
The provisions of Part II are, however, wider in application, as
defined in Article 13.
Persons protected by the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the
Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12,
1949, or by the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of
Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of August 12,
1949, or by the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War
of August 12, 1949, shall not be considered as protected persons within the
meaning of the present Convention.
Where, in the territory
of a Party to the conflict, the latter is satisfied that an individual
protected person is definitely suspected of or engaged in activities hostile to
the security of the State, such individual person shall not be entitled to
claim such rights and privileges under the present Convention as would, if
exercised in the favor of such individual person, be prejudicial to the
security of such State.
Where in occupied territory an individual protected person is detained
as a spy or saboteur, or as a person under definite suspicion of activity
hostile to the security of the Occupying Power, such person shall, in those
cases where absolute military security so requires, be regarded as having
forfeited rights of communication under the present Convention.
In each case, such persons shall nevertheless be treated with
humanity, and in case of trial, shall not be deprived of the rights of fair and
regular trial prescribed by the present Convention. They shall also be granted
the full rights and privileges of a protected person under the present
Convention at the earliest date consistent with the security of the State or
Occupying Power, as the case may be.
The present Convention
shall apply from the outset of any conflict or occupation mentioned in Article
2.
In the
In the case of occupied territory, the application of the present
Convention shall cease one year after the general close of military operations;
however, the Occupying Power shall be bound, for the duration of the
occupation, to the extent that such Power exercises the functions of government
in such territory, by the provisions of the following Articles of the present
Convention: I to 12, 27, 29 to 34, 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 59, 61 to 77, and 143.
Protected persons whose release, repatriation or re-establishment may
take place after such dates shall meanwhile continue to benefit by the present
Convention. Article 7
In addition to the agreements expressly provided for in Articles 11,
14, 15, 17, 36, 108, 109, 132, 133 and 149, the High Contracting Parties may
conclude other special agreements for all matters concerning which they may
deem it suitable to make separate provision. No special agreement shall
adversely affect the situation of protected persons, as defined by the present
Convention, nor restrict the rights which it confers upon them.
Protected persons shall continue to have the benefit of such
agreements as long as the Convention is applicable to them, except where
express provisions to the contrary are contained in the aforesaid or in
subsequent agreements, or where more favorable measures have been taken with
regard to them by one or other of the Parties to the conflict.
Protected persons may
in no circumstances renounce in part or in entirety the rights secured to them
by the present Convention, and by the special agreements referred to in the
foregoing Article, if such there be.
The present Convention
shall be applied with the cooperation and under the scrutiny of the Protecting
Powers whose duty it is to safeguard the interests of the Parties to the
conflict. For this purpose, the Protecting Powers may appoint, apart from their
diplomatic or consular staff, delegates from amongst their own nationals or the
nationals of other neutral Powers. The said delegates shall be subject to the
approval of the Power with which they are to carry out their duties.
The Parties to the conflict shall facilitate to the greatest extent
possible the task of the representatives or delegates of the Protecting Powers.
The representatives or delegates of the Protecting Powers shall not in
any case exceed their mission under the present Convention. They shall, in
particular, take account of the imperative necessities of security of the State
wherein they carry out their duties.
The provisions of the
present Convention constitute no obstacle to the humanitarian activities which
the International Committee of the Red Cross or any other impartial
humanitarian organization may, subject to the consent of the Parties to the
conflict concerned, undertake for the protection of civilian persons and for
their relief.
The High Contracting
Parties may at any time agree to entrust to an organization which offers all
guarantees of impartiality and efficacy the duties incumbent on the Protecting
Powers by virtue of the present Convention.
When persons protected by the present Convention do not benefit or
cease to benefit, no matter for what reason, by the activities of a Protecting
Power or of an organization provided for in the first paragraph above, the
Detaining Power shall request a neutral State, or such an organization, to
undertake the functions performed under the present Convention by a Protecting
Power designated by the Parties to a conflict.
If protection cannot be arranged accordingly, the Detaining Power
shall request or shall accept, subject to the provisions of this Article, the
offer of the services of a humanitarian organization, such as the International
Committee of the Red Cross, to assume the humanitarian functions performed by
Protecting Powers under the present Convention.
Any neutral Power, or any organization invited by the Power concerned
or offering itself for these purposes, shall be required to act with a sense of
responsibility towards the Party to the conflict on which persons protected by
the present Convention depend, and shall be required to furnish sufficient
assurances that it is in a position to undertake the appropriate functions and
to discharge them impartially.
No derogation from the preceding provisions shall be made by special
agreements between Powers one of which is restricted, even temporarily, in its
freedom to negotiate with the other Power or its allies by reason of military
events, more particularly where the whole, or a substantial part, of the
territory of the said Power is occupied.
Whenever in the present Convention mention is made of a Protecting
Power, such mention applies to substitute organizations in the sense of the
present Article.
The provisions of this Article shall extend and be adapted to cases of
nationals of a neutral State who are in occupied territory or who find
themselves in the territory of a belligerent State with which the State of
which they are nationals has not normal diplomatic representation.
In cases where they
deem it advisable in the interest of protected persons, particularly in cases
of disagreement between the Parties to the conflict as to the application or
interpretation of the provisions of the present Convention, the Protecting
Powers shall lend their good offices with a view to settling the disagreement.
For this purpose, each of the Protecting Powers may, either at the invitation
of one Party or on its own initiative, propose to the Parties to the conflict a
meeting of their representatives, and in particular of the authorities
responsible for protected person, possibly on neutral territory suitably
chosen. The Parties to the conflict shall be bound to give effect to the
proposals made to them for this purpose. The Protecting Powers may, if
necessary, propose for approval by the Parties to the conflict, a person
belonging to a neutral Power or delegated by the International Committee of the
Red Cross who shall be invited to take part in such a meeting.
GENERAL
PROTECTION OF POPULATIONS
AGAINST CERTAIN CONSEQUENCES OF WAR
The provisions of Part
II cover the whole of the populations of the countries in conflict, without any
adverse distinction based, in particular, on race, nationality, religion or
political opinion, and are intended to alleviate the sufferings caused by war.
In time of peace, the
High Contracting Parties and, after the outbreak of hostilities, the Parties
thereto, may establish in their own territory and, if the need arises, in
occupied areas, hospital and safety zones and localities so organized as to
protect from the effects of war, wounded, sick and aged persons, children under
fifteen, expectant mothers and mothers of children under seven.
Upon the outbreak and during the course of hostilities, the Parties
concerned may conclude agreements on mutual recognition of the zones and
localities they have created. They may for this purpose implement the
provisions of the Draft Agreement annexed to-the present Convention, with such
amendments as they may consider necessary.
The Protecting Powers and the International Committee of the Red Cross
are invited to lend their good offices in order to facilitate the institution
and recognition of these hospital and safety zones and localities.
Any Party to the
conflict may, either directly or through a neutral State or some humanitarian
organization, propose to the adverse Party to establish, in the regions where
fighting is taking place, neutralized zones intended to shelter from the
effects of war the following persons, without distinction:
(a) Wounded and sick combatants or non-combatants;
(b) Civilian persons who take no part in hostilities, and
who, while they reside in the zones,
perform no work of a military character.
When the Parties concerned have agreed upon the geographical position,
administration, food supply and supervision of the proposed neutralized zone, a
written agreement shall be concluded and signed by the representatives of the
Parties to the conflict. The agreement shall fix the beginning and the duration
of the neutralization of the zone.
The wounded and sick,
as well as the infirm, and expectant mothers, shall be the object of particular
protection and respect.
As far as military considerations allow, each Party to the conflict
shall facilitate the steps taken to search for the killed and wounded, to
assist the shipwrecked and other persons exposed to grave danger, and to
protect them against pillage and ill-treatment.
The Parties to the
conflict shall endeavor to conclude local agreements for the removal from
besieged or encircled areas, of wounded, sick, infirm, and aged persons,
children and maternity cases, and for the passage of ministers of all
religions, medical personnel and medical equipment on their way to such areas.
Civilian hospitals
organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases,
may in no circumstances be the object of attack, but shall at all times be
respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.
States which are Parties to a conflict shall provide all civilian
hospitals with certificates showing that they are civilian hospitals and that
the buildings which they occupy are not used for any purpose which would
deprive these hospitals of protection in accordance with Article 19.
Civilian hospitals shall be marked by means of the emblem provided for
in Article 38 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of
the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949, but only
if so authorized by the State.
The Parties to the conflict shall, in so far as military considerations
permit, take the necessary steps to make the distinctive emblems indicating
civilian hospitals clearly visible to the enemy land, air and naval forces in
order to obviate the possibility of any hostile action.
In view of the dangers to which hospitals may be exposed by being
close to military objectives, it is recommended that such hospitals be situated
as far as possible from such objectives.
The protection to which
civilian hospitals are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit,
outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may,
however, cease only after due warning has been given, naming, in all
appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit, and after such warning has remained
unheeded.
The fact that sick or wounded members of the armed forces are nursed
in these hospitals, or the presence of small arms and ammunition taken from
such combatants which have not yet been handed to the proper service, shall not
be considered to be acts harmful to the enemy.
Persons regularly and
solely engaged in the operation and administration of civilian hospitals,
including the personnel engaged in the search for, removal and transporting of
and caring for wounded and sick civilians, the infirm and maternity cases,
shall be respected and protected.
In occupied territory and in zones of military operations, the above
personnel shall be recognizable by means of an identity card certifying their
status, bearing the photograph of the holder and embossed with the stamp of the
responsible authority, and also by means of a stamped, water-resistant armlet
which they shall wear on the left arm while carrying out their duties. This
armlet shall be issued by the State and shall bear the emblem provided for in
Article 38 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of
the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949.
Other personnel who are engaged in the operation and administration of
civilian hospitals shall be entitled to respect and protection and to wear the
armlet, as provided in and under the conditions prescribed in this Article,
while they are employed on such duties. The identity card shall state the
duties on which they are employed.
The management of each hospital shall at all times hold at the
disposal of the competent national or occupying authorities an up-to-date list
of such personnel.
Article 21
Convoys of vehicles or hospital trains on land or specially provided
vessels on sea, conveying wounded and sick civilians, the infirm and maternity
cases, shall be respected and protected in the same manner as the hospitals
provided for in Article 18, and shall be marked, with the consent of the State,
by the display of the distinctive emblem provided for in Article 38 of the
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick
in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949.
Aircraft exclusively
employed for the removal of wounded and sick civilians, the infirm and maternity
cases, or for the transport of medical personnel and equipment, shall not be
attacked, but shall be respected while flying at heights, times and on routes
specifically agreed upon between all the Parties to the conflict concerned.
They may be marked with the distinctive emblem provided for in Article
38 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the
Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949.
Unless agreed otherwise, flights over enemy or enemy-occupied territory
are prohibited.
Such aircraft shall obey every summons to land. In the event of a
landing thus imposed, the aircraft with its occupants may continue its flight
after examination, if any.
Each High Contracting
Party shall allow the free passage of all consignments of medical and hospital
stores and objects necessary for religious worship intended only for civilians
of another High Contracting Party, even if the latter is its adversary. It
shall likewise permit the free passage of all consignments of essential
foodstuffs, clothing and tonics intended for children under fifteen, expectant
mothers and maternity cases.
The obligation of a High Contracting Party to allow the free passage
of the consignments indicated in the preceding paragraph is subject to the
condition that this Party is satisfied that there are no serious reasons for
fearing:
(a) That the consignments may be diverted from their destination;
(b) That the control may not be effective; or
(c) That a definite advantage may accrue to the military efforts or
economy of the enemy through the substitution of the above-mentioned
consignments for goods which would otherwise be provided or produced by the
enemy or
through the release of such material, services or facilities as would otherwise
be required for the production of such goods.
The Power which allows the passage of the consignments indicated in
the first paragraph of this Article may make such permission conditional on the
distribution to the persons benefited there by being made under the local
supervision of the Protecting Powers.
Such consignments shall be forwarded as rapidly as possible, and the
Power which permits their free passage shall have the right to prescribe the
technical arrangements under which such passage is allowed.
The Parties to the
conflict shall take the necessary measures to ensure that children under
fifteen, who are orphaned or are separated from their families as a result of
the war, are not left to their own resources, and that their maintenance, the
exercise of their religion and their education are facilitated in all
circumstances. Their education shall, as far as possible, be entrusted to
persons of a similar cultural tradition.
The Parties to the conflict shall facilitate the reception of such
children in a neutral country for the duration of the conflict with the consent
of the Protecting Power, if any, and under due safeguards for the observance of
the principles stated in the first paragraph.
They shall, furthermore, endeavour to
arrange for all children under twelve to be identified by the wearing of
identity discs, or by some other means.
All persons in the
territory of a Party to the conflict, or in a territory occupied by it, shall
be enabled to give news of a strictly personal nature to members of their
families, wherever they may be, and to receive news from them. This
correspondence shall be forwarded speedily and without undue delay.
If, as a result of circumstances, it becomes difficult or impossible
to exchange family correspondence by the ordinary post, the Parties to the
conflict concerned shall apply to a neutral intermediary, such as the Central
Agency provided for in Article 140, and shall decide in consultation with it
how to ensure the fulfilment of their obligations
under the best possible conditions, in particular with the cooperation of the
National Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) Societies.
If the Parties to the conflict deem it necessary to restrict family
correspondence, such restrictions shall be confined to the compulsory use of
standard forms containing twenty-five freely chosen words, and to the
limitation of the number of these forms despatched to
one each month.
Each Party to the
conflict shall facilitate enquiries made by members of families dispersed owing
to the war, with the object of renewing contact with one another and of
meeting, if possible. It shall encourage, in particular, the work of
organizations engaged on this task provided they are acceptable to it and
conform to its security regulations.
STATUS AND TREATMENT OF
PROTECTED PERSONS
SECTION I
PROVISIONS COMMON TO THE TERRITORIES OF THE PARTIES
TO TEE CONFLICT AND TO OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Protected persons are
entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions
and practices, and their manners and customs. They shall at all times be
humanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of
violence or threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity.
Women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in particular against rape, enforced prostitution,
or any form of indecent assault.
Without prejudice to the provisions relating to their state of health,
age and sex, all protected persons shall be treated with the same consideration
by the Party to the conflict in whose power they are, without any adverse
distinction based, in particular, on race, religion or political opinion.
However, the Parties to the conflict may take such measures of control
and security in regard to protected persons as may be necessary as a result of
the war.
The presence of a
protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from
military operations.
The Party to the
conflict in whose hands protected persons may be is responsible for the
treatment accorded to them by its agents, irrespective of any individual
responsibility which may be incurred.
Protected persons shall
have every facility for making application to the Protecting Powers, the
International Committee of the Red Cross, the National Red Cross (Red Crescent,
Red Lion and Sun) Society of the country where they may be, as well as to any
organization that might assist them.
These several organizations shall be granted all facilities for that
purpose by the authorities, within the bounds set by military or security
considerations.
Apart from the visits of the delegates of the Protecting Powers and of
the International Committee of the Red Cross, provided for by Article 143, the
Detaining or Occupying Powers shall facilitate as much as possible visits to
protected persons by the representatives of other organizations whose object is
to give spiritual aid or material relief to such persons.
No physical or moral
coercion shall be exercised against protected persons, in particular to obtain
information from them or from third parties.
The High Contracting
Parties specifically agree that each of them is prohibited from taking any
measure of such a character as to cause the physical suffering or extermination
of protected persons in their hands. This prohibition applies not only to
murder, torture, corporal punishment, mutilation and medical or scientific
experiments not necessitated by the medical treatment of a protected person but
also to any other measures of brutality whether applied by civilian or military
agents.
No protected person may
be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective
penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are
prohibited.
Pillage is prohibited.
Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.
The taking of hostages
is prohibited.
SECTION 11
ALIENS IN THE TERRITORY OF A PARTY TO THE CONFLICT
All protected persons
who may desire to leave the territory at the outset of, or during a conflict,
shall be entitled to do so, unless their departure is contrary to the national
interests of the State. The applications of such persons to leave shall be
decided in accordance with regularly established procedures and the decision
shall be taken as rapidly as possible. Those persons permitted to leave may
provide themselves with the necessary funds for their journey and take with
them a reasonable amount of their effects and articles of personal use.
If any such person is refused permission to leave the territory, he
shall be entitled to have such refusal reconsidered as soon as possible by an
appropriate court or administrative board designated by the Detaining Power for
that purpose.
Upon request, representatives of the Protecting Power shall, unless
reasons of security prevent it, or the persons
concerned object, be furnished with the reasons for refusal of any request for
permission to leave the territory and be given, as expeditiously as possible,
the names of all persons who have been denied permission to leave.
Departures permitted
under the foregoing Article shall be carried out in satisfactory conditions as
regards safety, hygiene, sanitation and food. All costs in connection
therewith, from the point of exit in the territory of the Detaining Power,
shall be borne by the country of destination, or, in the case of accommodation
in a neutral country, by the Power whose nationals are benefited. The practical
details of such movements may, if necessary, be settled by special agreements
between the Powers concerned.
The foregoing shall not prejudice such special agreements as may be
concluded between Parties to the conflict concerning the exchange and
repatriation of their nationals in enemy hands.
Protected persons who
are confined pending proceedings or serving a sentence involving loss of
liberty shall during their confinement be humanely treated.
As soon as they are released, they may ask to leave the territory in
conformity with the foregoing Articles.
With the exception of
special measures authorized by the present Convention, in particular by
Articles 27 and 41 thereof, the situation of protected persons shall continue
to be regulated, in principle, by the provisions concerning aliens in time of
peace. In any case, the following rights shall be granted to them:
1. They shall be enabled to receive the individual or collective
relief that may be sent to them.
2. They shall, if their state of health so requires, receive medical
attention and hospital treatment to the same extent as the nationals of the
State concerned.
3. They shall be allowed to practise their
religion and to receive spiritual assistance from ministers of their faith.
4. If they reside in an area particularly exposed to the dangers of
war, they shall be authorized to move from that area to the same extent as the
nationals of the State concerned.
5. Children under fifteen years, pregnant women and mothers of
children under seven years shall benefit by any preferential treatment to the
same extent as the nationals of the State concerned.
Protected persons who, as a result of the war, have lost their gainful
employment, shall be granted the opportunity to find paid employment. That
opportunity shall, subject to security considerations and to the provisions of
Article 40, be equal to that enjoyed by the nationals of the Power in whose
territory they are.
Where a Party to the conflict applies to a protected
person methods of control which result in his being unable to support
himself, and especially if such a person is prevented for reasons of security
from finding paid employment on reasonable conditions, the said Party shall
ensure his support and that of his dependents.
Protected persons may in any case receive allowances from their home
country, the Protecting Power, or the relief societies referred to in Article
30.
Protected persons may
be compelled to work only to the same extent as nationals of the Party to the
conflict in whose territory they are.
If protected persons are of enemy nationality, they may only be
compelled to do work which is normally necessary to ensure the feeding,
sheltering, clothing, transport and health of human beings and which is not
directly related to the conduct of military operations.
In the cases mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs, protected
persons compelled to work shall have the benefit of the same working conditions
and of the same safeguards as national workers, in particular as regards wages,
hours of labour, clothing and equipment, previous
training and compensation for occupational accidents and diseases.
If the above provisions are infringed, protected persons shall be
allowed to exercise their right of complaint in accordance with Article 30.
Should the Power in
whose hands protected persons may be consider the measures of control mentioned
in the present Convention to be inadequate, it may not have recourse to any
other measure of control more severe than that of assigned residence or
internment, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 42 and 43.
In applying the provisions of Article 39, second paragraph, to the
cases of persons required to leave their usual places of residences by virtue
of a decision placing them in assigned residence elsewhere. the
Detaining Power shall be guided as closely as possible by the standards of
welfare set forth in Part III, Section IV of this Convention.
The internment or
placing in assigned residence of protected persons may be ordered only if the
security of the Detaining Power makes it absolutely necessary.
If any person, acting through the representatives of the Protecting
Power, voluntarily demands internment, and if his situation renders this step
necessary, he shall be interned by the Power in whose hands he may be.
Any protected person
who has been interned or placed in assigned residence shall be entitled to have
such action reconsidered as soon as possible by an appropriate court or
administrative board designated by the Detaining Power for that purpose. If the
internment or placing in assigned residence is maintained, the court or
administrative board shall periodically, and at least twice yearly, give
consideration to his or her case, with a view to the favourable
amendment of the initial decision, if circumstances permit.
Unless the protected persons concerned object, the Detaining Power
shall, as rapidly as possible, give the Protecting Power the names of any
protected persons who have been interned or subjected to assigned residence, or
who have been released from internment or assigned residence. The decisions of
the courts or boards mentioned in the first paragraph of the present Article
shall also, subject to the same conditions, be notified as rapidly as possible
to the Protecting Power.
In applying the
measures of control mentioned in the present Convention, the Detaining Power
shall not treat as enemy aliens exclusively on the basis of their nationality de
jure of an enemy State, refugees who do not, in fact,
enjoy the protection of any government.
Protected persons shall
not be transferred to a Power which is not a party to the Convention.
This provision shall in no way constitute an obstacle to the
repatriation of protected persons, or to their return
to their country of residence after the cessation of hostilities.
Protected persons may be transferred by the Detaining Power only to a
Power which is a party to the present Convention and after the Detaining Power
has satisfied itself of the willingness and ability of such transferee Power to
apply the present Convention. If protected persons are transferred under such
circumstances, responsibility for the application of the present Convention rests
on the Power accepting them, while they are in its custody. Nevertheless, if
that Power fails to carry out the provisions of the present Convention in any
important respect, the Power by which the protected persons were transferred
shall, upon being so notified by the Protecting Power, take effective measures
to correct the situation or shall request the return of the protected persons.
Such request must be complied with.
In no circumstances shall a protected person be transferred to a
country where he or she may have reason to fear persecution for his or her
political opinions or religious beliefs.
The provisions of this Article do not constitute an obstacle to the
extradition, in pursuance of extradition treaties concluded before the outbreak
of hostilities, of protected persons accused of offences against ordinary
criminal law.
In so far as they have
not been previously withdrawn, restrictive measures taken regarding protected
persons shall be cancelled as soon as possible after the close of hostilities.
Restrictive measures affecting their property shall be cancelled, in
accordance with the law of the Detaining Power, as soon as possible after the
close of hostilities.
SECTION 111
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Protected persons who
are in occupied territory shall not be deprived, in any case or in any manner
whatsoever, of the benefits of the present Convention by any change introduced,
as the result of the occupation of a territory, into the institutions or
government of the said territory, nor by any agreement concluded between the
authorities of the occupied territories and the Occupying Power, nor by any
annexation by the latter of the whole or part of the occupied territory.
Protected persons who
are not nationals of the Power whose territory is occupied may avail themselves
of the right to leave the territory subject to the provisions of Article 35,
and decisions thereon shall be taken according to the procedure which the
Occupying Power shall establish in accordance with the said Article.
Individual or mass
forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied
territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other
country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.
Nevertheless, the Occupying Power may undertake total or partial
evacuation of a given area if the security of the population
or imperative military reasons do demand. Such evacuations may not
involve the displacement of protected persons outside the bounds of the
occupied territory except when for material reasons it is impossible to avoid
such displacement. Persons thus evacuated shall be transferred back to their
homes as soon as hostilities in the area in question have ceased.
The Occupying Power undertaking such transfers or evacuations shall
ensure, to the greatest practicable extent, that proper accommodation is
provided to receive the protected persons, that the
removals are effected in satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and
nutrition, and that members of the same family are not separated.
The Protecting Power shall be informed of any transfers and
evacuations as soon as they have taken place.
The Occupying Power shall not detain protected persons in an area
particularly exposed to the dangers of war unless the security of the
population or imperative military reasons so demand.
The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own
civilian population into the territory it occupies.
The Occupying Power
shall, with the cooperation of the national and local authorities, facilitate
the proper working of all institutions devoted to the care and education of
children.
The Occupying Power shall take all necessary steps to facilitate the
identification of children and the registration of their parentage. It may not,
in any case, change their personal status, nor enlist them in formations or
organizations subordinate to it.
Should the local institutions be inadequate for the purpose, the
Occupying Power shall make arrangements for the maintenance and education, if
possible by persons of their own nationality, language and religion, of
children who are orphaned or separated from their parents as a result of the
war and who cannot be adequately cared for by a near relative or friend.
A special section of the Bureau set up in accordance with Article 136
shall be responsible for taking all necessary steps to identify children whose
identity is in doubt. Particulars of their parents or other near relatives
should always be recorded if available.
The Occupying Power shall not hinder the application of any
preferential measures in regard to food, medical care and protection against
the effects of war, which may have been adopted prior to the occupation in favour of children under fifteen years, expectant mothers,
and mothers of children under seven years.
The Occupying Power may
not compel protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces. No
pressure or propaganda which aims at securing voluntary enlistment is
permitted.
The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to work unless
they are over eighteen years of age, and then only on work which is necessary
either for the needs of the army of occupation, or for the public utility
services, or for the feeding, sheltering, clothing, transportation or health of
the population of the occupied country. Protected persons may not be compelled
to undertake any work which would involve them in the obligation of taking part
in military operations. The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to
employ forcible means to ensure the security of the installations where they
are performing compulsory labour.
The work shall be carried out only in the occupied territory where the
persons whose services have been requisitioned are. Every such person shall, so
far as possible, be kept in his usual place of employment. Workers shall be
paid a fair wage and the work shall be proportionate to their physical and
intellectual capacities. The legislation in force in the occupied country
concerning working conditions, and safeguards as regards, in particular, such
matters as wages, hours of work, equipment, preliminary training and
compensation for occupational accidents and diseases, shall be applicable to
the protected persons assigned to the work referred to in this Article.
In no case shall requisition of labour lead
to a mobilization of workers in an organization of a military or semi-military
character.
No contract, agreement
or regulation shall impair the right of any worker, whether voluntary or not
and wherever he may be, to apply to the representatives of the Protecting Power
in order to request the said Power's intervention.
All measures aiming at creating unemployment or at restricting the
opportunities offered to workers in an occupied territory, in order to induce
them to work for the Occupying Power, are prohibited.
Any destruction by the
Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or
collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public
authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except
where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.
The Occupying Power may
not alter the status of public officials or judges in the occupied territories, or in any way apply sanctions to or take any
measures of coercion or discrimination against them, should they abstain from
fulfilling their functions for reasons of conscience.
This prohibition does not prejudice the application of the second
paragraph of Article 51. It does not affect the right of the Occupying Power to
remove public officials from their posts.
To the fullest extent
of the means available to it the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the
food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in
the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of
the occupied territory are inadequate.
The Occupying Power may not requisition foodstuffs, articles or
medical supplies available in the occupied territory, except for use by the
occupation forces and administration personnel, and then only if the
requirements of the civilian population have been taken into account. Subject
to the provisions of other international Conventions, the Occupying Power shall
make arrangements to ensure that fair value is paid for any requisitioned
goods.
The Protecting Power shall, at any time, be at liberty to verify the
state of the food and medical supplies in occupied territories, except where
temporary restrictions are made necessary by imperative military requirements.
To the fullest extent
of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring and
maintaining, with the cooperation of national and local authorities, the
medical and hospital establishments and services, public health and hygiene in
the occupied territory, with particular reference to the adoption and application
of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of
contagious diseases and epidemics. Medical personnel of all categories shall be
allowed to carry out their duties.
If new hospitals are set up in occupied territory and if the competent
organs of the occupied State are not operating there, the occupying authorities
shall, if necessary, grant them the recognition provided for in Article 18. In
similar circumstances, the occupying authorities shall also grant recognition to
hospital personnel and transport vehicles under the provisions of Articles 20
and 21.
In adopting measures of health and hygiene and in their
implementation, the Occupying Power shall take into consideration the moral and
ethical susceptibilities of the population of the occupied territory.
The Occupying Power may
requisition civilian hospitals only temporarily and only in cases of urgent
necessity for the care of military wounded and sick, and then on condition that
suitable arrangements are made in due time for the care and treatment of the
patients and for the needs of the civilian population for hospital
accommodation.
The material and stores of civilian hospitals cannot be requisitioned
so long as they are necessary for the needs of the civilian population.
The Occupying Power
shall permit ministers of religion to give spiritual assistance to the members
of their religious communities.
The Occupying Power shall also accept consignments of books and
articles required for religious needs and shall facilitate their distribution
in occupied territory.
If the whole or part of
the population of an occupied territory is inadequately supplied, the Occupying
Power shall agree to relief schemes on behalf of the said population, and shall
facilitate them by all the means at its disposal.
Such schemes, which may be undertaken either by States or by impartial
humanitarian organizations such as the International Committee of the Red
Cross, shall consist, in particular, of the provision of consignments of
foodstuffs, medical supplies and clothing.
All Contracting Parties shall permit the free passage of these
consignments and shall guarantee their protection.
A Power granting free passage to consignments on their way to
territory occupied by an adverse Party to the conflict shall, however, have the
right to search the consignments, to regulate their passage according to
prescribed times and routes, and to be reasonably satisfied through the
Protecting Power that these consignments are to be used for the relief of the
needy population and are not to be used for the benefit of the Occupying Power.
Relief consignments
shall in no way relieve the Occupying Power of any of its responsibilities
under Articles 55, 56 and 59. The Occupying Power shall in no way whatsoever
divert relief consignments from the purpose for which they are intended, except
in cases of urgent necessity, in the interests of the population of the
occupied territory and with the consent of the Protecting Power.
The distribution of the
relief consignments referred to in the foregoing Articles shall be carried out
with the cooperation and under the supervision of the Protecting Power. This
duty may also be delegated, by agreement between the Occupying Power and the
Protecting Power, to a neutral Power, to the International Committee of the Red
Cross or to any other impartial humanitarian body.
Such consignments shall be exempt in occupied territory from all
charges, taxes or customs duties unless these are necessary in the interests of
the economy of the territory. The Occupying Power shall facilitate the rapid
distribution of these consignments.
All Contracting Parties shall endeavour to
permit the transit and transport, free of charge, of such relief consignments
on their way to occupied territories.
Subject to imperative
reasons of security, protected persons in occupied territories shall be
permitted to receive the individual relief consignments sent to them.
Subject to temporary
and exceptional measures imposed for urgent reasons of security by the
Occupying Power:
(a) Recognized National Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun)
Societies shall be able to pursue their activities in accordance with Red Cross
principles, as defined by the International Red Cross Conferences. Other relief
societies shall be permitted to continue their humanitarian activities under
similar conditions;
(b) The Occupying Power may not require any changes in the personnel
or structure of these societies, which would prejudice the aforesaid
activities.
The same principles shall apply to the activities and personnel of
special organizations of a non-military character, which already exist or which
may be established, for the purpose of ensuring the living conditions of the
civilian population by the maintenance of the essential public utility
services, by the distribution of relief and by the organization of rescues.
The penal laws of the
occupied territory shall remain in force, with the exception that they may be
repealed or suspended by the Occupying Power in cases where they constitute a
threat to its security or an obstacle to the application of the present
Convention. Subject to the latter consideration and to the necessity for
ensuring the effective administration of justice, the tribunals of the occupied
territory shall continue to function in respect of all offences covered by the
said laws.
The Occupying Power may, however, subject the population of the
occupied territory to provisions which are essential to enable the Occupying
Power to fulfil its obligations under the present
Convention, to maintain the orderly government of the territory, and to ensure
the security of the Occupying Power, of the members and property of the
occupying forces or administration, and likewise of the establishments and
lines of communication used by them.
The penal provisions
enacted by the Occupying Power shall not come into force before they have been
published and brought to the knowledge of the inhabitants in their own
language. The effect of these penal provisions shall not be retroactive.
In case of a breach of
the penal provisions promulgated by it by virtue of the second paragraph of
Article 64, the Occupying Power may hand over the accused to its properly
constituted, non-political military courts, on condition that the said courts
sit in the occupied country. Courts of appeal shall preferably sit in the
occupied country.
The courts shall apply
only those provisions of law which were applicable prior to the offence, and
which are in accordance with general principles of law, in particular the
principle that the penalty shall be proportioned to the offence. They shall
take into consideration the fact that the accused is not a national of the
Occupying Power.
Protected persons who
commit an offence which is solely intended to harm the Occupying Power, but
which does not constitute an attempt on the life or limb of members of the
occupying forces or administration, nor a grave collective danger, nor
seriously damage the property of the occupying forces or administration or the
installations used by them, shall be liable to internment or simple
imprisonment, provided the duration of such internment or imprisonment is
proportionate to the offence committed. Furthermore, internment or imprisonment
shall, for such offences, be the only measure adopted for depriving protected
persons of liberty. The courts provided for under Article 66 of the present
Convention may at their discretion convert a sentence of imprisonment to one of
internment for the same period.
The penal provisions promulgated by the Occupying Power in accordance
with Articles 64 and 65 may impose the death penalty on a protected person only
in cases where the person is guilty of espionage, of serious acts of sabotage
against the military installations of the Occupying Power or of intentional
offences which have caused the death of one or more persons, provided that such
offences were punishable by death under the law of the occupied territory in
force before the occupation began.
The death penalty may not be pronounced against a protected person
unless the attention of the court has been particularly called to the fact
that, since the accused is not a national of the Occupying Power, he is not
bound to it by any duty of allegiance.
In any case, the death penalty may not be pronounced against a
protected person who was under eighteen years of age at the time of the
offence.
In all cases, the
duration of the period during which a protected person accused of an offence is
under arrest awaiting trial or punishment shall be deducted from any period of
imprisonment awarded.
Protected persons shall
not be arrested, prosecuted or convicted by the Occupying Power for acts
committed or for opinions expressed before the occupation, or during a
temporary interruption thereof, with the exception of breaches of the laws and
customs of war.
Nationals of the Occupying Power who, before the outbreak of
hostilities, have sought refuge in the territory of the occupied State, shall
not be arrested, prosecuted, convicted or deported from the occupied territory,
except for offences committed after the outbreak of hostilities, or for offences
under common law committed before the outbreak of hostilities which, according
to the law of the occupied State, would have justified extradition in time of
peace.
No sentence shall be
pronounced by the competent courts of the Occupying Power except after a
regular trial.
Accused persons who are prosecuted by the Occupying Power shall be
promptly informed, in writing, in a language which they understand, of the
particulars of the charges preferred against them, and shall be brought to trial
as rapidly as possible. The Protecting Power shall be informed of all
proceedings instituted by the Occupying Power against protected persons in
respect of charges involving the death penalty or imprisonment for two years or
more; it shall be enabled, at any time, to obtain information regarding the
state of such proceedings. Furthermore, the Protecting Power shall be entitled,
on request, to be furnished with all particulars of these and of any other
proceedings instituted by the Occupying Power against protected persons.
The notification to the Protecting Power, as provided for in the
second paragraph above, shall be sent immediately, and shall in any case reach
the Protecting Power three weeks before the date of the first hearing. Unless,
at the opening of the trial, evidence is submitted that the provisions of this
Article are fully complied with, the trial shall not proceed. The notification
shall include the following particulars:
(a) Description of the accused;
(b) Place of residence or detention;
(c) Specification of the charge or charges (with mention of the penal
provisions under which it is brought);
(d) Designation of the court which will hear the case;
(e) Place and date of the first hearing.
Accused persons shall
have the right to present evidence necessary to their defence
and may, in particular, call witnesses. They shall have the right to be
assisted by a qualified advocate or counsel of their own choice, who shall be
able to visit them freely and shall enjoy the necessary facilities for
preparing the defence.
Failing a choice by the accused, the Protecting Power may provide him
with an advocate or counsel. When an accused person has to meet a serious
charge and the Protecting Power is not functioning, the Occupying Power,
subject to the consent of the accused, shall provide an advocate or counsel.
Accused persons shall, unless they freely waive such assistance, be
aided by an interpreter, both during preliminary investigation and during the
hearing in court. They shall have the right at any time to object to the
interpreter and to ask for his replacement.
A convicted person
shall have the right of appeal provided for by the laws applied by the court.
He shall be fully informed of his right to appeal or petition and of the time
limit within which he may do so.
The penal procedure provided in the present Section shall apply, as
far as it is applicable, to appeals. Where the laws applied by the Court make
no provision for appeals, the convicted person shall have the right to petition
against the finding and sentence to the competent authority of the Occupying
Power.
Representatives of the
Protecting Power shall have the right to attend the trial of any protected
person, unless the hearing has, as an exceptional measure, to be held in camera
in the interests of the security of the Occupying Power, which shall then
notify the Protecting Power. A notification in respect of the date and place of
trial shall be sent to the Protecting Power.
Any judgment involving a sentence of death, or imprisonment for two years or more, shall be communicated, with the relevant grounds, as rapidly as possible to the Protecting Power. The notification shall contain a reference to the notification made under Article 71, and in the case of sentences of imprisonment, the name of the place where the sentence is to be served. A record of judgments other than those referred to above shall be kept by the court and shall be open to inspection by representatives of the Protecting Power. Any period allowed for appeal in the case of sentences involving the death penalty, or imprisonment for two years or more, shall not run until notific