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ICRC – International Committee of the Red Cross
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CIVILIANS ARE NOT MILITARY TARGETS – DO NOT ATTACK THEM – Short Animated Video
Civilians must be protected. Arms bearers must at all
times make the distinction between the civilian population and combatants.
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Geneva
Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of
War
Adopted
on 12 August 1949 by the Diplomatic Conference for Establishment of
International Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War,
Held in Geneva from 21 April to 12 August 1949
Entry into force: 21 October 1950
Part I
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
Article 1
The High
Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present
Convention in all circumstances.
Article 2
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.
Article 3
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 endeavour 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.
Article 4
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 co-belligerent State, shall not be
regarded as protected persons while the State of which they are nationals has
normal diplomatic representation in the State in whose hands they are.
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.
Article 5
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 favour 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.
Article 6
The
present Convention shall apply from the outset of any conflict or occupation
mentioned in Article 2.
In the
territory of Parties to the conflict, the application of the present Convention
shall cease on the general close of military operations.
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: 1 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 favourable measures have been taken with regard to them by one or other of
the Parties to the conflict.
Article 8
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.
Article 9
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.
Article 10
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.
Article 11
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.
Article 12
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 persons, 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.
Part II
GENERAL
PROTECTION OF POPULATIONS AGAINST CERTAIN CONSEQUENCES OF WAR
Article 13
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.
Article 14
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.
Article 15
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.
Article 16
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.
Article 17
The
Parties to the conflict shall endeavour 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.
Article 18
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.
Article 19
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.
Article 20
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.
Article 22
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.
Article 23
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 thereby 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.
Article 24
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.
Article 25
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.
Article 26
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.
Part III
STATUS AND
TREATMENT OF PROTECTED PERSONS
Section I
Provisions
common to the territories of the Parties to the conflict and to occupied
territories
Article 27
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.
Article 28
The
presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or
areas immune from military operations.
Article 29
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.
Article 30
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.
Article 31
No
physical or moral coercion shall be exercised against protected persons, in
particular to obtain information from them or from third parties.
Article 32
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.
Article 33
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.
Article 34
The taking
of hostages is prohibited.
Section II
Aliens in
the territory of a Party to the conflict
Article 35
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.
Article 36
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.
Article 37
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.
Article 38
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.
Article 39
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 country, the Protecting
Power, or the relief societies referred to in Article 30.
Article 40
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.
Article 41
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.
Article 42
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.
Article 43
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.
Article 44
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.
Article 45
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.
Article 46
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
III
Occupied
territories
Article 47
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.
Article 48
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.
Article 49
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 so 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 s 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.
Article 50
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.
Article 51
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.
Article 52
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.
Article 53
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.
Article 54
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.
Article 55
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.
Article 56
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.
Article 57
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.
Article 58
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.
Article 59
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.
Article 60
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.
Article 61
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.
Article 62
Subject to
imperative reasons of security, protected persons in occupied territories shall
be permitted to receive the individual relief consignments sent to them.
Article 63
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.
Article 64
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.
Article 65
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.
Article 66
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.
Article 67
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 proportionate to the
offence. They shall take into consideration the fact that the accused is not a
national of the Occupying Power.
Article 68
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.
Article 69
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.
Article 70
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.
Article 71
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.
Article 72
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.
Article 73
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.
Article 74
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 notification of judgment has been
received by the Protecting Power.
Article 75
In no case
shall persons condemned to death be deprived of the right of petition for
pardon or reprieve.
No death
sentence shall be carried out before the expiration of a period of at least six
months from the date of receipt by the Protecting Power of the notification of
the final judgment confirming such death sentence, or of an order denying
pardon or reprieve.
The six
months period of suspension of the death sentence herein prescribed may be
reduced in individual cases in circumstances of grave emergency involving an
organized threat to the security of the Occupying Power or its forces, provided
always that the Protecting Power is notified of such reduction and is given
reasonable time and opportunity to make representations to the competent occupying
authorities in respect of such death sentences.
Article 76
Protected
persons accused of offences shall be detained in the occupied country, and if
convicted they shall serve their sentences therein. They shall, if possible, be
separated from other detainees and shall enjoy conditions of food and hygiene
which will be sufficient to keep them in good health, and which will be at
least equal to those obtaining in prisons in the occupied country.
They shall
receive the medical attention required by their state of health.
They shall
also have the right to receive any spiritual assistance which they may require.
Women
shall be confined in separate quarters and shall be under the direct
supervision of women.
Proper
regard shall be paid to the special treatment due to minors.
Protected
persons who are detained shall have the right to be visited by delegates of the
Protecting Power and of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in
accordance with the provisions of Article 143.
Such
persons shall have the right to receive at least one relief parcel monthly.
Article 77
Protected
persons who have been accused of offences or convicted by the courts in
occupied territory shall be handed over at the close of occupation, with the
relevant records, to the authorities of the liberated territory.
Article 78
If the
Occupying Power considers it necessary, for imperative reasons of security, to
take safety measures concerning protected persons, it may, at the most, subject
them to assigned residence or to internment.
Decisions
regarding such assigned residence or internment shall be made according to a
regular procedure to be prescribed by the Occupying Power in accordance with
the provisions of the present Convention. This procedure shall include the
right of appeal for the parties concerned. Appeals shall be decided with the
least possible delay. In the event of the decision being upheld, it shall be
subject to periodical review, if possible every six months, by a competent body
set up by the said Power.
Protected
persons made subject to assigned residence and thus required to leave their s
shall enjoy the full benefit of Article 39 of the present Convention.
Section IV
Regulations
for the treatment of internees
Chapter I
General
provisions
Article 79
The
Parties to the conflict shall not intern protected persons, except in
accordance with the provisions of Articles 41, 42, 43, 68 and 78.
Article 80
Internees
shall retain their full civil capacity and shall exercise such attendant rights
as may be compatible with their status.
Article 81
Parties to
the conflict who intern protected persons shall be bound to provide free of
charge for their maintenance, and to grant them also the medical attention
required by their state of health.
No
deduction from the allowances, salaries or credits due to the internees shall
be made for the repayment of these costs.
The
Detaining Power shall provide for the support of those dependent on the
internees, if such dependants are without adequate means of support or are
unable to earn a living.
Article 82
The
Detaining Power shall, as far as possible, accommodate the internees according
to their nationality, language and customs. Internees who are 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
Article 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.
Article 84
Internees
shall be accommodated and administered separately from prisoners of war and
from persons deprived of liberty for any other reason.
Article 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.
Article 86
The
Detaining Power shall place at the disposal of interned persons, of whatever
denomination, premises suitable for the holding of their religious services.
Article 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.
Article 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 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
Article 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.
Article 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.
Chapter IV
Hygiene
and medical attention
Article 91
Every
place of internment shall have an adequate infirmary, under the direction of a
qualified doctor, where internees may have the attention they require, as well
as an appropriate diet. Isolation wards shall be set aside for cases of
contagious or mental diseases.
Maternity
cases and internees suffering from serious diseases, or whose condition
requires special treatment, a surgical operation or hospital care, must be
admitted to any institution where adequate treatment can be given and shall
receive care not inferior to that provided for the general population.
Internees
shall, for preference, have the attention of medical personnel of their own
nationality.
Internees
may not be prevented from presenting themselves to the medical authorities for
examination. The medical authorities of the Detaining Power shall, upon
request, issue to every internee who has undergone treatment an official
certificate showing the nature of his illness or injury, and the duration and
nature of the treatment given. A duplicate of this certificate shall be
forwarded to the Central Agency provided for in Article 140.
Treatment,
including the provision of any apparatus necessary for the maintenance of
internees in good health, particularly dentures and other artificial appliances
and spectacles, shall be free of charge to the internee.
Article 92
Medical
inspections of internees shall be made at least once a month. Their purpose shall
be, in particular, to supervise the general state of health, nutrition and
cleanliness of internees, and to detect contagious diseases, especially
tuberculosis, malaria, and venereal diseases. Such inspections shall include,
in particular, the checking of weight of each internee and, at least once a
year, radioscopic examination.
Chapter V
Religious,
intellectual and physical activities
Article 93
Internees
shall enjoy complete latitude in the exercise of their religious duties,
including attendance at the services of their faith, on condition that they
comply with the disciplinary routine prescribed by the detaining authorities.
Ministers
of religion who are interned shall be allowed to minister freely to the members
of their community. For this purpose, the Detaining Power shall ensure their
equitable allocation amongst the various places of internment in which there
are internees speaking the same language and belonging to the same religion.
Should such ministers be too few in number, the Detaining Power shall provide
them with the necessary facilities, including means of transport, for moving
from one place to another, and they shall be authorized to visit any internees
who are in hospital. Ministers of religion shall be at liberty to correspond on
matters concerning their ministry with the religious authorities in the country
of detention and, as far as possible, with the international religious
organizations of their faith. Such correspondence shall not be considered as
forming a part of the quota mentioned in Article 107. It shall, however, be
subject to the provisions of Article 112.
When
internees do not have at their disposal the assistance of ministers of their
faith, or should these latter be too few in number, the local religious
authorities of the same faith may appoint, in agreement with the Detaining
Power, a minister of the internees' faith or, if such a course is feasible from
a denominational point of view, a minister of similar religion or a qualified
layman. The latter shall enjoy the facilities granted to the ministry he has
assumed. Persons so appointed shall comply with all regulations laid down by
the Detaining Power in the interests of discipline and security.
Article 94
The
Detaining Power shall encourage intellectual, educational and recreational
pursuits, sports and games amongst internees, whilst leaving them free to take
part in them or not. It shall take all practicable measures to ensure the
exercise thereof, in particular by providing suitable premises.
All
possible facilities shall be granted to internees to continue their studies or
to take up new subjects. The education of children and young people shall be
ensured; they shall be allowed to attend schools either within the place of
internment or outside.
Internees
shall be given opportunities for physical exercise, sports and outdoor games.
For this purpose, sufficient open spaces shall be set aside in all places of
internment. Special playgrounds shall be reserved for children and young
people.
Article 95
The Detaining
Power shall not employ internees as workers, unless they so desire. Employment
which, if undertaken under compulsion by a protected person not in internment,
would involve a breach of Articles 40 or 51 of the present Convention, and
employment on work which is of a degrading or humiliating character are in any
case prohibited.
After a
working period of six weeks, internees shall be free to give up work at any
moment, subject to eight days' notice.
These
provisions constitute no obstacle to the right of the Detaining Power to employ
interned doctors, dentists and other medical personnel in their professional
capacity on behalf of their fellow internees, or to employ internees for
administrative and maintenance work in places of internment and to detail such
persons for work in the kitchens or for other domestic tasks, or to require
such persons to undertake duties connected with the protection of internees
against aerial bombardment or other war risks. No internee may, however, be
required to perform tasks for which he is, in the opinion of a medical officer,
physically unsuited.
The
Detaining Power shall take entire responsibility for all working conditions,
for medical attention, for the payment of wages, and for ensuring that all
employed internees receive compensation for occupational accidents and
diseases. The standards prescribed for the said working conditions and for
compensation shall be in accordance with the national laws and regulations, and
with the existing practice; they shall in no case be inferior to those
obtaining for work of the same nature in the same district. Wages for work done
shall be determined on an equitable basis by special agreements between the
internees, the Detaining Power, and, if the case arises, employers other than the
Detaining Power, due regard being paid to the obligation of the Detaining Power
to provide for free maintenance of internees and for the medical attention
which their state of health may require. Internees permanently detailed for
categories of work mentioned in the third paragraph of this Article shall be
paid fair wages by the Detaining Power. The working conditions and the scale of
compensation for occupational accidents and diseases to internees thus detailed
shall not be inferior to those applicable to work of the same nature in the
same district.
Article 96
All labour
detachments shall remain part of and dependent upon a place of internment. The
competent authorities of the Detaining Power and the commandant of a place of
internment shall be responsible for the observance in a labour detachment of
the provisions of the present Convention. The commandant shall keep an
up-to-date list of the labour detachments subordinate to him and shall
communicate it to the delegates of the Protecting Power, of the International
Committee of the Red Cross and of other humanitarian organizations who may
visit the places of internment.
Chapter VI
Personal
property and financial resources
Article 97
Internees
shall be permitted to retain articles of personal use. Monies, cheques, bonds,
etc., and valuables in their possession may not be taken from them except in
accordance with established procedure. Detailed receipts shall be given
therefor.
The
amounts shall be paid into the account of every internee as provided for in
Article 98. Such amounts may not be converted into any other currency unless
legislation in force in the territory in which the owner is interned so
requires or the internee gives his consent.
Articles
which have above all a personal or sentimental value may not be taken away.
A woman
internee shall not be searched except by a woman.
On release
or repatriation, internees shall be given all articles, monies or other
valuables taken from them during internment and shall receive in currency the
balance of any credit to their accounts kept in accordance with Article 98,
with the exception of any articles or amounts withheld by the Detaining Power
by virtue of its legislation in force. If the property of an internee is so
withheld, the owner shall receive a detailed receipt.
Family or
identity documents in the possession of internees may not be taken away without
a receipt being given. At no time shall internees be left without identity
documents. If they have none, they shall be issued with special documents drawn
up by the detaining authorities, which will serve as their identity papers until
the end of their internment.
Internees
may keep on their persons a certain amount of money, in cash or in the shape of
purchase coupons, to enable them to make purchases.
Article 98
All
internees shall receive regular allowances, sufficient to enable them to
purchase goods and articles, such as tobacco, toilet requisites, etc. Such
allowances may take the form of credits or purchase coupons.
Furthermore,
internees may receive allowances from the Power to which they owe allegiance,
the Protecting Powers, the organizations which may assist them, or their
families, as well as the income on their property in accordance with the law of
the Detaining Power. The amount of allowances granted by the Power to which
they owe allegiance shall be the same for each category of internees (infirm,
sick, pregnant women, etc.), but may not be allocated by that Power or
distributed by the Detaining Power on the basis of discrimination between
internees which are prohibited by Article 27 of the present Convention.
The Detaining
Power shall open a regular account for every internee, to which shall be
credited the allowances named in the present Article, the wages earned and the
remittances received, together with such sums taken from him as may be
available under the legislation in force in the territory in which he is
interned. Internees shall be granted all facilities consistent with the
legislation in force in such territory to make remittances to their families
and to other dependants. They may draw from their accounts the amounts
necessary for their personal expenses, within the limits fixed by the Detaining
Power. They shall at all times be afforded reasonable facilities for consulting
and obtaining copies of their accounts. A statement of accounts shall be
furnished to the Protecting Power on request, and shall accompany the internee
in case of transfer.
Chapter
VII
Administration
and discipline
Article 99
Every
place of internment shall be put under the authority of a responsible officer,
chosen from the regular military forces or the regular civil administration of
the Detaining Power. The officer in charge of the place of internment must have
in his possession a copy of the present Convention in the official language, or
one of the official languages, of his country and shall be responsible for its
application. The staff in control of internees shall be instructed in the
provisions of the present Convention and of the administrative measures adopted
to ensure its application.
The text
of the present Convention and the texts of special agreements concluded under
the said Convention shall be posted inside the place of internment, in a
language which the internees understand, or shall be in the possession of the
Internee Committee.
Regulations,
orders, notices and publications of every kind shall be communicated to the
internees and posted inside the places of internment, in a language which they
understand.
Every
order and command addressed to internees individually must likewise be given in
a language which they understand.
Article
100
The
disciplinary regime in places of internment shall be consistent with
humanitarian principles, and shall in no circumstances include regulations
imposing on internees any physical exertion dangerous to their health or
involving physical or moral victimization. Identification by tattooing or
imprinting signs or markings on the body is prohibited.
In
particular, prolonged standing and roll-calls, punishment drill, military drill
and manoeuvres, or the reduction of food rations, are prohibited.
Article
101
Internees
shall have the right to present to the authorities in whose power they are any
petition with regard to the conditions of internment to which they are
subjected.
They shall
also have the right to apply without restriction through the Internee Committee
or, if they consider it necessary, direct to the representatives of the
Protecting Power, in order to indicate to them any points on which they may
have complaints to make with regard to the conditions of internment.
Such
petitions and complaints shall be transmitted forthwith and without alteration,
and even if the latter are recognized to be unfounded, they may not occasion
any punishment.
Periodic
reports on the situation in places of internment and as to the needs of the
internees may be sent by the Internee Committees to the representatives of the
Protecting Powers.
Article
102
In every
place of internment, the internees shall freely elect by secret ballot every
six months, the members of a Committee empowered to represent them before the
Detaining and the Protecting Powers, the International Committee of the Red
Cross and any other organization which may assist them. The members of the
Committee shall be eligible for re-election.
Internees
so elected shall enter upon their duties after their election has been approved
by the detaining authorities. The reasons for any refusals or dismissals shall
be communicated to the Protecting Powers concerned.
Article
103
The
Internee Committees shall further the physical, spiritual and intellectual
well-being of the internees.
In case
the internees decide, in particular, to organize a system of mutual assistance
amongst themselves, this organization would be within the competence of the
Committees in addition to the special duties entrusted to them under other
provisions of the present Convention.
Article
104
Members of
Internee Committees shall not be required to perform any other work, if the
accomplishment of their duties is rendered more difficult thereby.
Members of
Internee Committees may appoint from amongst the internees such assistants as
they may require. All material facilities shall be granted to them,
particularly a certain freedom of movement necessary for the accomplishment of
their duties (visits to labour detachments, receipt of supplies, etc.).
All
facilities shall likewise be accorded to members of Internee Committees for
communication by post and telegraph with the detaining authorities, the
Protecting Powers, the International Committee of the Red Cross and their
delegates, and with the organizations which give assistance to internees.
Committee members in labour detachments shall enjoy similar facilities for
communication with their Internee Committee in the principal place of
internment. Such communications shall not be limited, nor considered as forming
a part of the quota mentioned in Article 107.
Members of
Internee Committees who are transferred shall be allowed a reasonable time to
acquaint their successors with current affairs.
Chapter
VIII
Relations
with the exterior
Article
105
Immediately
upon interning protected persons, the Detaining Power shall inform them, the
Power to which they owe allegiance and their Protecting Power of the measures
taken for executing the provisions of the present Chapter. The Detaining Power
shall likewise inform the Parties concerned of any subsequent modifications of
such measures.
Article
106
As soon as
he is interned, or at the latest not more than one week after his arrival in a
place of internment, and likewise in cases of sickness or transfer to another
place of internment or to a hospital, every internee shall be enabled to send
direct to his family, on the one hand, and to the Central Agency provided for
by Article 140, on the other, an internment card similar, if possible, to the
model annexed to the present Convention, informing his relatives of his
detention, address and state of health. The said cards shall be forwarded as
rapidly as possible and may not be delayed in any way.
Article
107
Internees
shall be allowed to send and receive letters and cards. If the Detaining Power
deems it necessary to limit the number of letters and cards sent by each
internee, the said number shall not be less than two letters and four cards
monthly; these shall be drawn up so as to conform as closely as possible to the
models annexed to the present Convention. If limitations must be placed on the
correspondence addressed to internees, they may be ordered only by the Power to
which such internees owe allegiance, possibly at the request of the Detaining
Power. Such letters and cards must be conveyed with reasonable despatch; they
may not be delayed or retained for disciplinary reasons.
Internees
who have been a long time without news, or who find it impossible to receive
news from their relatives, or to give them news by the ordinary postal route,
as well as those who are at a considerable distance from their s, shall be
allowed to send telegrams, the charges being paid by them in the currency at
their disposal. They shall likewise benefit by this provision in cases which
are recognized to be urgent.
As a rule,
internees' mail shall be written in their own language. The Parties to the
conflict may authorize correspondence in other languages.
Article
108
Internees
shall be allowed to receive, by post or by any other means, individual parcels
or collective shipments containing in particular foodstuffs, clothing, medical
supplies, as well as books and objects of a devotional, educational or
recreational character which may meet their needs. Such shipments shall in no
way free the Detaining Power from the obligations imposed upon it by virtue of
the present Convention.
Should
military necessity require the quantity of such shipments to be limited, due
notice thereof shall be given to the Protecting Power and to the International
Committee of the Red Cross, or to any other organization giving assistance to
the internees and responsible for the forwarding of such shipments.
The
conditions for the sending of individual parcels and collective shipments
shall, if necessary, be the subject of special agreements between the Powers
concerned, which may in no case delay the receipt by the internees of relief
supplies. Parcels of clothing and foodstuffs may not include books. Medical
relief supplies shall, as a rule, be sent in collective parcels.
Article
109
In the
absence of special agreements between Parties to the conflict regarding the
conditions for the receipt and distribution of collective relief shipments, the
regulations concerning collective relief which are annexed to the present
Convention shall be applied.
The
special agreements provided for above shall in no case restrict the right of
Internee Committees to take possession of collective relief shipments intended
for internees, to undertake their distribution and to dispose of them in the
interests of the recipients.
Nor shall
such agreements restrict the right of representatives of the Protecting Powers,
the International Committee of the Red Cross, or any other organization giving
assistance to internees and responsible for the forwarding of collective
shipments, to supervise their distribution to the recipients.
Article
110
All relief
shipments for internees shall be exempt from import, customs and other dues.
All matter
sent by mail, including relief parcels sent by parcel post and remittances of
money, addressed from other countries to internees or despatched by them
through the post office, either direct or through the Information Bureaux
provided for in Article 136 and the Central Information Agency provided for in
Article 140, shall be exempt from all postal dues both in the countries of
origin and destination and in intermediate countries. To this end. in
particular, the exemption provided by the Universal Postal Convention of 1947
and by the agreements of the Universal Postal Union in favour of civilians of
enemy nationality detained in camps or civilian prisons, shall be extended to
the other interned persons protected by the present Convention. The countries
not signatory to the above-mentioned agreements shall be bound to grant freedom
from charges in the same circumstances.
The cost
of transporting relief shipments which are intended for internees and which, by
reason of their weight or any other cause, cannot be sent through the post
office, shall be borne by the Detaining Power in all the territories under its
control. Other Powers which are Parties to the present Convention shall bear
the cost of transport in their respective territories.
Costs
connected with the transport of such shipments, which are not covered by the
above paragraphs, shall be charged to the senders.
The High
Contracting Parties shall endeavour to reduce, so far as possible, the charges
for telegrams sent by internees, or addressed to them.
Article
111
Should
military operations prevent the Powers concerned from fulfilling their
obligation to ensure the conveyance of the mail and relief shipments provided
for in Articles 106, 107, 108 and 113, the Protecting Powers concerned, the
International Committee of the Red Cross or any other organization duly
approved by the Parties to the conflict may undertake the conveyance of such
shipments by suitable means (rail, motor vehicles, vessels or aircraft, etc.).
For this purpose, the High Contracting Parties shall endeavour to supply them
with such transport, and to allow its circulation, especially by granting the
necessary safe-conducts.
Such
transport may also be used to convey:
(a)
Correspondence, lists and reports exchanged between the Central Information Agency
referred to in Article 140 and the National Bureaux referred to in Article 136;
(b)
Correspondence and reports relating to internees which the Protecting Powers,
the International Committee of the Red Cross or any other organization
assisting the internees exchange either with their own delegates or with the
Parties to the conflict.
These
provisions in no way detract from the right of any Party to the conflict to
arrange other means of transport if it should so prefer, nor preclude the
granting of safe-conducts, under mutually agreed conditions, to such means of
transport.
The costs
occasioned by the use of such means of transport shall be borne, in proportion
to the importance of the shipments, by the Parties to the conflict whose
nationals are benefited thereby.
Article
112
The
censoring of correspondence addressed to internees or despatched by them shall
be done as quickly as possible.
The
examination of consignments intended for internees shall not be carried out
under conditions that will expose the goods contained in them to deterioration.
It shall be done in the presence of the addressee, or of a fellow-internee duly
delegated by him. The delivery to internees of individual or collective
consignments shall not be delayed under the pretext of difficulties of
censorship.
Any
prohibition of correspondence ordered by the Parties to the conflict, either
for military or political reasons, shall be only temporary and its duration
shall be as short as possible.
Article
113
The
Detaining Powers shall provide all reasonable facilities for the transmission,
through the Protecting Power or the Central Agency provided for in Article 140,
or as otherwise required, of wills, powers of attorney letters of authority, or
any other documents intended for internees or despatched by them.
In all
cases the Detaining Power shall facilitate the execution and authentication in
due legal form of such documents on behalf of internees, in particular by
allowing them to consult a lawyer.
Article
114
The
Detaining Power shall afford internees all facilities to enable them to manage
their property, provided this is not incompatible with the conditions of
internment and the law which is applicable. For this purpose, the said Power
may give them permission to leave the place of internment in urgent cases and
if circumstances allow.
Article
115
In all
cases where an internee is a party to proceedings in any court, the Detaining
Power shall, if he so requests, cause the court to be informed of his detention
and shall, within legal limits, ensure that all necessary steps are taken to
prevent him from being in any way prejudiced, by reason of his internment, as
regards the preparation and conduct of his case or as regards the execution of
any judgment of the court.
Article 116
Every
internee shall be allowed to receive visitors, especially near relatives, at
regular intervals and as frequently as possible.
As far as
is possible, internees shall be permitted to visit their s in urgent cases,
particularly in cases of death or serious illness of relatives.
Chapter IX
Penal and
disciplinary sanctions
Article
117
Subject to
the provisions of the present Chapter, the laws in force in the territory in
which they are detained will continue to apply to internees who commit offences
during internment.
If general
laws, regulations or orders declare acts committed by internees to be
punishable, whereas the same acts are not punishable when committed by persons
who are not internees, such acts shall entail disciplinary punishments only.
No
internee may be punished more than once for the same act, or on the same count.
Article
118
The courts
or authorities shall in passing sentence take as far as possible into account
the fact that the defendant is not a national of the Detaining Power. They
shall be free to reduce the penalty prescribed for the offence with which the
internee is charged and shall not be obliged, to this end, to apply the minimum
sentence prescribed.
Imprisonment
in premises without daylight, and, in general, all forms of cruelty without
exception are forbidden.
Internees
who have served disciplinary or judicial sentences shall not be treated
differently from other internees.
The
duration of preventive detention undergone by an internee shall be deducted
from any disciplinary or judicial penalty involving confinement to which he may
be sentenced.
Internee
Committees shall be informed of all judicial proceedings instituted against
internees whom they represent, and of their result.
Article
119
The
disciplinary punishments applicable to internees shall be the following:
1. A fine
which shall not exceed 50 per cent of the wages which the internee would
otherwise receive under the provisions of Article 95 during a period of not
more than thirty days.
2.
Discontinuance of privileges granted over and above the treatment provided for
by the present Convention.
3. Fatigue
duties, not exceeding two hours daily, in connection with the maintenance of
the place of internment.
4.
Confinement.
In no case
shall disciplinary penalties be inhuman, brutal or dangerous for the health of
internees. Account shall be taken of the internee's age, sex and state of
health.
The
duration of any single punishment shall in no case exceed a maximum of thirty
consecutive days, even if the internee is answerable for several breaches of
discipline when his case is dealt with, whether such breaches are connected or
not.
Article
120
Internees
who are recaptured after having escaped or when attempting to escape shall be
liable only to disciplinary punishment in respect of this act, even if it is a
repeated offence.
Article
118, paragraph 3, notwithstanding, internees punished as a result of escape or
attempt to escape, may be subjected to special surveillance, on condition that
such surveillance does not affect the state of their health, that it is
exercised in a place of internment and that it does not entail the abolition of
any of the safeguards granted by the present Convention.
Internees
who aid and abet an escape, or attempt to escape, shall be liable on this count
to disciplinary punishment only.
Article
121
Escape, or
attempt to escape, even if it is a repeated offence, shall not be deemed an
aggravating circumstance in cases where an internee is prosecuted for offences
committed during his escape.
The
Parties to the conflict shall ensure that the competent authorities exercise
leniency in deciding whether punishment inflicted for an offence shall be of a
disciplinary or judicial nature, especially in respect of acts committed in
connection with an escape, whether successful or not.
Article
122
Acts which
constitute offences against discipline shall be investigated immediately. This
rule shall be applied, in particular, in cases of escape or attempt to escape.
Recaptured internees shall be handed over to the competent authorities as soon
as possible.
In case of
offences against discipline, confinement awaiting trial shall be reduced to an
absolute minimum for all internees, and shall not exceed fourteen days. Its
duration shall in any case be deducted from any sentence of confinement.
The
provisions of Articles 124 and 125 shall apply to internees who are in
confinement awaiting trial for offences against discipline.
Article
123
Without
prejudice to the competence of courts and higher authorities, disciplinary
punishment may be ordered only by the commandant of the place of internment, or
by a responsible officer or official who replaces him, or to whom he has
delegated his disciplinary powers.
Before any
disciplinary punishment is awarded, the accused internee shall be given precise
information regarding the offences of which he is accused, and given an
opportunity of explaining his conduct and of defending himself. He shall be
permitted, in particular, to call witnesses and to have recourse, if necessary,
to the services of a qualified interpreter. The decision shall be announced in
the presence of the accused and of a member of the Internee Committee.
The period
elapsing between the time of award of a disciplinary punishment and its
execution shall not exceed one month.
When an
internee is awarded a further disciplinary punishment, a period of at least
three days shall elapse between the execution of any two of the punishments, if
the duration of one of these is ten days or more.
A record
of disciplinary punishments shall be maintained by the commandant of the place
of internment and shall be open to inspection by representatives of the
Protecting Power.
Article
124
Internees
shall not in any case be transferred to penitentiary establishments (prisons,
penitentiaries, convict prisons, etc.) to undergo disciplinary punishment
therein.
The
premises in which disciplinary punishments are undergone shall conform to
sanitary requirements; they shall in particular be provided with adequate
bedding. Internees undergoing punishment shall be enabled to keep themselves in
a state of cleanliness.
Women
internees undergoing disciplinary punishment shall be confined in separate
quarters from male internees and shall be under the immediate supervision of
women.
Article
125
Internees
awarded disciplinary punishment shall be allowed to exercise and to stay in the
open air at least two hours daily.
They shall
be allowed, if they so request, to be present at the daily medical inspections.
They shall receive the attention which their state of health requires and, if
necessary, shall be removed to the infirmary of the place of internment or to a
hospital.
They shall
have permission to read and write, likewise to send and receive letters.
Parcels and remittances of money, however, may be withheld from them until the
completion of their punishment; such consignments shall meanwhile be entrusted
to the Internee Committee, who will hand over to the infirmary the perishable
goods contained in the parcels.
No
internee given a disciplinary punishment may be deprived of the benefit of the
provisions of Articles 107 and 143 of the present Convention.
Article
126
The
provisions of Articles 71 to 76 inclusive shall apply, by analogy, to
proceedings against internees who are in the national territory of the
Detaining Power.
Chapter X
Transfers
of internees
Article
127
The
transfer of internees shall always be effected humanely. As a general rule, it
shall be carried out by rail or other means of transport, and under conditions
at least equal to those obtaining for the forces of the Detaining Power in
their changes of station. If, as an exceptional measure, such removals have to
be effected on foot, they may not take place unless the internees are in a fit
state of health, and may not in any case expose them to excessive fatigue.
The
Detaining Power shall supply internees during transfer with drinking water and
food sufficient in quantity, quality and variety to maintain them in good
health, and also with the necessary clothing, adequate shelter and the
necessary medical attention. The Detaining Power shall take all suitable
precautions to ensure their safety during transfer, and shall establish before
their departure a complete list of all internees transferred.
Sick,
wounded or infirm internees and maternity cases shall not be transferred if the
journey would be seriously detrimental to them, unless their safety
imperatively so demands.
If the
combat zone draws close to a place of internment, the internees in the said
place shall not be transferred unless their removal can be carried out in
adequate conditions of safety, or unless they are exposed to greater risks by
remaining on the spot than by being transferred.
When
making decisions regarding the transfer of internees, the Detaining Power shall
take their interests into account and, in particular, shall not do anything to
increase the difficulties of repatriating them or returning them to their own
s.
Article
128
In the
event of transfer, internees shall be officially advised of their departure and
of their new postal address. Such notification shall be given in time for them
to pack their luggage and inform their next of kin.
They shall
be allowed to take with them their personal effects, and the correspondence and
parcels which have arrived for them. The weight of such baggage may be limited
if the conditions of transfer so require, but in no case to less than
twenty-five kilograms per internee.
Mail and
parcels addressed to their former place of internment shall be forwarded to
them without delay.
The
commandant of the place of internment shall take, in agreement with the
Internee Committee, any measures needed to ensure the transport of the
internees' community property and of the luggage the internees are unable to
take with them in consequence of restrictions imposed by virtue of the second
paragraph.
Chapter XI
Deaths
Article
129
The wills
of internees shall be received for safe-keeping by the responsible authorities;
and in the event of the death of an internee his will shall be transmitted
without delay to a person whom he has previously designated.
Deaths of
internees shall be certified in every case by a doctor, and a death certificate
shall be made out, showing the causes of death and the conditions under which
it occurred.
An
official record of the death, duly registered, shall be drawn up in accordance
with the procedure relating thereto in force in the territory where the place
of internment is situated, and a duly certified copy of such record shall be
transmitted without delay to the Protecting Power as well as to the Central
Agency referred to in Article 140.
Article 130
The
detaining authorities shall ensure that internees who die while interned are
honourably buried, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which
they belonged, and that their graves are respected, properly maintained, and
marked in such a way that they can always be recognized.
Deceased
internees shall be buried in individual graves unless unavoidable circumstances
require the use of collective graves. Bodies may be cremated only for
imperative reasons of hygiene, on account of the religion of the deceased or in
accordance with his expressed wish to this effect. In case of cremation, the
fact shall be stated and the reasons given in the death certificate of the
deceased. The ashes shall be retained for safe-keeping by the detaining authorities
and shall be transferred as soon as possible to the next of kin on their
request.
As soon as
circumstances permit, and not later than the close of hostilities, the
Detaining Power shall forward lists of graves of deceased internees to the
Powers on whom the deceased internees depended, through the Information Bureaux
provided for in Article 136. Such lists shall include all particulars necessary
for the identification of the deceased internees, as well as the exact location
of their graves.
Article 131
Every
death or serious injury of an internee, caused or suspected to have been caused
by a sentry, another internee or any other person, as well as any death the
cause of which is unknown, shall be immediately followed by an official enquiry
by the Detaining Power.
A
communication on this subject shall be sent immediately to the Protecting
Power. The evidence of any witnesses shall be taken, and a report including
such evidence shall be prepared and forwarded to the said Protecting power.
If the
enquiry indicates the guilt of one or more persons, the Detaining Power shall
take all necessary steps to ensure the prosecution of the person or persons
responsible.
Chapter
XII
Release,
repatriation and accommodation in neutral countries
Article
132
Each interned
person shall be released by the Detaining Power as soon as the reasons which
necessitated his internment no longer exist.
The
Parties to the conflict shall, moreover, endeavour during the course of
hostilities, to conclude agreements for the release, the repatriation, the
return to places of residence or the accommodation in a neutral country of
certain classes of internees, in particular children, pregnant women and
mothers with infants and young children, wounded and sick, and internees who have
been detained for a long time.
Article
133
Internment
shall cease as soon as possible after the close of hostilities.
Internees,
in the territory of a Party to the conflict, against whom penal proceedings are
pending for offences not exclusively subject to disciplinary penalties, may be
detained until the close of such proceedings and, if circumstances require,
until the completion of the penalty. The same shall apply to internees who have
been previously sentenced to a punishment depriving them of liberty.
By
agreement between the Detaining Power and the Powers concerned, committees may
be set up after the close of hostilities, or of the occupation of territories,
to search for dispersed internees.
Article
134
The High
Contracting Parties shall endeavour, upon the close of hostilities or
occupation, to ensure the return of all internees to their last place of
residence, or to facilitate their repatriation.
Article
135
The
Detaining Power shall bear the expense of returning released internees to the places
where they were residing when interned, or, if it took them into custody while
they were in transit or on the high seas, the cost of completing their journey
or of their return to their point of departure.
Where a
Detaining Power refuses permission to reside in its territory to a released
internee who previously had his permanent domicile therein, such Detaining
Power shall pay the cost of the said internee's repatriation. If, however, the
internee elects to return to his country on his own responsibility or in
obedience to the Government of the Power to which he owes allegiance, the
Detaining Power need not pay the expenses of his journey beyond the point of
his departure from its territory. The Detaining Power need not pay the costs of
repatriation of an internee who was interned at his own request.
If
internees are transferred in accordance with Article 45, the transferring and
receiving Powers shall agree on the portion of the above costs to be borne by
each.
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.
Section V
Information
Bureaux and Central Agency
Article
136
Upon the
outbreak of a conflict and in all cases of occupation, each of the Parties to
the conflict shall establish an official Information Bureau responsible for
receiving and transmitting information in respect of the protected persons who
are in its power.
Each of
the Parties to the conflict shall, within the shortest possible period, give
its Bureau information of any measure taken by it concerning any protected
persons who are kept in custody for more than two weeks, who are subjected to
assigned residence or who are interned. It shall, furthermore, require its
various departments concerned with such matters to provide the aforesaid Bureau
promptly with information concerning all changes pertaining to these protected
persons, as, for example, transfers, release, repatriations, escapes,
admittances to hospitals, births and deaths.
Article
137
Each
national Bureau shall immediately forward information concerning protected
persons by the most rapid means to the Powers of whom the aforesaid persons are
nationals, or to Powers in whose territory they resided, through the
intermediary of the Protecting Powers and likewise through the Central Agency
provided for in Article 140. The Bureaux shall also reply to all enquiries
which may be received regarding protected persons.
Information
Bureaux shall transmit information concerning a protected person unless its
transmission might be detrimental to the person concerned or to his or her
relatives. Even in such a case, the information may not be withheld from the
Central Agency which, upon being notified of the circumstances, will take the
necessary precautions indicated in Article 140.
All
communications in writing made by any Bureau shall be authenticated by a
signature or a seal.
Article
138
The
information received by the national Bureau and transmitted by it shall be of
such a character as to make it possible to identify the protected person
exactly and to advise his next of kin quickly. The information in respect of
each person shall include at least his surname, first names, place and date of
birth, nationality, last residence and distinguishing characteristics, the
first name of the father and the maiden name of the mother, the date, place and
nature of the action taken with regard to the individual, the address at which
correspondence may be sent to him and the name and address of the person to be
informed.
Likewise,
information regarding the state of health of internees who are seriously ill or
seriously wounded shall be supplied regularly and if possible every week.
Article
139
Each
national Information Bureau shall, furthermore, be responsible for collecting
all personal valuables left by protected persons mentioned in Article 136, in
particular those who have been repatriated or released, or who have escaped or
died; it shall forward the said valuables to those concerned, either direct,
or, if necessary, through the Central Agency. Such articles shall be sent by
the Bureau in sealed packets which shall be accompanied by statements giving
clear and full identity particulars of the person to whom the articles
belonged, and by a complete list of the contents of the parcel. Detailed
records shall be maintained of the receipt and despatch of all such valuables.
Article
140
A Central
Information Agency for protected persons, in particular for internees, shall be
created in a neutral country. The International Committee of the Red Cross
shall, if it deems necessary, propose to the Powers concerned the organization
of such an Agency, which may be the same as that provided for in Article 123 of
the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August
12, 1949.
The
function of the Agency shall be to collect all information of the type set
forth in Article 136 which it may obtain through official or private channels
and to transmit it as rapidly as possible to the countries of origin or of
residence of the persons concerned, except in cases where such transmissions
might be detrimental to the persons whom the said information concerns, or to
their relatives. It shall receive from the Parties to the conflict all
reasonable facilities for effecting such transmissions.
The High
Contracting Parties, and in particular those whose nationals benefit by the
services of the Central Agency, are requested to give the said Agency the
financial aid it may require.
The
foregoing provisions shall in no way be interpreted as restricting the
humanitarian activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross and of
the relief Societies described in Article 142.
Article
141
The
national Information Bureaux and the Central Information Agency shall enjoy
free postage for all mail, likewise the exemptions provided for in Article 110,
and further, so far as possible, exemption from telegraphic charges or, at
least, greatly reduced rates.
Part IV
EXECUTION
OF THE CONVENTION
Section I
General
provisions
Article
142
Subject to
the measures which the Detaining Powers may consider essential to ensure their
security or to meet any other reasonable need, the representatives of religious
organizations, relief societies, or any other organizations assisting the
protected persons, shall receive from these Powers, for themselves or their
duly accredited agents, all facilities for visiting the protected persons, for
distributing relief supplies and material from any source, intended for
educational, recreational or religious purposes, or for assisting them in
organizing their leisure time within the places of internment. Such societies
or organizations may be constituted in the territory of the Detaining Power, or
in any other country, or they may have an international character.
The
Detaining Power may limit the number of societies and organizations whose
delegates are allowed to carry out their activities in its territory and under
its supervision, on condition, however, that such limitation shall not hinder
the supply of effective and adequate relief to all protected persons.
The
special position of the International Committee of the Red Cross in this field
shall be recognized and respected at all times.
Article
143
Representatives
or delegates of the Protecting Powers shall have permission to go to all places
where protected persons are, particularly to places of internment, detention
and work.
They shall
have access to all premises occupied by protected persons and shall be able to
interview the latter without witnesses, personally or through an interpreter.
Such
visits may not be prohibited except for reasons of imperative military
necessity, and then only as an exceptional and temporary measure Their duration
and frequency shall not be restricted.
Such
representatives and delegates shall have full liberty to select the places they
wish to visit. The Detaining or Occupying Power, the Protecting Power and when
occasion arises the Power of origin of the persons to be visited, may agree
that compatriots of the internees shall be permitted to participate in the
visits.
The
delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross shall also enjoy the
above prerogatives. The appointment of such delegates shall be submitted to the
approval of the Power governing the territories where they will carry out their
duties.
Article
144
The High
Contracting Parties undertake, in time of peace as in time of war, to
disseminate the text of the present Convention as widely as possible in their
respective countries, and, in particular, to include the study thereof in their
programmes of military and, if possible, civil instruction, so that the
principles thereof may become known to the entire population.
Any
civilian, military, police or other authorities, who in time of war assume
responsibilities in respect of protected persons, must possess the text of the
Convention and be specially instructed as to its provisions.
Article
145
The High
Contracting Parties shall communicate to one another through the Swiss Federal
Council and, during hostilities, through the Protecting Powers, the official
translations of the present Convention, as well as the laws and regulations
which they may adopt to ensure the application thereof.
Article
146
The High
Contracting Parties undertake to enact any legislation necessary to provide
effective penal sanctions for persons committing, or ordering to be committed,
any of the grave breaches of the present Convention defined in the following
Article.
Each High
Contracting Party shall be under the obligation to search for persons alleged
to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, such grave breaches, and
shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own
courts. It may also, if it prefers, and in accordance with the provisions of
its own legislation, hand such persons over for trial to another High
Contracting Party concerned, provided such High Contracting Party has made out
a prima facie case.
Each High
Contracting Party shall take measures necessary for the suppression of all acts
contrary to the provisions of the present Convention other than the grave
breaches defined in the following Article.
In all
circumstances, the accused persons shall benefit by safeguards of proper trial
and defence, which shall not be less favourable than those provided by Article
105 and those following of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of
Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949.
Article
147
Grave
breaches to which the preceding Article relates shall be those involving any of
the following acts, if committed against persons or property protected by the
present Convention: wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including
biological experiments, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to
body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a
protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a
hostile Power, or wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair
and regular trial prescribed in the present Convention, taking of hostages and
extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military
necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.
Article
148
No High
Contracting Party shall be allowed to absolve itself or any other High
Contracting Party of any liability incurred by itself or by another High
Contracting Party in respect of breaches referred to in the preceding Article.
Article
149
At the
request of a Party to the conflict, an enquiry shall be instituted, in a manner
to be decided between the interested Parties, concerning any alleged violation
of the Convention.
If
agreement has not been reached concerning the procedure for the enquiry, the
Parties should agree on the choice of an umpire who will decide upon the
procedure to be followed.
Once the
violation has been established, the Parties to the conflict shall put an end to
it and shall repress it with the least possible delay.
Section II
Final
provisions
Article
150
The
present Convention is established in English and in French. Both texts are
equally authentic.
The Swiss
Federal Council shall arrange for official translations of the Convention to be
made in the Russian and Spanish languages.
Article
151
The present
Convention, which bears the date of this day, is open to signature until
February 12, 1950, in the name of the Powers represented at the Conference
which opened at Geneva on April 21, 1949.
Article
152
The
present Convention shall be ratified as soon as possible and the ratifications
shall be deposited at Berne.
A record
shall be drawn up of the deposit of each instrument of ratification and
certified copies of this record shall be transmitted by the Swiss Federal
Council to all the Powers in whose name the Convention has been signed, or
whose accession has been notified.
Article
153
The
present Convention shall come into force six months after not less than two
instruments of ratification have been deposited.
Thereafter,
it shall come into force for each High Contracting Party six months after the
deposit of the instrument of ratification.
Article
154
In the
relations between the Powers who are bound by The Hague Conventions respecting
the Laws and Customs of War on Land, whether that of 29 July, 1899, or that of
18 October, 1907, and who are parties to the present Convention, this last
Convention shall be supplementary to Sections II and III of the Regulations
annexed to the above-mentioned Conventions of The Hague.
Article
155
From the
date of its coming into force, it shall be open to any Power in whose name the
present Convention has not been signed, to accede to this Convention.
Article
156
Accessions
shall be notified in writing to the Swiss Federal Council, and shall take
effect six months after the date on which they are received.
The Swiss
Federal Council shall communicate the accessions to all the Powers in whose
name the Convention has been signed, or whose accession has been notified.
Article
157
The
situations provided for in Articles 2 and 3 shall give immediate effect to
ratifications deposited and accessions notified by the Parties to the conflict
before or after the beginning of hostilities or occupation. The Swiss Federal
Council shall communicate by the quickest method any ratifications or
accessions received from Parties to the conflict.
Article
158
Each of
the High Contracting Parties shall be at liberty to denounce the present
Convention.
The
denunciation shall be notified in writing to the Swiss Federal Council, which
shall transmit it to the Governments of all the High Contracting Parties.
The
denunciation shall take effect one year after the notification thereof has been
made to the Swiss Federal Council. However, a denunciation of which
notification has been made at a time when the denouncing Power is involved in a
conflict shall not take effect until peace has been concluded, and until after
operations connected with the release, repatriation and re-establishment of the
persons protected by the present Convention have been terminated.
The
denunciation shall have effect only in respect of the denouncing Power. It
shall in no way impair the obligations which the Parties to the conflict shall
remain bound to fulfil by virtue of the principles of the law of nations, as they
result from the usages established among civilized peoples, from the laws of
humanity and the dictates of the public conscience.
Article
159
The Swiss
Federal Council shall register the present Convention with the Secretariat of
the United Nations. The Swiss Federal Council shall also inform the Secretariat
of the United Nations of all ratifications, accessions and denunciations
received by it with respect to the present Convention.
In witness
whereof the undersigned, having deposited their respective full powers, have
signed the present Convention.
Done at
Geneva this twelfth day of August 1949, in the English and French languages.
The original shall be deposited in the Archives of the Swiss Confederation. The
Swiss Federal Council shall transmit certified copies thereof to each of the
signatory and acceding States.
ANNEX I
Draft
agreement relating to hospital and safety zones and localities
Article I
Hospital
and safety zones shall be strictly reserved for the persons mentioned in
Article 23 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of
the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of 12 August, 1949, and in
Article 14 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian
Persons in Time of War of 12 August, 1949, and for the personnel entrusted with
the organization and administration of these zones and localities and with the
care of the persons therein assembled.
Nevertheless,
persons whose permanent residence is within such zones shall have the right to
stay there.
Article 2
No persons
residing, in whatever capacity, in a hospital and safety zone shall perform any
work, either within or without the zone, directly connected with military
operations or the production of war material.
Article 3
The Power
establishing a hospital and safety zone shall take all necessary measures to
prohibit access to all persons who have no right of residence or entry therein.
Article 4
Hospital
and safety zones shall fulfil the following conditions:
(a) They
shall comprise only a small part of the territory governed by the Power which
has established them.
(b) They
shall be thinly populated in relation to the possibilities of accommodation.
(c) They
shall be far removed and free from all military objectives, or large industrial
or administrative establishments.
(d) They
shall not be situated in areas which, according to every probability, may
become important for the conduct of the war.
Article 5
Hospital
and safety zones shall be subject to the following obligations:
(a) The
lines of communication and means of transport which they possess shall not be
used for the transport of military personnel or material, even in transit.
(b) They
shall in no case be defended by military means.
Article 6
Hospital
and safety zones shall be marked by means of oblique red bands on a white
ground, placed on the buildings and outer precincts.
Zones
reserved exclusively for the wounded and sick may be marked by means of the Red
Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) emblem on a white ground.
They may
be similarly marked at night by means of appropriate illumination.
Article 7
The Powers
shall communicate to all the High Contracting Parties in peacetime or on the
outbreak of hostilities, a list of the hospital and safety zones in the
territories governed by them. They shall also give notice of any new zones set
up during hostilities.
As soon as
the adverse Party has received the above-mentioned notification, the zone shall
be regularly established.
If,
however, the adverse Party considers that the conditions of the present
agreement have not been fulfilled, it may refuse to recognize the zone by
giving immediate notice thereof to the Party responsible for the said zone, or
may make its recognition of such zone dependent upon the institution of the
control provided for in Article 8.
Article 8
Any Power
having recognized one or several hospital and safety zones instituted by the
adverse Party shall be entitled to demand control by one or more Special
Commissions, for the purpose of ascertaining if the zones fulfil the conditions
and obligations stipulated in the present agreement.
For this
purpose, members of the Special Commissions shall at all times have free access
to the various zones and may even reside there permanently. They shall be given
all facilities for their duties of inspection.
Article 9
Should the
Special Commissions note any facts which they consider contrary to the
stipulations of the present agreement, they shall at once draw the attention of
the Power governing the said zone to these facts, and shall fix a time limit of
five days within which the matter should be rectified. They shall duly notify
the Power who has recognized the zone.
If, when
the time limit has expired, the Power governing the zone has not complied with
the warning, the adverse Party may declare that it is no longer bound by the
present agreement in respect of the said zone.
Article 10
Any Power
setting up one or more hospital and safety zones, and the adverse Parties to
whom their existence has been notified, shall nominate or have nominated by the
Protecting Powers or by other neutral Powers, persons eligible to be members of
the Special Commissions mentioned in Articles 8 and 9.
Article 11
In no
circumstances may hospital and safety zones be the object of attack. They shall
be protected and respected at all times by the Parties to the conflict.
Article 12
In the
case of occupation of a territory, the hospital and safety zones therein shall
continue to be respected and utilized as such.
Their
purpose may, however, be modified by the Occupying Power, on condition that all
measures are taken to ensure the safety of the persons accommodated.
Article 13
The
present agreement shall also apply to localities which the Powers may utilize
for the same purposes as hospital and safety zones.
ANNEX II
Draft
regulations concerning collective relief
Article 1
The
Internee Committees shall be allowed to distribute collective relief shipments
for which they are responsible, to all internees who are dependent for
administration on the said Committee's place of internment, including those
internees who are in hospitals, or in prisons or other penitentiary
establishments.
Article 2
The
distribution of collective relief shipments shall be effected in accordance
with the instructions of the donors and with a plan drawn up by the Internee
Committees. The issue of medical stores shall, however, be made for preference
in agreement with the senior medical officers, and the latter may, in hospitals
and infirmaries, waive the said instructions, if the needs of their patients so
demand. Within the limits thus defined, the distribution shall always be
carried out equitably.
Article 3
Members of
Internee Committees shall be allowed to go to the railway stations or other
points of arrival of relief supplies near their places of internment so as to
enable them to verify the quantity as well as the quality of the goods received
and to make out detailed reports thereon for the donors.
Article 4
Internee
Committees shall be given the facilities necessary for verifying whether the
distribution of collective relief in all subdivisions and annexes of their
places of internment has been carried out in accordance with their
instructions.
Article 5
Internee
Committees shall be allowed to complete, and to cause to be completed by
members of the Internee Committees in labour detachments or by the senior
medical officers of infirmaries and hospitals, forms or questionnaires intended
for the donors, relating to collective relief supplies (distribution,
requirements, quantities, etc.). Such forms and questionnaires, duly completed,
shall be forwarded to the donors without delay.
Article 6
In order
to secure the regular distribution of collective relief supplies to the
internees in their place of internment, and to meet any needs that may arise
through the arrival of fresh parties of internees, the Internee Committees
shall be allowed to create and maintain sufficient reserve stocks of collective
relief. For this purpose, they shall have suitable warehouses at their
disposal; each warehouse shall be provided with two locks, the Internee
Committee holding the keys of one lock, and the commandant of the place of
internment the keys of the other.
Article 7
The High
Contracting Parties, and the Detaining Powers in particular, shall, so far as
is in any way possible and subject to the regulations governing the food supply
of the population, authorize purchases of goods to be made in their territories
for the distribution of collective relief to the internees. They shall likewise
facilitate the transfer of funds and other financial measures of a technical or
administrative nature taken for the purpose of making such purchases.
Article 8
The foregoing provisions shall not constitute an obstacle to the right of internees to receive collective relief before their arrival in a place of internment or in the course of their transfer, nor to the possibility of representatives of the Protecting Power, or of the International Committee of the Red Cross or any other humanitarian organization giving assistance to internees and responsible for forwarding such supplies, ensuring the distribution thereof to the recipients by any other means they may deem suitable.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/article/other/57jmfj.htm
The Protection of Women in International
Humanitarian Law
31-12-1985
Article, International Review of the Red Cross, No. 249, by Françoise Krill
Introduction
Since the
number of women who actually participated in war was insignificant until the
outbreak of World War 1, the need for special protection for them was not felt
prior to that time. This does not imply however that women had previously
lacked any protection. From the birth of international humanitarian law, they
had had the same general legal protection as men. If they were wounded, women
were protected by the provisions of the 1864 Geneva Convention for the
Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field; if they
became prisoners of war, they benefited from the Regulations annexed to the
Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 on the Laws and Customs of War on Land.[1 ]
From 1929
onward, women have enjoyed special protection under international humanitarian
law. In that year, the Powers which adopted the Geneva Convention relative to
the Treatment of Prisoners of War[2 ] sought to take into account a new
phenomenon: the participation of a relatively large number of women in the war
of 1914-1918. This international legal instrument contained two provisions of
particular interest: "Women shall be treated with all consideration due
to their sex" (Art. 3). "Differences of treatment between prisoners
are permissible only if such differences are based on the military rank, the
state of physical or mental health, the professional abilities, or the sex of
those who benefit from them" (Art. 4).
In World War
II, women participated in hostilities in greater numbers, although they did not
commonly bear arms. In addition, there were many more civilian victims than in
the earlier conflict. Of the 50 million persons killed, it was estimated that
26 million were in the armed forces while 24 million were civilians, including
many women. The adoption of new legal instruments taking such factors into account
was essential. The " Diplomatic Conference for the Establishment of
International Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War " ,
convoked by the Swiss Federal Council, depository of the Geneva Conventions,
met from April to August 1949 in Geneva and drew up four Conventions which were
adopted on 12 August of that year.[3 ] The Third Convention, relative to the
treatment of prisoners of war, and the Fourth Convention, relative to the
protection of civilian persons in time of war, contain some thirty articles of
special concern to women. These will be studied in detail in the next chapter.
In armed
conflicts which have taken place since the adoption of the four Geneva
Conventions of 1949, statistics indicate, more men and more women died than
during World War II. The proportion of civilians among the dead, in some
instances, was as high as 90%. These terrible totals were primarily a result of
new means and methods of warfare with indiscriminate effects. In addition, new
types of conflict developed between regular armies and guerrilla forces. In
such conflicts, it is difficult to distinguish combatants from civilians, which
renders civilians more vulnerable. In view of this new situation, the
Conventions had to be supplemented. The ICRC took the initiative and at the
conclusion of the " Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and
Development of International Humanitarian Law " (1974-1977), the
Additional Protocols were adopted in 1977. These supplemented the Conventions
and thus offered better legal protection, primarily to the civilian population
and thus to women. In addition, the rules governing non-international armed
conflicts, contained in Article 3 common to all four Conventio ns, were
developed and expanded in Protocol II, applicable in these situations. The
provisions in these two instruments which give particular protection to women
are examined in the following pages of this paper.
PART I: THE
PROTECTION OF WOMEN IN THE GENEVA
CONVENTIONS
AND THEIR ADDITIONAL PROTOCOLS
The
Conventions and Protocols protect women both as members of the civilian
population not taking part in hostilities and also as combatants, fallen into
the hands of the enemy. We shall examine the various aspects of this protection
in the following paragraphs, giving particular emphasis to differentiated
treatment accorded to women in the light of the following principles.
I.
Principles
International
humanitarian law gives expression in law to the fundamental principle of the
equality of men and women, specifying this principle in clauses forbidding
discrimination. Articles 12 of the First and Second Conventions, 16 of the
Third Convention, 27 of the Fourth Convention and Article 75 of Additional
Protocol I and Article 4 of Additional Protocol II (referred to below as C.I,
C.II, C.III, C.IV, P.I and P.II) provide for treatment "without any
adverse distinction founded on sex... " It is also specified that
women "shall in all cases benefit by treatment as favorable as that
granted to men" (Article 14, C. III). This means that women are
entitled to all the rights and freedoms specified by the Conventions.
Accordingly, any discriminatory measure which does not result from the
application of the Conventions is prohibited. However, the prohibition of
discrimination is not a prohibition of differentiation. It is for this reason
that distinctions are prohibited only to the extent that they are unfavourable.
Equality could easily be transformed into injustice if it were to be applied to
situations which are inherently unequal and without taking into account
circumstances relating to the state of health, the age and the sex of protected
persons.
The principle
of equal treatment is extended by the further principle that "women
shall be treated with all the regard due to their sex" (Article 12,
C.I and C.II, Article 14, C.III). This particular regard is not legally
defined, but regardless of the status accorded to women, it covers certain
concepts such as physiological specificity, honour and modesty, pregnancy and
childbirth.[4 ]
International
humanitarian law makes particular reservations concerning the female sex in
various cases, either in general terms ( " without prejudice to the
provisions relating to their sex... " ) or in more specific terms
(separate dormitories, separate places of detention). One should not deduce
from this that the principle of differentiated treatment is not applicable in
cases where it is not specifically mentioned (protection against insults and
public curiosity, questioning, searches, food, clothing, intellectual,
educational and recreational pursuits, sports and games, labour, conditions for
transfer, prisoners'representatives, identification). An express reference
tends to strengthen the scope of the principle, rather than to limit its application,
and differentiated treatment is accorded to women even if it is not explicitly
mentioned.[5 ]
It would also
be wrong to draw conclusions about a lack of special protection through the
following examples. With respect to the labour of prisoners of war, the
principle of special treatment for women is referred to (Article 49, C. III),
while it is not in the case of women internees (Article 95, C. IV). As to the
searching of prisoners of war, differentiated treatment is not specifically
mentioned (Article 18, C. III), whereas it is in the case of a woman internee
(Article 96, C. IV). At the time of capture, a prisoner of war must be searched
immediately, for obvious reasons of security. It is not always possible under
these conditions to have a woman available to make the search, whereas in the
slower procedure of civilian internment this can be arranged. With respect to
work by civilian internees, this is optional and there is thus no need to refer
to the principle of differentiated treatment.
II.
Protection of women as members of the civilian population
Like all
civilians, women are protected both against abusive treatment by the Party to
the conflict in whose power she finds herself and against effects of
hostilities: "A civilian is any person who does not belong to the armed
forces" (Article 50, P. 1).
A.
Protection against abuses by the Party to the conflict into whose power women
have fallen
In an international
armed conflict , women are among the persons protected by the Fourth Geneva
Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war. Under
these conditions, they benefit from all the provisions which state the basic
principle of humane treatment, including respect of life and physical and moral
integrity, particularly forbidding coercion, corporal punishment, torture,
collective penalties, reprisals, pillage and the taking of hostages.
Furthermore, in the event of infractions committed in relation to the conflict,
women have the right to trial by an independent and impartial court established
by l aw respecting the generally recognized principles of judicial procedure.
In addition
to the general protection from which all civilians benefit, "women
shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in particular
against rape, enforced prostitution or any form of indecent assault"
(Art. 27, para 2, C. IV; Art. 75 and 76, P.I). This provision was introduced to
denounce certain practices which occurred, for example, during the last World
War, when innumerable women of all ages, and even children, were subjected to
outrages of the worst kind: rape committed in occupied territories, brutal
treatment of every sort, mutilations, etc. In areas where troops were stationed
or through which they passed, thousands of women were made to enter brothels
against their will... Acts against which women are protected by Art. 27, para
2, C. IV are and remain prohibited in all places and in all circumstances, and
women, whatever their nationality, race, religions beliefs, age, marital status
or social condition have an absolute right to respect for their honour and
their modesty, in short, for their dignity as women.[6 ]
The origin of
Art. 76, P. 1, entitled " Protection of women " , is the resolution
of the United Nations Economic and Social Council of April 1970 on " the
protection of women and children in time of emergency, war, struggle for peace,
national liberation and independence " which invites the U.N.
Secretary-General to give special attention to this problem.[7 ]
This provision
represents an advance for international humanitarian law as compared to Art.
27, para 2, C. IV, since it widens the circle of beneficiaries and also
constitutes a substantial extension of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights which does not contain particular provisions protecting
women.[8 ] In other words, the new rule refers to all women in the territ ories
of the Parties to the conflict. While protection covers nationals of States
which are not Parties to the Conventions and those of neutral and
co-belligerent States, it does not extend to nationals of a Party to the
conflict who are victims of offences against their honour committed on the
territory of that Party under circumstances which have no relation to the armed
conflict.[9 ]
In a non-international
armed conflict , women are protected by the fundamental guarantees
governing the treatment of persons not taking part in hostilities which are
contained in Article 3, common to all four Conventions. However, this article
does not provide special protection for women. Protocol II completes and
develops this provision. Its Article 4 expressly forbids "outrages upon
personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, rape,
enforced prostitution and any form of indecent assault ".
1.
Respect for preferential treatment of women
In an international
armed conflict, the situation of aliens in the territory of a Party to the
conflict continues to be regulated, in principle, by provisions concerning
aliens in time of peace. However, the state of war creates a situation which
will inevitably have repercussions on the standing of aliens and does not
always permit their previous status to be wholly maintained. Protected persons
are compelled to submit to various restrictions which, under these conditions,
affect the population as a whole. Even in case of war, however, the special
benefits accorded to pregnant women and mothers of children under the age of 7
years by national laws should be respected.
Countries at
war generally take some measures for the benefit of persons wh ose weakness in
one respect or another warrants special care. These measures are varied in
scope and application: they may cover the granting of supplementary ration
cards, facilities for medical and hospital treatment, special welfare
treatment, exemption from certain forms of work, protective measures against
the effects of war, evacuation, transfer to a neutral country, etc.[10 ] "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" (Art. 38, C. IV). Likewise, "The Occupying Power
shall not hinder the application of any preferential measures... 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" (Art.
50, C. IV).
2.
Interned women
General
A Party to an
international armed conflict is authorized by international law to take
strict control measures over protected persons, on the condition that its
security renders these measures absolutely necessary. A belligerent, for
example, may intern people if it has serious and legitimate reason to think
that they are members of organizations whose object is to cause disturbances,
or that they may seriously prejudice its security by other means, such as
sabotage or espionage.[11 ] In addition, an Occupying Power may charge
protected persons with infractions of penal laws which it has promulgated for
its own protection. Like other protected persons, women may be interned or
charged for carrying out acts endangering the security of the Occupying Power.
Special provisions are made in international huma nitarian law [12 ] for the
benefit of women in such situations.
Under the
terms of Protocol I, "Women whose liberty has been restricted for
reasons related to the armed conflict shall be held in quarters separated from
men's quarters. They shall be under the immediate supervision of women.
Nevertheless, in cases where families are detained or interned, they shall,
whenever possible, be held in the same place and accommodated as family
units" (Art. 75, para 5).
The Fourth
Convention states, "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. 85). This paragraph is a case of a
particular application of the general principle laid down in Article 27,
paragraph 2, concerning the respect due to women's honour.[14 ] For the same
reasons, "A woman internee shall not be searched except by a woman"
(Art. 97, para 4).
Protocol I
provides a further guarantee for the benefit of interned women: "They
shall be under the immediate supervision of women" (Art. 75, para 5).
With respect
to disciplinary penalties, the Fourth Convention also refers to the principle
of differentiated treatment, in general terms. "Account shall be taken
of the internees age, sex and state of health" (Art. 119). Women
accused of offences and those serving sentences "shall be confined in
separate quarters and shall be under the direct supervision of women"
(Arts. 76 and 124, C. IV and Art. 75, para 5, P.I).
There is
nothing to prevent the Detaining Power arranging for women a system of
disciplinary detention less harsh than that for men and in less uncomfortable
premises.[14 ] Such a distinction between the sexes is not regarded as contrary
to the general principle of international humanitarian law forbidding all
discrimination.
In
non-international armed conflicts, Protocol Il provides similar rules. It
specifies that women who are arrested, detained or interned "shall be
held in quarters separated from those of men and shall be under the immediate
supervision of women except when members of a family are accommodated
together" (Art. 5, para 2a). In the event that it is not possible to
provide separate quarters it is essential in any event to provide separate
sleeping places and conveniences. It should be noted that the foregoing
provisions refer both to civilians deprived of their freedom and to captured
combatants.[15 ]
Pregnant
women and maternity cases
In an
international armed conflict, these women benefit from supplementary
protection. Protocol I specifies that "pregnant women and mothers
having dependent infants who are arrested, detained or interned for reasons
related to the armed conflict, shall have their cases considered with the
utmost priority" (Art. 76, para 2). This is intended to make sure that
pregnant women are released as rapidly as possible.
In 1949, a
similar provision was included in the Fourth Convention urging the Parties "to
conclude agreements during the course of hostilities for the release, the
repatriation, the return to places of residence or the accommodation in a
neutral country of interned pregnant women" (Art. 132, C. IV). This
Article does not specify an obligation to reach such agreements but it does
constitute an urgent recommendation based on experience. During World War II,
numerous repatriations of internees took place by the belligerents. In this
connections emphasis should be laid on the role which can be played by the
Protecting Power or by the ICRC in suggesting and inspiring such agreements.
The Protecting Power is well placed, especially when it acts simultaneously on
behalf of both parties, to understand the deplorable seriousness of certain
situations. The argument of reciprocity can be invoked to further, and
sometimes even almost to compel, the conclusion of special agreements
concerning, for instance, exchanges of internees. Naturally, the International
Committee of the Red Cross can also play a role in this. It goes without saying
that the ICRC can and does on occasion play a similar role.[16 ]
This category
of women also benefits from other forms of differentiated treatment.
The Fourth
Convention provides that "expectant and nursing mothers in occupied
territories shall be given additional food, in proportion to their
physiological needs" (Art. 89). This clause was designed to avoid
deficiency diseases which would be particularly regrettable among these women,
as they would affect future generations.[17 ] Since internment is not a
punishment but a precautionary measure adopted in the interest of the Detaining
Power, it cannot be allowed to cause serious prejudice to the persons subjected
to it. " Thus, "maternity cases must be admitted to any
institution where adequate treatment can be given and shall receive care not
inferior to that provided for the general population" (Art. 91).
"Maternity
cases must not be transferred if the journey might be seriously detrimental to
them, unless their safety imperatively so demands" (Art. 127). As we
see, it is the safety of the internee which is decisive, not the military
situation. The latter concept, which existed in the 1929 Convention with
respect to sick and wounded prisoners of war, was too often interpreted as
granting permission to the Detaining State to transfer them when it appeared
that military operations might enable them to escape from its power.[19 ]
Mothers
of young children
Protocol I,
as in the case of expectant or nursing mothers, asserts that "mothers
having dependent infants who are arrested, detained or interned for reasons
related to the armed conflict shall have their cases considered with the utmost
priority" (Art. 76, para 2). The term " mothers having dependent
infants " has a wider meaning than " nursing mothers " , the
wording which had been previously proposed.[20 ] The authors of the Protocols
were unable to agree on the age when children cease to be dependent on their
mothers. Since various provisions in the Fourth Convention refer to mothers of
children under the age of 7 years (preferential treatment in Art. 50 and safety
zones in Art. 14), we can consider 7 years to be the age below which the
application of Art. 76, para 2 of Protocol I is imperative.
As in the
case of pregnant women and maternity cases, the Fourth Convention provides that
the Parties to the conflict shall endeavour during the course of hostilities
to conclude agreements for the release, the repatriation, the return to places
of residence or the accommodation in a neutral country of interned mothers of
young children (A rt. 132).
3.
Women and the death penalty
Nothing is
said about this subject in the Conventions. Protocol I makes up for this
deficiency, drawing inspiration from the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights which entered into effect on 23 March 1976. Its Art. 6, para
5, provides that a death penalty must not be executed on pregnant women. It was
not possible however for the authors of the Protocols to prohibit absolutely in
the event of an international armed conflict, the pronouncement of the
death penalty on pregnant women and the mothers of young children. Such a
prohibition would run counter to specific provisions in the national
legislation of a number of countries. Nevertheless, international humanitarian
law recommends that such pronouncements be avoided to the utmost possible
extent. With regard to the actual execution of the sentence, it was relatively
easy for the authors to agree to forbid the execution of pregnant women. The
fact is that many national legal codes which still provide for the death
penalty also recognize this restriction. The barbarous practice of postponing
an execution until the birth of the child has been abandoned almost
universally, both in law and in fact.[21 ] "To the maximum extent
feasible, the Parties to the conflict shall endeavour to avoid the
Pronouncement of the death penalty on pregnant women or mothers having
dependent infants, for an offence related to the armed conflict. The death
penalty for such offences shall not be executed on such women" (Art.
76, para 3, P.I).
In
non-international armed conflicts, Protocol II also makes up for the previous
absence of such a protective clause. The Protocol goes even farther than the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It specifies that "the
death penalty shall not be carried out on mothers of young children "
(Art. 6, para 4, P. II).
B.
Protection of women against the effects of hostilities
In an international
armed conflict , women as members of the civilian population benefit from
rules in international humanitarian law which impose limits on the conduct of
hostilities. These rules, whose sources go back to the Hague Conventions of
1899 and 1907 and which have to a great extent become a part of customary law,
are specifically reaffirmed and developed in Protocol I. They provide notably
that the Parties to a conflict "shall at all times distinguish between
the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and
military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against
military objectives" (Art. 48, P. 1).
In relation
to non-international armed conflict, the essential elements of these provisions
are also set forth, in simplified form. Article 13 of Protocol Il stipulates
that "the civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians,
shall not be the object of attack."
1.
Pregnant women or maternity cases
In an international
armed conflict, this category of women benefits from special protection.
Protocol I stipulates that "maternity cases and pregnant women, who
refrain from any act of hostility, shall enjoy the same general protection as
that accorded to the sick and wounded" (Art. 8).
Such women a
re not necessarily in need of medical care but their condition is such that
they may need such care rapidly.
The principle
of assimilating pregnant women or maternity cases to the sick and wounded was
already implicit in the Fourth Convention, which states, "The wounded
and sick, as well as the infirm and expectant mothers, shall be the object of
particular protection and respect" (Art. 16). It adds, "The
parties to the conflict shall endeavour to conclude local agreements for
removal from besieged or encircled areas of wounded, sick, infirm, and aged
persons, children and maternity cases... " (Art. 17).
Maternity
cases, along with the wounded, sick, and infirm, are among those whose
transport by land, sea or air must be respected and protected (Arts. 21 and
22).
2.
Pregnant women or maternity cases, nursing mothers and mothers of young
children
In certain
circumstances, nursing mothers and mothers of young children, in the event of
an international armed conflict , benefit from other forms of
differentiated treatment. Like other categories of the civilian population
whose relative weakness renders them incapable of strengthening the military
potential of their country, "expectant mothers and mothers of children
under seven may be placed in hospital and safety zones" (Art. 14, C.
IV), provided, of course, that they do not contribute directly to the war
effort.
With regard
to the shipment of relief for the civilian population, the Fourth Convention
provides for "the free passage of medical and hospital stores and
objects necessary for religions worship, along with special consignments of
essential foodstuffs, clothing and tonics for expectant mothers and maternity
cases" (Art. 23). That should be understood to mean basic foodstuffs,
necessary to the health and normal physical and mental development of the
persons for whom they are intended e.g. milk, flour, sugar, fats, salt.[22 ]
Additional
Protocol I constituted an undeniable advance in international humanitarian law
in comparison with Article 23 of the Fourth Convention, by enlarging the circle
of beneficiaries. The civilian population as a whole now has the right to
receive essential foodstuffs, clothing and tonics. This widening of the circle
was attended by a reminder that certain persons should have priority in the
distribution of relief. To pregnant women and maternity cases, a new category
was added, that of nursing mothers. These groups have the right at all times to
priority in receiving relief, in particular foodstuffs, clothing and tonics,
and to benefit from special treatment (Art. 70).
III.
Women taking part in hostilities
A.
Historical note
Participation
by women in hostilities is not a new development, for many of them have taken a
more or less active part in war throughout the centuries.[23 ] A great many
female canteen-keepers followed armies from the 17th to the 19th centuries to
sell food and drink to the soldiers. Other women, behind the front, devoted themselves
to the care of wounded soldiers. The image of the young English nurse Florence
Nightingale, bringing aid and comfort to soldiers in the Crimean War
(1854-1855), is unforgettable. Participation by women in hostilities remained
exceptional however until the 20th century.
It was only
in World War 1 that women began to take part in hostilities more systemati
cally. In Germany for example, though not directly incorporated into combat
units, women contributed to the war effort in World War 1. In addition to their
work in arms factories, they carried out numerous tasks close to the front, in
supply services and munitions depots. In March 1917, 67,877 women were
replacing men sent to the front.[24 ]
In England,
women also took part in that war, either as paid or unpaid civilians or
auxiliaries, 80,000 in female military units, the WAAC, WRNS and WRAF[25 ]
while others worked as nurses.
Russian
women, though in smaller numbers, took part in combat.[26 ]
In World War
II, women took a more active part in the hostilities. In Germany, from 1943
onward, more than a million women worked in arms factories, while 300,000
served as army reservists, with 20,000 in the navy and 130,000 in the air
force.[27 ]
In England,
at the end of 1943, female military units (ATS, WAAF and WRNS)[28 ] had a total
of 450,000 women, 9.37% of the country's armed forces. During the war, their
units had 624 dead, 98 disappeared, 744 wounded and 20 captured.[29 ]
Soviet women
participated directly in the fighting in World War II, in all services and
units, as snipers, riflewomen, air pilots, bombardiers, artillerists, etc. It
is estimated that about a million Soviet women took part in the fighting,
800,000 in the armed forces and 200,000 in resistance movements, constituting
8% of the total armed forces.[30 ]
French women
in World War Il did not commonly fight in the maquis, but performed many
services essential to the existence and survival of the resistance, providing
supplies, carrying out liaison missions, producing and distributing newspapers
and tracts, hiding and transporting arms, etc.[31 ]
B.
Status of women prisoners of war
Like men,
women who take part in hostilities are protected by international humanitarian
law from the moment they fall into the power of the enemy. It is essential for
them to be members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict if they are
to be considered as combatants entitled to the status of prisoners of war, once
captured.
The armed
forces of a Party to a conflict are recognized as such if they are organized
and placed under a command responsible to that Party for the conduct of its
subordinates, even if that Party is represented by a government or an authority
not recognized by an adverse Party. In addition, these armed forces must be
subject to an internal disciplinary system which, inter alia , enforces
compliance with the rules of international law applicable in armed conflicts.
In particular, this compliance requires combatants to distinguish themselves
from civilians, by a uniform or other distinctive sign, visible and
recognizable at a distance, or, at least, they must carry their arms openly
while taking part in an attack. Violation by a combatant of the rules
applicable in armed conflict is punishable but he is not deprived of his right
to the status of prisoner of war in case of capture. In case of doubt, this
status must be presumed, until the question has been decided by a competent
authority.[32 ]
The drafting
of women into the armed forces, as combatants, has generally been marginal up
to the present, with the Soviet Union as an exception. As we saw earlier, many
Soviet women took part in fighting during World War Il. With recognition of the
principle of equality of the sexes, at least in the western and socialist
countries, it is not excluded that women will participate in combat to a
greater extent in the event of new conflicts. We may note nevertheless that
Israel, the only country with compulsory military service for women, does not oblige
them to take part d irectly in combat. In case of war, women staff officers at
the battalion and brigade levels are withdrawn to the rear.[33 ]
On the other
hand, participation by women as non-combatant auxiliaries is relatively high.
In England and the Soviet Union, in World War II, they constituted about one
tenth of the total of the armed forces. They perform administrative functions,
serve as liaison agents and work in such branches as supplies, motor transport,
communications and air control.[34 ]
International
humanitarian law also extends the right to the status of prisoner of war to
those taking part in a levée en masse - the inhabitants of a
non-occupied territory which spontaneously take up arms at the approach of the
enemy to resist the invasion, without having had time to organize themselves -
if they carry their arm openly and respect the laws and customs of war. The
same right is accorded to various categories of persons who are not
combatants,
such as:
- persons
authorized to follow the armed forces without being directly part of them,
- crews of
the merchant marine and civil aviation;
- members of
military personnel serving in civil defence organizations.[35 ]
Women may
obviously be included in any of these categories.
There are
other persons who, although they are not given the status of prisoner of war in
the event of capture, nevertheless have the right to corresponding treatment.
They include:
- persons
arrested in occupied territory because they belong to the armed forces of the
occupied country;
- military
internees in a neutral country;
- members of
the non-combatant medical and religions personnel who are part of the armed
forces.[36 ]
The medical
personnel of the armed forces includes many women, nu rses in particular.
C.
Treatment of women combatants and prisoners of war
1.
General protection
Inasmuch as
women "shall in all cases benefit by treatment as favourable as that
granted to men" (Art. 14, C. III), they have the right to the same
protection. Among the numerous provisions in the Third Convention and the two
Additional Protocols, we shall refer only to the most important and note the
principles involved.
In an international
armed conflict , it is forbidden to declare that no quarter shall be given,
to threaten the adversary therewith and conduct hostilities on such a way that
there are no survivors. Furthermore, the enemy who is hors de combat, who
has surrendered or who shows his intention to surrender, as well as one who has
parachuted from an aircraft in distress, shall not be the object of attack.
In addition,
the Third Convention provides in general that prisoners of war must be treated
humanely at all times and it is forbidden to subject them to physical
mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments which are not justified by
the medical treatment of the prisoner concerned and which are not in his
interest.
It is
specified that prisoners of war shall not be unnecessarily exposed to danger
while awaiting their evacuation from a fighting zone.
Finally,
anyone who has taken part in the hostilities but has not been granted the
status of prisoner of war must in principle benefit from the provisions of the
Fourth Convention unless he is detained as a spy or saboteur (Art. 5,C.IV). In
the latter cases, such persons must never theless be treated humanely and must
benefit from the fundamental guarantees provided in Art. 75, P. I.[37 ]
In a non-international
armed conflict, captured combatants do not have the status of prisoners of
war but must benefit from the fundamental guarantees of Article 3 common to the
four Geneva Conventions and of Art. 4, P. Il.
2.
Special protection
Apart from
the general protection from which women benefit on the same basis as men, they
enjoy special protection resulting from the principles previously stated.
In
an international armed conflict , Protocol I specifies that "pregnant
women and mothers having dependent infants who are arrested, detained or
internedfor reasons related to the armed conflict, shall have their cases
considered with the utmost priority " (Art. 76, para 2). This is the
principle we considered earlier with respect to the protection of women as
members of the civilian population. The authors of the Protocol thus sought to
assure that pregnant women and mothers of young children would be released as
rapidly as possible.
A comparable
concern was the basis of a Model Agreement on direct repatriation and
accommodation in neutral countries of wounded and sick prisoners of war,
annexed to the Third Convention. This proposed agreement has two clauses of
particular interest to us:
1. Paragraph
7 of Section B provides for accommodation in neutral countries of women
prisoners of war who are pregnant or mothers with infants and small children.
2. Paragraph
3 f of Section A provides for repatriation in cases of normal pregnancy and of
prisoners suffering from chronic and seriou s gynaecological and obstetrical
disorders, when it is not possible to accommodate them in neutral countries.
The Third
Convention contains various provisions based on the principle in Article 14,
para 2, stipulating that "women shall be treated with all the regard
due to their sex" . Article 25, para 4 states that "in any
camps in which women prisoners of war, as well as men, are accommodated,
separate dormitories shall be provided for them ".
The
introduction of this paragraph was due to the presence of a number of women in
the armies of belligerents in World War Il. The interpretation that has been
given to this provision is that the separation must be effective, in other
words that male prisoners must not have access to the dormitories of women prisoners
whether or not the women consent. The Detaining Power is responsible for the
effective application of this provision. Strictly speaking, this paragraph
refers only to dormitories and the quarters as a whole need not necessarily be
separated; the Detaining Power is, however, at liberty to provide separate
quarters if it deems fit and in order more easily to fulfil the other
requirements of the Convention with regard to women prisoners.[38 ]
Furthermore,
under the terms of Article 29, para 2, "in any camps in which women
prisoners of war are accommodated, separate conveniences must be provided for
them ". The question of sanitary conveniences is of the utmost
importance for the maintenance of cleanliness and hygiene in camps. These
conveniences should be so constructed as to preserve decency and cleanliness
and must be sufficiently numerous. It goes without saying that the most
elementary rules of decency require that separate conveniences should be
provided for women prisoners of war.[39 ]
Art. 49, para
1, specifies that the Detaining Power "may utilize the labour of
prisoners of war who are physically fit, taking into account their age, sex,
rank and physical aptitude, and with a view particularly to maintaining them in
a good state of physical and mental health ". This is an instance of
the application of Art. 16 (See First Part, 1: Principles).
With regard
to penal and disciplinary penalties, the Third Convention is consistent with
the principle of equality of treatment.
The
Convention states that "a woman prisoner of war shall not be awarded or
sentenced to a punishment more severe, or treated whilst undergoing punishment
more severely, than a woman member of the armed forces of the Detaining Power
dealt with for a similar offence.
In
no case may a woman prisoner of war be awarded or sentenced to a punishment
more severe, or treated whilst undergoing punishment more severely, than a male
member of the armed forces of the Detaining Power dealt with for a similar
offence " (Art. 88, paras 2 and 3).
Other
provisions result from the principle of differentiated treatment. Articles 97
and 108 provide in particular that "women prisoners of war, undergoing
disciplinary or penal punishments, respectively, shall be confined in separate
quarters from male prisoners of war and shall be under the immediate
supervision of women".
Protocol I
has a rule analogous to that in Articles 25, 97 and 108 of the Third
Convention: "Women whose liberty has been restricted for reasons
related to the armed conflict shall be held in quarters separated from men's
quarters. They shall be under the immediate supervision of women"
(Art. 75, para 5).
In a
non-international armed conflict, Protocol I also specifies that women
arrested, detained or interned "shall be held in quarters separated
from those of men and shall be under the immediate supervision of women except
when families are united" (Art. 5, para 2, a). However, persons
captured do not have prisoner of war status.
PART Il: ICRC
ACTION IN FAVOUR OF WOMAN VICTIMS OF ARMED CONFLICTS
1.
Activity during World War Il
It must not
be forgotten that at the outbreak of this war only the prisoners of war were
under legal protection with respect to internment, thanks to the Geneva
Convention of 27 July 1929 relative to the treatment of prisoners of war.
Civilians had no legal protection in that respect, which did not facilitate
matters for the ICRC.
At the
beginning of the conflict, the ICRC had no occasion to intervene on behalf of
women prisoners of war, either because their treatment was in conformity with
the provisions of the Convention or because intervention was impossible.
On 2 October
1944, the Polish army of General Bor-Komorowski[40 ] laid down its arms. The
terms of the capitulation recognized the status of prisoners of war of all the
combatants who surrendered to the German forces, including the army's female
auxiliary personnel. Unfortunately, the German authorities did not respect
these clauses of the capitulation, and the ICRC delegates who visited the camps
where the women were held could do not hing but corroborate the complaints of
these prisoners: the overcrowding and discomfort of the quarters, the lack of
heat, clothing and food, the imposition of heavy work, etc. Upon making
representations to the German authorities, the ICRC received assurances that
there would be no more forced labour for the women auxiliaries and that they
would be interned in separate camps where they would receive treatment
appropriate to their sex and state of health. Despite these assurances, the
ICRC delegates did not observe any particular improvements in subsquent visits.
In view of
the importance of the problem, the ICRC on 9 January 1945 addressed a general
appeal to the German, British, French and American governments drawing attention
to Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention (see Introduction) and laying stress on
the appropriate differentiated treatment which should be accorded to women
prisoners of war.
The replies
of the American and French governments disclosed that only very few women
belonging to the German Army were in the hands of these Powers, and that such
prisoners were accommodated in special camps or in compounds set apart for them
in ordinary PW camps. These two governments further stated their intention to
repatriate women PWs without delay, beginning with expectant mothers and the
sick, and without making it a condition that the German Government should take
similar action. The repatriation of German women PWs was effected in part by
way of Switzerland; the Committee approached the Swiss authorities to allow
their passage through Swiss territory.
In February
1945, acting on a request from the Polish Red Cross in London, the ICRC began
negotiations to secure the accommodation in Switzerland of women prisoners from
General Bor-Komorowski's army. The German and Swiss governments had signified
their agreement in principle to the transfer when, with the fall of the Reich,
it became unnecessary.[41 ]
2.
ICRC activity after World War Il
Since 1949,
with the adoption of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the protection of
civilian persons in time of war, the ICRC has had legal grounds to act for them
as well as for prisoners of war. The activity of the ICRC in protecting and
assisting civilian populations has steadily increased in recent years as
conflicts have multiplied. Among the many tasks of protection carried out, some
repatriations deserve attention, to the extent that they shed light on the
special protection which benefits women victims of armed conflicts.
In Cyprus in
November 1974, the ICRC was active in transferring from the north to the south,
and vice-versa, various categories of especially vulnerable persons: the
wounded, sick, elderly, pregnant women and their children.
In June 1977,
after capturing the Bardai Oasis in northern Chad, the Frolinat movement
requested the intervention of the ICRC to evacuate various families of
prisoners of war from the combat zone. Due to numerous technical problems, and
a resumption of hostilities in the region, the operation was delayed and could
not take place until 5 December 1978. The wives of 15 prisoners and 22 children
were returned to the capital of Chad by the ICRC.
In Uganda in
1980, the ICRC made several approaches to the authorities asking them to
investigate the situation of civilian detainees and to release various
categories among them: minors, old and sick persons and women. This request was
granted by the authorities.
With respect
to assistance, women were among those who received priority in relief actions
undertaken by the ICRC for the benefit of civilian populations. Among these
actions were the following:
In Bangladesh
in 1972, many totally destitute Pakistani civilians, mostly women and children,
were refugees in a camp at Dacca. The ICRC gave them articles of most urgent
necessity, such as clothing, blankets, soap, cooking pots and powdered milk.
Following
disorders which broke out in February 1979 in the frontier zone between the
Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, many
civilians sought refuge in the central area of the Yemen Arab Republic. About
45,000 persons, among them a high proportion of women and children, benefited
from ICRC assistance.
The ICRC has
very often had occasion to act for the benefit of women deprived of their
freedom. Intervening at all levels, it has insisted upon differentiated
treatment for women, such as separate quarters and supervision by women, and
has drawn the attention of authorities to the cases of pregnant women and the
mothers of young children. To cite a few recent examples:
ICRC
delegates made visits twice a month to a number of women arrested in Lebanon,
until their release on 24 November 1983. Originally detained in Israel
following their capture in 1982, these women were transferred to southern
Lebanon in March 1983.[42 ]
At the
request of the ICRC, four young Iranian women, captured in October 1980, were
transferred by the Iraqi authorities to a prisoner-of-war camp, and were
subsequently released on 29 January 1984.
Both in
connection with conflicts and with internal disorders or tensions, ICRC
delegates continue to visit the following places of detention:
Union
of South Africa : Sections reserved for women in prisons in Pretoria and
Kroonstad.
Israel
: Women's prison at Neve Tirza.
Argentina
: Women's prison at Ezeiza.
Chile
: Several centres reserved for women, known as " Centro de orientacin
feminino " , in different parts of the country.
C olombia
: " Carceles de mujeres del Buen Pastor " at Cali, Medellin and
Popayn.
Paraguay
: " Casa del Buen Pastor " at Asuncin.
Peru
: Penal establishments for women at Arequipa, Cuzco and Lambayeque.
El
Salvador : Rehabilitation centre for women at Ilopango.
Uruguay
: " Punta rieles (EMR 2) " at Montevideo.
Conclusion
International
humanitarian law undoubtedly gives extensive protection to women. They benefit
not only from all the provisions which protect the victims of armed conflicts
in general. In addition, among the approximately 560 articles in the Geneva
Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977, about 40 are of
specific concern to women.
If women in
real life are not always protected as they should be, it is not due to the lack
of a legal basis. Despite adoption of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the two
Additional Protocols, women as members of the civilian population continue to
be the first victims of indiscriminate attacks against civilians, since the men
are usually engaged in the fighting. Article 27 of the Fourth Convention, which
provides special protection for women against any attacks on their honour and
in particular against rape, enforced prostitution or any form of indecent
assault, did not prevent the rape of countless women in the conflict in
Bangladesh in 1971, for example .43 This was one of the reasons why the authors
of Protocol I considered it necessary to repeat in Article 76, para 1, the
contents of the earlier article. The same rule is found again in Protocol Il.
Although these new provisions have been adopted, crimes against honour continue
to be committed, with women as the principal victims. We need only think of the
tragedy of the " boat people " , even though this is outside the
specific framework of armed conflicts. With particular regard to women deprived
of their freedom, the ICRC has found that women are in the greatest danger of
such assaults at the time of their arrest or capture and during the
interrogation which follows, assaults ranging from the threat of rape to obtain
" confessions " to the act itself.
The
international community will not succeed in remedying this situation merely by
adopting new rules. Most of all, it must see that the rules already in force
are respected. The responsibility to apply the provisions giving special
protection to women, and for that matter all the rules of international
humanitarian law, is a collective one. It rests first and foremost with the
States party to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols of
1977, which have undertaken to respect and ensure respect for these rules. The
ICRC can certainly also help to render the protection accorded to women more
effective through its own activities, whether by visiting women held as
prisoners of war or in civilian detention or internment, by providing material
assistance or by making enquiries into the whereabouts of missing persons.
Finally, the dissemination of knowledge of these rules by the National Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies, or by organizations such as the World
Veterans Federation, can strengthen the existing law. Every effort made in this
respect undoubtedly facilities the task of those who bear the prime
responsibility for the implementation of international humanitarian law, and
encourages the m in their endeavours.
Provisions
of international humanitarian law according special protection to women
Geneva Convention of 1929: Articles 3, 4
Geneva Conventions of 1949*
Convention 1: Articles 3, 12
Convention Il: Articles 3, 12
Convention Ill: Articles 3, 14, 16, 25/4, 29, 49, 88/2, 3, 97/4, 108/2
Convention IV: Articles 3, 14/1, 16, 17, 21, 22/1, 23/1, 27/2, 38/5, 5015,
76/4, 85/4, 89/5, 91/2, 97/4, 98/2, 119/2, 124/3, 127/3, 132/2
Additional Protocols of 1977
Protocol I: 8,a; 70/1; 75/1 and 5; 76
Protocol Il: 4/2,e; 5/2,a; 6/4
*"Index of the Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims of 12
August 1949", by Jiri Toman.
Provisions of international
humanitarian law according special protection to women
Geneva Convention of 1929: Articles 3, 4
Geneva Conventions of 1949*
Convention 1: Articles 3, 12
Convention Il: Articles 3, 12
Convention Ill: Articles 3, 14, 16, 25/4, 29, 49, 88/2, 3, 97/4, 108/2
Convention IV: Articles 3, 14/1, 16, 17, 21, 22/1, 23/1, 27/2, 38/5, 5015,
76/4, 85/4, 89/5, 91/2, 97/4, 98/2, 119/2, 124/3, 127/3, 132/2
Additional Protocols of 1977
Protocol I: 8,a; 70/1; 75/1 and 5; 76
Protocol Il: 4/2,e; 5/2,a; 6/4
*"Index of the Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims of 12
August 1949", by Jiri Toman.