Geneva Conventions#Enforcement

File:Geneva Conventions 1864-1949.svg

File:Herter - In the name of mercy give.jpg poster from the First World War]]

The Swiss businessman Henry Dunant went to visit wounded soldiers after the Battle of Solferino in 1859. He was shocked by the lack of facilities, personnel, and medical aid available to help these soldiers. As a result, he published his book, A Memory of Solferino, in 1862, on the horrors of war.{{cite book | last = Dunant | first = Henry | title = A Memory of Solferino | date = December 2015 | url = http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/publication/p0361.htm | access-date = 14 October 2011 | archive-date = 5 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305133509/https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/publication/p0361.htm | url-status = live }} English version, full text online. His wartime experiences inspired Dunant to propose:

• A permanent relief agency for humanitarian aid in times of war
• A government treaty recognizing the neutrality of the agency and allowing it to provide aid in a war zone

The former proposal led to the establishment of the Red Cross in Geneva. The latter led to the 1864 Geneva Convention, the first codified international treaty that covered the sick and wounded soldiers on the battlefield. On 22 August 1864, the Swiss government invited the governments of all European countries, as well as the United States, Brazil, and Mexico, to attend an official diplomatic conference. Sixteen countries sent a total of twenty-six delegates to Geneva. On 22 August 1864, the conference adopted the first Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field". Representatives of 12 states and kingdoms signed the convention:{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/States.xsp?xp_viewStates=XPages_NORMStatesParties&xp_treatySelected=120 |title=Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. Geneva, 22 August 1864 |publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC |location=Geneva, Switzerland |access-date=2017-06-11 |archive-date=1 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701220145/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/States.xsp?xp_viewStates=XPages_NORMStatesParties&xp_treatySelected=120 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last=Roxburgh |first=Ronald |title=International Law: A Treatise |publisher=Longmans, Green and co. |location=London |year=1920 |url=https://archive.org/details/internationall02oppe |access-date=14 July 2009 |page=707}}

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• {{flag|Swiss Confederation|size=x17px}}
• {{flag|Baden|variant=1862|name=Grand Duchy of Baden}}
• {{flag|Kingdom of Belgium}}
• {{flag|Kingdom of Denmark|civil|size=23px}}
• {{flag|Spain|name=Kingdom of Spain|variant=1874}}
• {{flag|Second French Empire|name=French Empire}}
• {{flag|Grand Duchy of Hesse|size=23px}}
• {{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}
• {{flag|Kingdom of the Netherlands}}
• {{flag|Kingdom of Portugal|name=Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves}}
• {{flag|Kingdom of Prussia|variant=1803}}
• {{flag|Kingdom of Württemberg}}

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For both of these accomplishments, Henry Dunant became co recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.{{cite book | last = Abrams | first = Irwin | title = The Nobel Peace Prize and the Laureates: An Illustrated Biographical History, 1901–2001 | publisher = Science History Publications | location = US | year = 2001 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ny77bPwKxaUC | access-date = 14 July 2009| isbn = 9780881353884 }}[http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/f00993 The story of an idea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531011224/https://www.icrc.org/en |date=31 May 2019 }}, film on the creation of the Red Cross, Red Crescent Movement and the Geneva Conventions

On 20 October 1868 the first unsuccessful attempt to expand the 1864 treaty was undertaken. With the 'Additional Articles relating to the Condition of the Wounded in War' an attempt was initiated to clarify some rules of the 1864 convention and to extend them to maritime warfare. The Articles were signed but were only ratified by the Netherlands and the United States of America.{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/States.xsp?xp_viewStates=XPages_NORMStatesParties&xp_treatySelected=125 |title=Additional Articles relating to the Condition of the Wounded in War. Geneva, 20 October 1868 – State Parties |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=23 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123151418/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/States.xsp?xp_viewStates=XPages_NORMStatesParties&xp_treatySelected=125 |url-status=live }} The Netherlands later withdrew their ratification.{{cite web |url=http://www.statengeneraaldigitaal.nl/document?id=sgd%3A18991900%3A0001263 |title=Kamerstukken II 1899/00, nr. 3 (Memorie van Toelichting) |author=Dutch Government |date=20 April 1900 |language=nl |format=PDF |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010101934/http://www.statengeneraaldigitaal.nl/document?id=sgd%3A18991900%3A0001263 |url-status=live }} The protection of the victims of maritime warfare would later be realized by the third Hague Convention of 1899 and the tenth Hague Convention of 1907.{{cite book | last = Fleck | first = Dietrich | title = The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | year = 2013 |isbn=978-0-19-872928-0 | page = 322}}

In 1906 thirty-five states attended a conference convened by the Swiss government. On 6 July 1906 it resulted in the adoption of the "Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field", which improved and supplemented, for the first time, the 1864 convention.{{cite book | last = Fleck | first = Dietrich | title = The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | year = 2013 |isbn=978-0-19-872928-0 | page = 22 and 322}} It remained in force until 1970 when Costa Rica acceded to the 1949 Geneva Conventions.{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=C64C3E521F5CC28FC12563CD002D6737&action=openDocument |title=Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field. Geneva, 6 July 1906 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=5 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305124900/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=C64C3E521F5CC28FC12563CD002D6737&action=openDocument |url-status=live }}

The 1929 conference yielded two conventions that were signed on 27 July 1929. One, the "Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field", was the third version to replace the original convention of 1864.{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=09DFB7A98E19533AC12563CD002D6997&action=openDocument |title=Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field. Geneva, 27 July 1929 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=17 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117173921/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=09DFB7A98E19533AC12563CD002D6997&action=openDocument |url-status=live }} The other was adopted after experiences in World War I had shown the deficiencies in the protection of prisoners of war under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. The "Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" was not to replace these earlier conventions signed at The Hague; rather it supplemented them.{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=0BDEDDD046FDEBA9C12563CD002D69B1&action=openDocument |title=Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 27 July 1929 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=17 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717222520/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=0BDEDDD046FDEBA9C12563CD002D69B1&action=openDocument |url-status=live }}{{cite book | last = Fleck | first = Dietrich | title = The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | year = 2013 |isbn=978-0-19-872928-0 | pages = 24–25}}

There was considerable debate over whether the Geneva Convention should prohibit indiscriminate forms of warfare, such as aerial bombings, nuclear bombings and starvation, but no agreement was reached on those forms of violence.{{Citation |last=van Dijk |first=Boyd |title=Indiscriminate Warfare: Bombing, Nuclear Weapons, and Starvation |date=2022 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198868071.003.0006 |work=Preparing for War |pages=197–252 |publisher=Oxford University PressOxford |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198868071.003.0006|isbn=978-0198868071 |url-access=subscription }}

Inspired by the wave of humanitarian and pacifistic enthusiasm following World War II and the outrage towards the war crimes disclosed by the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, a series of conferences were held in 1949 reaffirming, expanding and updating the prior Geneva and Hague Conventions. It yielded four distinct conventions:

• The First Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field" was the fourth update of the original 1864 convention and replaced the 1929 convention on the same subject matter.{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=4825657B0C7E6BF0C12563CD002D6B0B&action=openDocument |title=Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field. Geneva, 12 August 1949 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |quote=The undersigned Plenipotentiaries of the Governments represented at the Diplomatic Conference held at Geneva from April 21 to August 12, 1949, for the purpose of revising the Geneva Convention for the Relief of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field of July 27, 1929 [...] |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204221805/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=4825657B0C7E6BF0C12563CD002D6B0B&action=openDocument |url-status=live }}
• The Second Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea" replaced the Hague Convention (X) of 1907.{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=2F5AA9B07AB61934C12563CD002D6B25&action=openDocument |title=Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea. Geneva, 12 August 1949 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |quote=The undersigned Plenipotentiaries of the Governments represented at the Diplomatic Conference held at Geneva from April 21 to August 12, 1949, for the purpose of revising the Xth Hague Convention of October 18, 1907 for the Adaptation to Maritime Warfare of the Principles of the Geneva Convention of 1906 [...] |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204221805/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=2F5AA9B07AB61934C12563CD002D6B25&action=openDocument |url-status=live }} It was the first Geneva Convention on the protection of the victims of maritime warfare and mimicked the structure and provisions of the First Geneva Convention.
• The Third Geneva Convention "relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" replaced the 1929 Geneva Convention that dealt with prisoners of war.{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=77CB9983BE01D004C12563CD002D6B3E&action=openDocument |title=Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |quote=The undersigned Plenipotentiaries of the Governments represented at the Diplomatic Conference held at Geneva from April 21 to August 12, 1949, for the purpose of revising the Convention concluded at Geneva on July 27, 1929, relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War [...] |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204221831/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=77CB9983BE01D004C12563CD002D6B3E&action=openDocument |url-status=live }}
• In addition to these three conventions, the conference also added a new elaborate Fourth Geneva Convention "relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War". It was the first Geneva Convention not to deal with combatants. The 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions had already contained some provisions on the protection of civilians and occupied territory. Article 154 specifically provides that the Fourth Geneva Convention is supplementary to these provisions in the Hague Conventions.{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=AE2D398352C5B028C12563CD002D6B5C&action=openDocument |title=Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |quote=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 July 29, 1899, or that of October 18, 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. |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204221820/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=AE2D398352C5B028C12563CD002D6B5C&action=openDocument |url-status=live }}

File:Flag of the Red Crystal.svg]]

Despite the length of these documents, they were found over time to be incomplete. The nature of armed conflicts had changed with the beginning of the Cold War era, leading many to believe that the 1949 Geneva Conventions were addressing a largely extinct reality:{{cite book | last = Kolb| first = Robert| title = Ius in bello| publisher = Helbing Lichtenhahn | location = Basel | year = 2009 | isbn=978-2-8027-2848-1}} on the one hand, most armed conflicts had become internal, or civil wars, while on the other, most wars had become increasingly asymmetric. Modern armed conflicts were inflicting an increasingly higher toll on civilians, which brought the need to provide civilian persons and objects with tangible protections in time of combat, bringing a much needed update to the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907.

In light of these developments, two Protocols were adopted in 1977 that extended the terms of the 1949 Conventions with additional protections. In 2005, a third brief Protocol was added establishing an additional protective sign for medical services, the Red Crystal, as an alternative to the ubiquitous Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems, for those countries that find them objectionable.

The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. Commentary (The Commentaries) is a series of four volumes of books published between 1952 and 1958 and containing commentaries to each of the four Geneva Conventions. The series was edited by Jean Pictet who was the vice-president of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Commentaries are often relied upon to provide authoritative interpretation of the articles.{{Cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/05pdf/05-184.pdf |title=For example by the U.S. Supreme Court, see Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, Opinion of the Court, U.S. Supreme Court, 548 U.S. ___ (2006), Slip Opinion, p. 68, available at supremecourt.gov |access-date=11 July 2018 |archive-date=7 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207022617/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/05pdf/05-184.pdf |url-status=live }}

[[File:Parties to the Geneva Conventions.svg|thumb|upright=1.8|alt=A political map of the world|Parties to Geneva Conventions and Protocols

The Geneva Conventions are rules that apply only in times of armed conflict and seek to protect people who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities.

The first convention dealt with the treatment of wounded and sick armed forces in the field.{{cite journal|last=Sperry|first=C.|title=The Revision of the Geneva Convention, 1906.|journal=Proceedings of the American Political Science Association|year=1906|volume=3|pages=33–57|jstor=3038537|doi=10.2307/3038537}} The second convention dealt with the sick, wounded, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea.{{cite journal|last=Yingling|first=Raymund|title=The Geneva Conventions of 1949|journal=The American Journal of International Law|year=1952|volume=46|issue=3|pages=393–427|jstor=2194498|doi=10.2307/2194498|s2cid=146828573 }}{{cite book | last = Pictet | first = Jean | title = Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949: Commentary | publisher = International Committee of the Red Cross | year = 1958 | url = https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/Geneva_conventions-1949.html | access-date = 15 July 2009 | archive-date = 23 November 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211123115753/https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/Geneva_conventions-1949.html | url-status = live }} The third convention dealt with the treatment of prisoners of war during times of conflict.{{cite journal|title=The Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War|journal=The American Journal of International Law|year=1953|volume=47|issue=4|pages=119–177|jstor=2213912|doi=10.2307/2213912|s2cid=154281279 |url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2cac/f81d941f36b1196e36e5cc3d740c51f8c346.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224140541/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2cac/f81d941f36b1196e36e5cc3d740c51f8c346.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2021-02-24}} The fourth convention dealt with the treatment of civilians and their protection during wartime.{{cite journal|last=Bugnion|first=Francios|title=The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949: From the 1949 Diplomatic Conference to the Dawn of the New Millennium|journal=International Affairs|year=2000|volume=76|issue=1|pages=41–51|jstor=2626195|doi=10.1111/1468-2346.00118|s2cid=143727870 }}

Individuals who fulfill the criteria of protected persons in international armed conflicts are protected by the 1949 conventions. Those not listed as protected persons in such conflicts are instead protected by international human rights law and general treaties concerning the legal status of aliens in belligerent nations.

In international law and diplomacy the term convention refers to an international agreement, or treaty.

• The First Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field" (first adopted in 1864,{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=477CEA122D7B7B3DC12563CD002D6603&action=openDocument |title=Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. Geneva, 22 August 1864 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=26 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126072240/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=477CEA122D7B7B3DC12563CD002D6603 |url-status=live }} revised in 1906,{{cite web |url=http://www.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/INTRO/180?OpenDocument |title=Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field. Geneva, 6 July 1906 |publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=22 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222210023/http://www.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/INTRO/180?OpenDocument |url-status=live }} 1929{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=09DFB7A98E19533AC12563CD002D6997&action=openDocument |title=Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field. Geneva, 27 July 1929 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=17 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117173921/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=09DFB7A98E19533AC12563CD002D6997&action=openDocument |url-status=live }} and finally 1949);{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=4825657B0C7E6BF0C12563CD002D6B0B&action=openDocument |title=Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field. Geneva, 12 August 1949 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204221805/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=4825657B0C7E6BF0C12563CD002D6B0B&action=openDocument |url-status=live }}
• The Second Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea" (first adopted in 1949, successor of the Hague Convention (X) 1907);{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=2F5AA9B07AB61934C12563CD002D6B25&action=openDocument |title=Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea. Geneva, 12 August 1949 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204221805/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=2F5AA9B07AB61934C12563CD002D6B25&action=openDocument |url-status=live }}
• The Third Geneva Convention "relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" (first adopted in 1929,{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=0BDEDDD046FDEBA9C12563CD002D69B1&action=openDocument |title=Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 27 July 1929 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=17 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717222520/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=0BDEDDD046FDEBA9C12563CD002D69B1&action=openDocument |url-status=live }} last revision in 1949);{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=77CB9983BE01D004C12563CD002D6B3E&action=openDocument |title=Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204221831/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=77CB9983BE01D004C12563CD002D6B3E&action=openDocument |url-status=live }}
• The Fourth Geneva Convention "relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War" (first adopted in 1949, based on parts of the Hague Convention (II) of 1899 and Hague Convention (IV) 1907).{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=AE2D398352C5B028C12563CD002D6B5C&action=openDocument |title=Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949 |author=ICRC |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=4 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204221820/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=AE2D398352C5B028C12563CD002D6B5C&action=openDocument |url-status=live }}

With two Geneva Conventions revised and adopted and two added in 1949, the whole is referred to as the "Geneva Conventions of 1949" or simply the "Geneva Conventions". Usually only the Geneva Conventions of 1949 are referred to as First, Second, Third or Fourth Geneva Conventions. The treaties of 1949 were ratified, in whole or with reservations, by 196 countries.{{Cite web |title=United Nations Treaty Collection {{!}} Chapter IV: Human Rights |publisher=United Nations |work=treaties.un.org |date= |access-date=2023-11-28 |url= https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-1&chapter=4&clang=_en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231128205007/https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-1&chapter=4&clang=_en |archive-date=2023-11-28}}

The 1949 conventions have been modified with three amendment protocols:

• Protocol I (1977) relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts{{Cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201125/volume-1125-I-17512-English.pdf |title=treaties.un.org: "Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (Protocol I)" |access-date=13 July 2014 |archive-date=11 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111072429/https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%201125/volume-1125-i-17512-english.pdf |url-status=live }}
• Protocol II (1977) relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts[https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201125/volume-1125-I-17513-English.pdf treaties.un.org: "Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts (Protocol II)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214150852/https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201125/volume-1125-I-17513-English.pdf |date=14 December 2021 }}, consulted July 2014
• Protocol III (2005) relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem[http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/other_treaties/text.jsp?file_id=198213 "Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the adoption of an additional distinctive emblem (Protocol III)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010101931/http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/other_treaties/text.jsp?file_id=198213 |date=10 October 2017 }}, consulted July 2014

The Geneva Conventions apply at times of war and armed conflict to governments who have ratified its terms. The details of applicability are spelled out in Common Articles 2 and 3.

This article states that the Geneva Conventions apply to all the cases of international armed conflict (IAC), where at least one of the warring nations has ratified the Conventions. Primarily:

• The Conventions apply to all cases of declared war between signatory nations. This is the original sense of applicability, which predates the 1949 version.
• The Conventions apply to all cases of armed conflict between two or more signatory nations. This language was added in 1949 to accommodate situations that have all the characteristics of war without the existence of a formal declaration of war, such as a police action.
• The Conventions apply to a signatory nation even if the opposing nation is not a signatory, but only if the opposing nation "accepts and applies the provisions" of the Conventions.

Article 1 of Protocol I further clarifies that armed conflict against colonial domination and foreign occupation also qualifies as an international conflict.

When the criteria of international armed conflict have been met, the full protections of the Conventions are considered to apply.

This article states that the certain minimum rules of war apply to armed conflicts "not of an international character."{{cite web |title=Article 3--Conflicts Not of an International Character |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gci-1949/article-3 |website=icrc.org |publisher=ICRC |access-date=10 February 2023 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210163528/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gci-1949/article-3 |url-status=live }} The International Committee of the Red Cross has explained that this language describes non-international armed conflict (NIAC) "where at least one Party is not a State."{{Cite web|url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Comment.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=59F6CDFA490736C1C1257F7D004BA0EC|title=2016 Commentary on the Geneva Convention|last=ICRC|date=2016|website=ICRC|page=393|access-date=5 May 2017|archive-date=18 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518151221/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Comment.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=59F6CDFA490736C1C1257F7D004BA0EC|url-status=live}} For example, it would apply to conflicts between state forces and non-state actors (NSAs), or between two NSAs, or to other conflicts that have all the characteristics of war, whether carried out within the confines of one country or not.{{Cite web|url=https://www.icrc.org/en/document/geneva-conventions-1949-additional-protocols|title=The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols|last=ICRC|date=8 March 2016 }}

There are two criteria to distinguish non-international armed conflicts from lower forms of violence. The level of violence has to be of certain intensity, for example when the state cannot contain the situation with regular police forces. Also, involved non-state groups need to have a certain level of organization, like a military command structure.{{Cite web|url=https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/opinion-paper-armed-conflict.pdf|title=How is the Term "Armed Conflict" Defined in International Humanitarian Law?|last=ICRC|date=2008|access-date=12 May 2018|archive-date=1 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101193920/https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/opinion-paper-armed-conflict.pdf|url-status=live}}

The other Geneva Conventions are not applicable in this situation but only the provisions contained within Article 3, and additionally within the language of Protocol II. The rationale for the limitation is to avoid conflict with the rights of Sovereign States that were not part of the treaties. When the provisions of this article apply, it states that:{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Article.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=BAA341028EBFF1E8C12563CD00519E66 |title=Article 3 of Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field: Conflicts not of an international character. Geneva, 12 August 1949. |publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross |access-date=20 January 2021 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204150702/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Article.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=BAA341028EBFF1E8C12563CD00519E66 |url-status=live }}

{{blockquote|Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed {{Lang|fr|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:

• violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
• taking of hostages;
• outrages upon dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; and
• 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.
• The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.}}

During the negotiation of the Geneva Conventions, France and Britain were initially staunchly opposed to Common Article 3. However, to save face during negotiations and make strategic concessions, France and Britain deliberately introduced ambiguous language in the text of Common Article 3 that made it easy for states to avoid the obligations of the rule.{{Cite journal |last=Mantilla |first=Giovanni |date=2018 |title=Forum Isolation: Social Opprobrium and the Origins of the International Law of Internal Conflict |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-organization/article/abs/forum-isolation-social-opprobrium-and-the-origins-of-the-international-law-of-internal-conflict/7B634083006DC1A3802CFE2C3D41494A#.ZD6dBkA6JiI.twitter |journal=International Organization |language=en |volume=72 |issue=2 |pages=317–349 |doi=10.1017/S0020818318000097 |s2cid=158769783 |issn=0020-8183 |access-date=18 April 2023 |archive-date=18 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418134556/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-organization/article/abs/forum-isolation-social-opprobrium-and-the-origins-of-the-international-law-of-internal-conflict/7B634083006DC1A3802CFE2C3D41494A#.ZD6dBkA6JiI.twitter |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} As a consequence, Common Article 3 only concerns with humane treatment and does not deal with methods and means of hostilities,{{cite web|url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciii-1949/article-3/commentary/2020#_Toc44265090|title=Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949.: Commentary of 2020 - C. Paragraph 1: Scope of application of common Article 3 - Introduction|website=International Humanitarian Datebases|access-date=6 October 2023|archive-date=31 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331100130/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciii-1949/article-3/commentary/2020#_Toc44265090|url-status=live}} such as bombings committed by non-state armed groups or state forces against civilian targets in the Algerian War and the Troubles.

On 7 February 2002, President Bush adopted the view that Common Article 3 did not protect al Qaeda prisoners because the United States-al Qaeda conflict was "not of an international character."{{cite web |last1=Bush |first1=George |title=Humane Treatment of Taliban and al Qaeda Detainees |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/URLs_Cited/OT2005/05-184/05-184_2.pdf |access-date=10 February 2023 |archive-date=9 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109130700/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/URLs_Cited/OT2005/05-184/05-184_2.pdf |url-status=live }} The Supreme Court of the United States invalidated the Bush Administration view of Common Article 3, in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, by ruling that Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions applies to detainees in the "War on Terror", and that the Guantanamo military commission process used to try these suspects was in violation of U.S. and international law.Michael Isikoff and Stuart Taylor Jr. (17 July 2006), [https://web.archive.org/web/20060718003322/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13773997/site/newsweek/ "The Gitmo Fallout: The fight over the Hamdan ruling heats up – as fears about its reach escalate"]. Newsweek In response to Hamdan, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which President Bush signed into law on 17 October 2006. Like the Military Commissions Act of 2006, its successor the Military Commissions Act of 2009 explicitly forbids the invocation of the Geneva Conventions "as a basis for a private right of action."10 U.S.C. § 948a(e)

"... Common Article 3 continues the conventional practice (reflected in both the 'Lieber' and 'The Hague' provisions) of according humanitarian protections only to 'belligerents' who defer to the laws and customs of war: not to 'insurrectionists' who defy these norms from the very outset of hostilities. Observance of the rules of warfare is what elevates an 'insurrectionist' to the legally cognizable status of 'belligerent' under the 'International law of war'; nothing short of such an 'observance' suffices to effect this transformation from the infra legal to legal."{{cite book |last=Sumanatilake|first=P. Saliya|date=2023 |title=Addressing Some Contentious Issues In Criminal Justice Administration|location=Atlanta (Georgia), U.S.A.|publisher=Self Published via Amazon's K.D.P. ASIN B0BVQBVRDB|article=Non-cognisability of Rebels, Insurrectionists, Separatists or Terrorists under International Humanitarian Law |edition=Kindle }}{{Self-published source|date=April 2023}}

Whether the conflict is an IAC or a NIAC or both depends on the nature and circumstances of the situation. Since there is a general prohibition against the use of force between States (as is reflected within article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter) with respect to Common Article 2, it is generally presumed that any use of such military force which is governed by international humanitarian law (IHL) is attributable to deliberate belligerent intent.{{cite web|url=https://www.unodc.org/e4j/zh/terrorism/module-6/key-issues/categorization-of-armed-conflict.html|title=Categorization of an armed conflict|website=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime|access-date=3 August 2023|archive-date=3 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803004648/https://www.unodc.org/e4j/zh/terrorism/module-6/key-issues/categorization-of-armed-conflict.html|url-status=live}}

Regarding Common Article 3, the ICRC in its 2016 commentary stated the provision includes not just a conflict between territorial government forces and NSAs or NSAs themselves, but also a foreign military intervention against a NSA only if the territorial state consents to such intervention in its territory. Should the intervening country do so without the consent of the territorial state or in support of a NSA against that state, then Common Article 2 applies.{{cite web|url=https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-united-states-is-at-war-with-syria-according-to-the-icrcs-new-geneva-convention-commentary/|title=The United States is at War with Syria (according to the ICRC's New Geneva Convention Commentary)|author=Adil Ahmad Haque|date=8 April 2016|website=EJIL: Talk!|access-date=3 August 2023|archive-date=3 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803004648/https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-united-states-is-at-war-with-syria-according-to-the-icrcs-new-geneva-convention-commentary/|url-status=live}}

For example, the American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war became both an IAC with Syria and a NIAC with the Islamic State because the U.S. intervened in Syrian territory without the former's consent. On the other hand, Russia intervened in Syrian territory against the Free Syrian Army upon invitation by Syria, making Russia's participation subject only to Common Article 3 and therefore Protocol II (which Russia ratified on 29 September 1989).{{cite web|url=https://www.rulac.org/browse/conflicts/non-international-armed-conflicts-in-syria#collapse2accord|title=Non-international armed conflicts in Syria: Classification|website=Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project|access-date=3 August 2023|archive-date=3 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803004648/https://www.rulac.org/browse/conflicts/non-international-armed-conflicts-in-syria#collapse2accord|url-status=live}}

The U.S.-led NATO invasion of Afghanistan from October 7 to December 17, 2001 was initially an IAC because it waged war against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Once the new Karzai administration was established and recognized internationally, the conflict changed from an IAC to a NIAC, with NATO troops under International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Resolute Support Mission (RSM) auspices assisting the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with its consent in battling Taliban insurgents. In contrast, the Soviet–Afghan War was an IAC because the Soviet Union invaded the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) to remove Afghan communist leader Hafizullah Amin from power, then installed puppet leader Babrak Karmal, who "invited" Soviet troops to intervene against the Afghan mujahideen fighters.{{cite journal|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/72826821.pdf#page=27|last1=W.|first1=Reisman|last2=Silk|first2=James|title=Which Law Applies to the Afghan Conflict?|date=1988|page=485-486|journal=American Journal of International Law|volume=82|issue=3|doi=10.2307/2202961|jstor=2202961|s2cid=143610514|access-date=3 August 2023|archive-date=31 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731213302/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/72826821.pdf#page=27|url-status=live}}

While non-state armed groups are automatically presumed to engage in NIACs, they also can cross into the threshold of an IAC. The 2020 ICRC commentary on the Third Geneva Convention requires two elements for this classification: "the group must in fact fight on behalf of that Party" and "that Party must accept both the fighting role of the group and the fact that the fighting is done on its behalf." It further states that "[w]here a Party to a conflict has overall control over the militia, volunteer corps or organized resistance movement that has a fighting function and fights on the State's behalf, a relationship of belonging for the purposes of Article 4A(2)Third Geneva Convention, Article 4 exists."{{cite web|url=https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-united-nations-and-the-third-geneva-convention/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101012042/https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-united-nations-and-the-third-geneva-convention/|url-status=live|archive-date=1 November 2020|title=The United Nations and the Third Geneva Convention|author=Keiichiro Okimoto|date=26 October 2020|publisher=EJIL: Talk!}} For example, the Viet Cong was under effective control and direction by North Vietnam during the Vietnam War, therefore Common Article 2 solely applied to the conflict.{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3640|title=Aggression from North Vietnam -- U.S. State Department, Feb. 27, 1965|author=United States Department of State|website=Digital history}}{{cite web|url=https://alphahistory.com/vietnamwar/viet-cong/%7C|title=THE VIET CONG|publisher=Alpha History}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{See also|Protecting power}}

The term protecting power has a specific meaning under these Conventions. A protecting power is a state that is not taking part in the armed conflict, but that has agreed to look after the interests of a state that is a party to the conflict. The protecting power is a mediator enabling the flow of communication between the parties to the conflict. The protecting power also monitors the implementation of these Conventions, such as by visiting the zone of conflict and prisoners of war. The protecting power must act as an advocate for prisoners, the wounded, and civilians.

File:International Criminal Court logo.svg]]

Not all violations of the treaty are treated equally. The most serious crimes are termed grave breaches and provide a legal definition of a war crime. Grave breaches of the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions include the following acts if committed against a person specifically protected by the conventions:

• willful killing, torture or inhumane treatment, including biological experiments
• willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health
• compelling a protected person to serve in the armed forces of a hostile power
• willfully depriving a protected person of the right to a fair trial if accused of a war crime.

Also considered grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention are the following:{{cite web|title=How "grave breaches" are defined in the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols|date=27 June 2024|url=https://www.icrc.org/en/article/grave-breaches-defined-geneva-conventions|publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross|access-date=18 September 2024|archive-date=18 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918231508/https://www.icrc.org/en/article/grave-breaches-defined-geneva-conventions|url-status=live}}

• taking of hostages
• extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly
• unlawful deportation, transfer, or confinement.

Nations that are party to these treaties must enact and enforce legislation penalizing any of these crimes. Nations are also obligated to search for persons alleged to commit these crimes, or persons having ordered them to be committed, and to bring them to trial regardless of their nationality and regardless of the place where the crimes took place.{{cite web|title=Practice Relating to Rule 157. Jurisdiction over War Crimes|url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule157|website=International Committee of the Red Cross|access-date=30 January 2017|quote=Article 49 of the 1949 Geneva Convention I, Article 50 of the 1949 Geneva Convention II, Article 129 of the 1949 Geneva Convention III and Article 146 of the 1949 Geneva Convention IV provide: 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 [grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions], 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.|archive-date=23 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123060209/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule157|url-status=live}}

The principle of universal jurisdiction also applies to the enforcement of grave breaches when the United Nations Security Council asserts its authority and jurisdiction from the UN Charter to apply universal jurisdiction. The UNSC did this when they established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to investigate and/or prosecute alleged violations.

Soldiers, as prisoners of war, will not receive a trial unless the allegation of a war crime has been made. According to article 43 of the 1949 Conventions, soldiers are employed for the purpose of serving in war; engaging in armed conflict is legitimate, and does not constitute a grave breach.{{Cite web|title=Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries - Additional Protocol (I) to the Geneva Conventions, 1977 - 43 - Armed forces|url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/ART/470-750053?OpenDocument|access-date=2020-11-24|website=ihl-databases.icrc.org|archive-date=1 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201144713/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/ART/470-750053?OpenDocument|url-status=live}} Should a soldier be arrested by belligerent forces, they are to be considered "lawful combatants" and afforded the protectorate status of a prisoner of war (POW) until the cessation of the conflict.{{Cite journal|last1=III|first1=John B. Bellinger|last2=Padmanabhan|first2=Vijay M.|date=2011|title=Detention Operations in Contemporary Conflicts: Four Challenges for The Geneva Conventions and Other Existing Law|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5305/amerjintelaw.105.2.0201|journal=The American Journal of International Law|volume=105|issue=2|pages=201–243|doi=10.5305/amerjintelaw.105.2.0201|jstor=10.5305/amerjintelaw.105.2.0201|s2cid=229170590|issn=0002-9300|access-date=3 December 2020|archive-date=23 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123193719/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5305/amerjintelaw.105.2.0201|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}} Human rights law applies to any incarcerated individual, including the right to a fair trial.

Charges may only be brought against an enemy POW after a fair trial, but the initial crime being accused must be an explicit violation of the accords, more severe than simply fighting against the captor in battle.{{Cite book|title=Prisoner of war : rights & obligations under the Geneva Convention.|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiug.30112000632791?urlappend=%3Bseq=10|access-date=2020-11-24|via=HathiTrust| series=DoD GEN35 B | year=1987 | publisher=American Forces Information Service, Dept. of Defense | hdl=2027/uiug.30112000632791?urlappend=%3Bseq=10 |language=en}} No trial will otherwise be afforded to a captured soldier, as deemed by human rights law. This element of the convention has been confused during past incidents of detainment of US soldiers by North Vietnam, where the regime attempted to try all imprisoned soldiers in court for committing grave breaches, on the incorrect assumption that their sole existence as enemies of the state violated international law.

Although warfare has changed dramatically since the Geneva Conventions of 1949, they are still considered the cornerstone of contemporary international humanitarian law.{{cite web |url=http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/geneva-conventions-statement-090709 |title=The Geneva Conventions Today |publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross |access-date=16 November 2009 |archive-date=27 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027031820/http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/geneva-conventions-statement-090709 |url-status=dead }} They protect combatants who find themselves hors de combat, and they protect civilians caught up in the zone of war. These treaties came into play for all recent non-international armed conflicts, including the War in Afghanistan,See U.S. Supreme Court decision, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld the Iraq War, the invasion of Chechnya (1994–2017),{{cite journal |last=Abresch |first=William |title=A Human Rights Law of Internal Armed Conflict: The European Court of Human Rights in Chechnya |journal=European Journal of International Law |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=741–767 |year=2005 |url=http://www.ejil.org/pdfs/16/4/316.pdf |doi=10.1093/ejil/chi139 |doi-access=free |access-date=7 June 2011 |archive-date=23 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123060148/http://www.ejil.org/pdfs/16/4/316.pdf |url-status=live }} and the Russo-Georgian War. The Geneva Conventions also protect those affected by non-international armed conflicts such as the Syrian civil war.{{dubious|date=July 2014}}

The lines between combatants and civilians have blurred when the actors are not exclusively High Contracting Parties (HCP).{{cite web |url=http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/geneva-convention-statement-091109?opendocument |title=Sixty years of the Geneva Conventions and the decades ahead |publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross |access-date=16 November 2009 |archive-date=17 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091117003914/http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/geneva-convention-statement-091109?opendocument |url-status=live }} Since the fall of the Soviet Union, an HCP often is faced with a non-state actor,{{Cite web |url=https://www.law.upenn.edu/institutes/cerl/conferences/targetedkilling/papers/MeiselsLawfulvsUnlawful.pdf |title=Meisels, T: "Combatants – Lawful and Unlawful" (2007 Law and Philosophy, v26 pp.31–65) |access-date=13 July 2014 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308205323/https://www.law.upenn.edu/institutes/cerl/conferences/targetedkilling/papers/MeiselsLawfulvsUnlawful.pdf |url-status=dead }} as argued by General Wesley Clark in 2007.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/opinion/08clark.html|title=Opinion {{!}} Why Terrorists Aren't Soldiers|last1=Clark|first1=Wesley K.|date=2007-08-08|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-06-07|last2=Raustiala|first2=Kal|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=23 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123060152/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/opinion/08clark.html|url-status=live}} Examples of such conflict include the Sri Lankan Civil War, the Sudanese Civil War, and the Colombian Armed Conflict, as well as most military engagements of the US since 2000.

Some scholars hold that Common Article 3 deals with these situations, supplemented by Protocol II (1977).{{dubious|date=July 2014}} These set out minimum legal standards that must be followed for internal conflicts. International tribunals, particularly the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), have clarified international law in this area.{{cite web |url=http://www.icty.org/x/file/Legal%20Library/jud_supplement/supp6-e/tadic.htm |title=The Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadic – Case No. IT-94-1-A |publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia |access-date=16 November 2009 |archive-date=23 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123142452/https://www.icty.org/x/file/Legal%20Library/jud_supplement/supp6-e/tadic.htm |url-status=live }} In the 1999 Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadic judgement, the ICTY ruled that grave breaches apply not only to international conflicts, but also to internal armed conflict.{{dubious|date=November 2011}} Further, those provisions are considered customary international law.

Controversy has arisen over the US designation of irregular opponents as "unlawful enemy combatants" (see also unlawful combatant), especially in the Supreme Court of the United States judgments over the Guantanamo Bay detention camp brig facility Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and Rasul v. Bush,{{Cite journal|last1=Sliedregt|first1=Elies van|last2=Gill|first2=Terry D.|date=2005-07-19|title=Guantánamo Bay: A Reflection On The Legal Status And Rights Of 'Unlawful Enemy Combatants'|journal=Utrecht Law Review|language=en|volume=1|issue=1|pages=28–54|doi=10.18352/ulr.2|issn=1871-515X|doi-access=free}} and later Boumediene v. Bush. President George W. Bush, aided by Attorneys-General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales and General Keith B. Alexander, claimed the power, as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, to determine that any person, including an American citizen, who is suspected of being a member, agent, or associate of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or possibly any other terrorist organization, is an "enemy combatant" who can be detained in U.S. military custody until hostilities end, pursuant to the international law of war.[http://www.pegc.us/_LAW_/Elsea_Detainees_psq_ii.pdf JK Elsea: "Presidential Authority to Detain 'Enemy Combatants'" (2002)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123060148/http://www.pegc.us/_LAW_/Elsea_Detainees_psq_ii.pdf |date=23 November 2021 }}, for Congressional Research Service[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=66011 presidency.ucsb.edu: "Press Briefing by White House Counsel Judge Alberto Gonzales, DoD General Counsel William Haynes, DoD Deputy General Counsel Daniel Dell'Orto and Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence General Keith Alexander June 22, 2004"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818165830/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=66011 |date=18 August 2018 }}, consulted July 2014{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/30/opinion/martial-justice-full-and-fair.html|title=Martial Justice, Full and Fair|last=Gonzales|first=Alberto R.|date=2001-11-30|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-06-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=23 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123113617/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/30/opinion/martial-justice-full-and-fair.html|url-status=live}}

The application of the Geneva Conventions in the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present) has been troublesome{{vague|date=March 2022}} because some of the personnel who engaged in combat against the Ukrainians were not identified by insignia, although they did wear military-style fatigues.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-russian-soldier-captured-in-crimea-may-not-be-russian-a-soldier-or-captured/|title=The Russian Soldier Captured in Crimea May Not Be Russian, a Soldier, or Captured|last=Faith|first=Ryan|date=2014-03-10|website=Vice News|language=en|access-date=2019-06-07|archive-date=7 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607080233/https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/nem4zg/the-russian-soldier-captured-in-crimea-may-not-be-russian-a-soldier-or-captured|url-status=live}} The types of comportment qualified as acts of perfidy under {{Lang|la|jus in bello}} doctrine are listed in Articles 37 through 39 of the Geneva Convention; the prohibition of fake insignia is listed at Article 39.2, but the law is silent on the complete absence of insignia. The status of POWs captured in this circumstance remains a question.

Educational institutions and organizations including Harvard University,{{cite web|title=Training vs. Torture|date=6 August 2014|url=https://hms.harvard.edu/news/training-vs-torture|publisher=President and Fellows of Harvard College|access-date=14 July 2015|archive-date=28 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128203953/https://hms.harvard.edu/news/training-vs-torture|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Khouri|first1=Rami|title=International Law, Torture and Accountability|url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/19603/international_law_torture_and_accountability.html|publisher=Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University|access-date=26 August 2009|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191602/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/19603/international_law_torture_and_accountability.html|url-status=dead}} the International Committee of the Red Cross,{{cite web|title=Advanced Seminar in International Humanitarian Law for University Lecturers|url=https://www.icrc.org/en/ihl-course|publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross|access-date=14 July 2015|archive-date=15 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715020415/https://www.icrc.org/en/ihl-course|url-status=dead}} and the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute use the Geneva Convention as a primary text investigating torture and warfare.{{cite news|last1=McManus|first1=Shani|title=Responding to terror explored|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/news/palm/fl-jjpn-school-0715-20150713-story.html|agency=South Florida Sun-Sentinel|date=13 July 2015|access-date=14 July 2015|archive-date=14 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714212309/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/news/palm/fl-jjpn-school-0715-20150713-story.html|url-status=live}}

Artificial intelligence and autonomous weapon systems, such as military robots and cyber-weapons, are creating challenges in the creation, interpretation and application of the laws of armed conflict. The complexity of these new challenges, as well as the speed in which they are developed, complicates the application of the Conventions, which have not been updated in a long time.{{cite web |last1=Peace and |first1=Security |title=Amidst new challenges, Geneva Conventions mark 70 years of 'limiting brutality' during war |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/08/1044161 |website=United Nations News |date=13 August 2019 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=11 September 2019 |archive-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915050607/https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/08/1044161 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Ray |first1=Amit |title=Compassionate Superintelligence AI 5.0: AI with Blockchain, Bmi, Drone, Iot, and Biometric Technologies |date=2018-07-04 |publisher=Compassionate AI Lab, Inner Light Publishers |isbn=978-9382123446 }} Adding to this challenge is the very slow speed of the procedure of developing new treaties to deal with new forms of warfare, and determining agreed-upon interpretations to existing ones, meaning that by the time a decision can be made, armed conflict may have already evolved in a way that makes the changes obsolete.

In a speech given at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in 13 March 2019, International Committee of the Red Cross President Peter Maurer argued that the "collective challenge [for the ICRC] today is to find ways to ensure greater respect within the changing dynamics of conflict." This would involve "more tailor-made rules to protect civilians from conflict’s future front lines" regarding issues such as "armed actors and civilians intermingling and individuals changing from fighters at night to civilians by day; different forms of violence blending together, on increasingly fuzzy battlefields," as well as "fierce public defence" of any new suggested rules.{{Cite web |date=2019-03-13 |title=Changing world, unchanged protection? 70 years of the Geneva Conventions {{!}} ICRC |url=https://www.icrc.org/en/document/changing-world-unchanged-protection-70-years-geneva-conventions |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=www.icrc.org |language=en}}

Tilman Rodenhäuser and Mauro Vignati, advisors on legal issues and digital technology at the ICRC, have since proposed rules of engagement for civilian hackers in 2023.{{Cite web |last=Rodenhäuser |first=Tilman |last2=Vignati |first2=Mauro |date=2023-10-04 |title=8 rules for “civilian hackers” during war, and 4 obligations for states to restrain them |url=https://www.ejiltalk.org/8-rules-for-civilian-hackers-during-war-and-4-obligations-for-states-to-restrain-them/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=EJIL: Talk! |language=English}} The rules seek to mitigate or prevent any cyber attacks on civilian objects, infrastructure, and essential services, while encouraging states to implement "national laws that regulate civilian hacking."

{{portal|Law|Politics|Switzerland|World}}

• Attacks on humanitarian workers
• Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
• Customary international humanitarian law
• Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict
• Geneva Conference (disambiguation)
• Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
• German Prisoners of War in the United States
• Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 – traditional rules on fighting wars
• :Human rights
• Human shield
• International Committee of the Red Cross
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
• International humanitarian law
• Laws of war
• Lieber Code General Order 100
• Nuremberg Principles
• Reprisals
• Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project
• Saint Petersburg Declaration of 1868
• Targeted killing

{{reflist}}

• Matthew Evangelista and Nina Tannenwald (eds.). 2017. [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/do-the-geneva-conventions-matter-9780199379781?cc=us&lang=en&# Do the Geneva Conventions Matter?] Oxford University Press.
• Giovanni Mantilla, "Conforming Instrumentalists: Why the USA and the United Kingdom Joined the 1949 Geneva Conventions," European Journal of International Law, Volume 28, Issue 2, May 2017, Pages 483–511.
• Helen Kinsella, "[https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501700675/the-image-before-the-weapon/#bookTabs=1 The image before the weapon : a critical history of the distinction between combatant and civilian]" Cornell University Press.
• Boyd van Dijk (2022). [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/preparing-for-war-9780198868071 Preparing for War: The Making of the Geneva Conventions]. Oxford University Press.

{{commonscat}}

{{wikisource|Geneva Convention}}

• {{librivox book | title=The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949}}
• [http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/CONVPRES?OpenView Texts and commentaries of 1949 Conventions & Additional Protocols]
• [https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions The Geneva Conventions: the core of international humanitarian law], ICRC
• [http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/audiovisuals/video/2014/rules-of-war.htm Rules of war (in a nutshell)]—video
• Commentaries:
• [https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llmlp/GC_1949-I/GC_1949-I.pdf GCI: Commentary] (PDF)
• [https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llmlp/GC_1949-II/GC_1949-II.pdf GCII: Commentary] (PDF)
• [https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llmlp/GC_1949-III/GC_1949-III.pdf GCIII: Commentary] (PDF)
• [https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llmlp/GC_1949-IV/GC_1949-IV.pdf GCIV: Commentary] (PDF)

{{Geneva Conventions}}

{{International Criminal Court}}

{{International Criminal Law}}

{{International human rights legal instruments}}

{{International human rights organizations}}

{{Human rights}}

{{Humanitarian Aid|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Treaties concluded in Geneva