Summary of the Geneva Conventions

of 1949 and Their Additional Protocols

International Humanitarian Law

International humanitarian law (IHL) is

a set of rules that seek for humanitarian
reasons to limit the effects of armed
conflict. IHL protects persons who are
not or who are no longer participating in
hostilities and it restricts the means and
methods of warfare. IHL is also known
as the law of war and the law of armed
conflict.
A major part of international
humanitarian law is contained in the
four Geneva Conventions of 1949 that
have been adopted by all nations in
the world. The Conventions have been
expanded and supplemented by two
further agreements: the Additional
Protocols of 1977, relating to the
protection of victims of armed conflicts,
and the 2005 Additional Protocol III,
relating to the adoption of an additional
distinctive emblem.
These Conventions provide specific
rules to safeguard combatants, or
members of the armed forces, who
are wounded, sick or shipwrecked,
prisoners of war, and civilians, as well
as medical personnel, military chaplains
and civilian support workers of the
military.

History of International
Humanitarian Law

International humanitarian law is

founded on the principles of humanity,
impartiality and neutrality. Its roots
extend to such historic concepts of
justice as Babylons Hammurabic
Code, the Code of Justinian from the

Byzantine Empire and the Lieber Code

used during the United States Civil War.
The development of modern
international humanitarian law is
credited to the efforts of 19th century
Swiss businessman Henry Dunant. In
1859, Dunant witnessed the aftermath
of a bloody battle between French
and Austrian armies in Solferino, Italy.
The departing armies left a battlefield
littered with wounded and dying men.
Despite Dunants valiant efforts to
mobilize aid for the soldiers, thousands
died.
In A Memory of Solferino, his book
about the experience, Dunant proposed
that trained volunteer relief groups
be granted protection during war in
order to care for the wounded. A group
known as the Committee of Five,
which later became the International
Committee of the Red Cross, formed
in Geneva in 1863 to act on Dunants
suggestion. Dunant also suggested a
formal agreement between nations for
the relief of the wounded.
Several months later, diplomats from
16 nations, assisted by this committee,
as well as representatives of military
medical services and humanitarian
societies, negotiated a convention
(treaty) containing 10 articles specifying
that:
Ambulances, military hospitals, and
the personnel serving with them
are to be recognized as neutral and
protected during conflict;
Citizens who assist the wounded
are to be protected;

The Red Cross

and International
Humanitarian Law
The Red Cross and the Geneva
Conventions were born when Henry
Dunant witnessed the devastating
consequences of war at a battlefield
in Italy. In the aftermath of that battle,
Dunant argued successfully for the
creation of a civilian relief corps to
respond to human suffering during
conflict, and for rules to set limits on
how war is waged.
Inspired in part by her work in the
Civil War, Clara Barton would later
found the American Red Cross and
also advocate for the U.S. ratification
of the first Geneva Convention.

Polish Red Cross

Overview: Protecting the

Vulnerable in War

April 2011

To Learn More
To learn more about international
humanitarian law, and find opportunities
to promote these rules through the
free curriculum Exploring Humanitarian
Law, visit www.redcross.org/ihl. Ask
your local Red Cross chapter for more
information about IHL classes.

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Summary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949

and Their Additional Protocols
International Humanitarian Law

Wounded or sick combatants are to

be collected and cared for by either
side in a conflict; and
The symbol of a red cross on a
white background (the reverse
of the Swiss flag in honor of the
origin of this initiative) will serve
as a protective emblem to identify
medical personnel, equipment, and
facilities.
Known as the Geneva Convention, this
agreement became the foundation
of modern international humanitarian
law, which now encompasses four
conventions and three additional
protocols. Collectively, they represent
modern efforts to protect people in
times of armed conflict.

The Geneva Conventions

of 1949 and Their
Additional Protocols

In 1949, an international conference of

diplomats built on the earlier treaties
for the protection of war victims,
revising and updating them into four
new conventions comprising 429
articles of lawknown as the Geneva
Conventions of August 12, 1949. The
Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005
supplement the Geneva Conventions.
The Geneva Conventions apply in all
cases of declared war, or in any other
armed conflict between nations. They
also apply in cases where a nation is
partially or totally occupied by soldiers
of another nation, even when there is
no armed resistance to that occupation.
Nations that ratify the Geneva
Conventions must abide by certain
humanitarian principles and impose
legal sanctions against those who
violate them. Ratifying nations must

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enact any legislation necessary to

provide effective penal sanctions for
persons committing or ordering to be
committed any of the grave breaches
(violations) of the Conventions.
The following pages provide a basic
overview of the Conventions and
Protocols and a quick reference to
the legal text of the treaties. For a
comprehensive listing of all legal
provisions, please refer to the actual
treaty documents.

The First Geneva Convention

The Geneva Convention for the
Amelioration of the Condition of the
Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in
the Field of August 12, 1949.
The First Geneva Convention protects
soldiers who are hors de combat (out
of the battle). The 10 articles of the
original 1864 version of the Convention
have been expanded in the First
Geneva Convention of 1949 to 64
articles that protect the following:
Wounded and sick soldiers
Medical personnel, facilities and
equipment
Wounded and sick civilian support
personnel accompanying the armed
forces
Military chaplains
Civilians who spontaneously take
up arms to repel an invasion
Specific provisions include:

Art. 9
This Convention, like the others,
recognizes the right of the ICRC to
assist the wounded and sick. Red Cross
and Red Crescent national societies,
other authorized impartial relief
organizations and neutral governments
may also provide humanitarian service.

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Local civilians may be asked to care for

the wounded and sick.

Art. 12
The wounded and sick shall be
respected and protected without
discrimination on the basis of sex, race,
nationality, religion, political beliefs or
other criteria.

Art. 12
The wounded and sick shall not be
murdered, exterminated or subjected to
torture or biological experiments.

Art. 15
The wounded and sick shall receive
adequate care.

Art. 15
The wounded and sick shall be
protected against pillage and ill
treatment.

Arts. 15-16
All parties in a conflict must search
for and collect the wounded and sick,
especially after battle, and provide the
information concerning them to the
Central Tracing and Protection Agency
of the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC).

The Second Geneva Convention

The Geneva Convention for the
Amelioration of the Condition of
Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked
Members of Armed Forces at Sea of
August 12, 1949
The Second Geneva Convention adapts
the protections of the First Geneva
Convention to reflect conditions at
sea. It protects wounded and sick
combatants while on board ship or
at sea. Its 63 articles apply to the
following:
Armed forces members who are
2

Summary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949

and Their Additional Protocols
International Humanitarian Law

wounded, sick or shipwrecked

Hospital ships and medical
personnel
Civilians who accompany the armed
forces
Specific provisions include:

Arts. 12, 18
This Convention mandates that parties
in battle take all possible measures
to search for, collect and care for
the wounded, sick and shipwrecked.
Shipwrecked refers to anyone who is
adrift for any reason, including those
forced to land at sea or to parachute
from damaged aircraft.

Art. 14
While a warship cannot capture a
hospital ships medical staff, it can hold
the wounded, sick and shipwrecked as
prisoners of war, providing they can be
safely moved and that the warship has
the facilities to care for them.

Art. 21
Appeals can be made to neutral
vessels, including merchant ships and
yachts, to help collect and care for the
wounded, sick and shipwrecked. Those
who agree to help cannot be captured
as long as they remain neutral.

Art. 22
Hospital ships cannot be used for
any military purpose. They cannot be
attacked or captured. The names and
descriptions of hospital ships must be
conveyed to all parties in the conflict.

Arts. 36-37
Religious, medical and hospital
personnel serving on combat ships
must be respected and protected. If
captured, they are to be sent back to
their side as soon as possible.

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April 2011

The Third Geneva Convention

Arts. 50, 54

The Geneva Convention Relative to

the Treatment of Prisoners of War of
August 12, 1949

POWs must be housed in clean,

adequate shelter, and receive the food,
clothing and medical care necessary to
maintain good health. They must not be
held in combat areas where they are
exposed to fire, nor can they be used to
shield areas from military operations.
They may be required to do nonmilitary jobs under reasonable working
conditions when paid at a fair rate.

The Third Geneva Convention sets

out specific rules for the treatment
of prisoners of war (POWs). The
Conventions 143 articles require that
POWs be treated humanely, adequately
housed and receive sufficient food,
clothing and medical care. Its provisions
also establish guidelines on labor,
discipline, recreation and criminal trial.
Note that prisoners of war may include
the following:
Members of the armed forces
Volunteer militia, including
resistance movements
Civilians accompanying the armed
forces.
Specific provisions include:

Arts. 13-14, 16
Prisoners of war must not be subjected
to torture or medical experimentation
and must be protected against acts of
violence, insults and public curiosity.

Art. 17
POWs are required to provide to their
captors only their name, rank, date of
birth and military service number.

Art. 23
Female POWs must be treated with the
regard due their sex.

Arts. 25-27, 30
Captors must not engage in any
reprisals or discriminate on the basis
of race, nationality, religious beliefs,
political opinions or other criteria.

Arts. 70-72, 123

Names of prisoners of war must be
sent immediately to the Central Tracing
Agency of the ICRC. POWs are to
be allowed to correspond with their
families and receive relief packages.

Arts. 82, 84
Prisoners are subject to the laws of
their captors and can be tried by their
captors courts. The captor shall ensure
fairness, impartiality and a competent
advocate for the prisoner.

Arts. 109, 110

Seriously ill POWs must be repatriated
(returned home).

Art. 118
When the conflict ends, all POWs shall
be released and, if they request, be sent
home without delay.

Art. 125
The ICRC is granted special rights to
carry out humanitarian activities on
behalf of prisoners of war. The ICRC
or other impartial humanitarian relief
organizations authorized by parties
to the conflict must be permitted to
visit with prisoners privately, examine
conditions of confinement to ensure the
Conventions standards are being met
and distribute relief supplies.

Summary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949

and Their Additional Protocols
International Humanitarian Law

April 2011

The Fourth Geneva Convention

Arts. 33, 49

Arts. 89-91

The Geneva Convention Relative to the

Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of
War of August 12, 1949

They are not to be subjected to

collective punishment or deportation.

Internees are to receive adequate

food, clothing and medical care, and
protected from the dangers of war.

Civilians in areas of armed conflict and

occupied territories are protected by
the 159 articles of the Fourth Geneva
Convention.

Civilians cannot be forced to do

military-related work for an occupying
force.

Art. 106

Art. 54

Arts. 108, 107

Specific provisions include:

They are to be paid fairly for any

assigned work.

Internees have the right to send

and receive mail and receive relief
shipments.

Arts. 13, 32
Civilians are to be protected from
murder, torture or brutality, and from
discrimination on the basis of race,
nationality, religion or political opinion.

Art. 14

Art. 40

Art. 55
Occupying powers are to provide food
and medical supplies as necessary to
the population and maintain medical
and public health facilities.

Hospital and safety zones may be

established for the wounded, sick, and
aged, children under 15, expectant
mothers and mothers of children under
seven.

Arts. 55, 58

Art. 18

When that is not possible, they are to

facilitate relief shipments by impartial
humanitarian organizations such as
the ICRC. Red Cross or other impartial
humanitarian relief organizations
authorized by the parties to the conflict
are to be allowed to continue their
activities.

Civilian hospitals and their staff are to

be protected.

Arts. 24, 25
This Convention provides for the care of
children who are orphaned or separated
from their families. The ICRCs Central
Tracing and Protection Agency is also
authorized to transmit family news
and assist with family reunifications,
with the help of Red Cross and Red
Crescent national societies.

Art. 27
The safety, honor, family rights, religious
practices, manners and customs of
civilians are to be respected.

Arts. 33-34
Pillage, reprisals, indiscriminate
destruction of property and the taking
of hostages are prohibited.

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Medical supplies and objects used for

religious worship are to be allowed
passage.

Art. 59

Art. 64
Public officials will be permitted to
continue their duties. Laws of the
occupied territory will remain in force
unless they present a security threat.

Arts. 79-135
If security allows, civilians must be
permitted to lead normal lives. They are
not to be deported or internedexcept
for imperative reasons of security. If
internment is necessary, conditions
should be at least comparable to those
set forth for prisoners of war.

Information about internees is to be

sent to the Central Tracing Agency.

Art. 132
Children, pregnant women, mothers
with infants and young children, the
wounded and sick and those who have
been interned for a long time are to be
released as soon as possible.

Common Article 3
All four Geneva Conventions contain
an identical Article 3, extending
general coverage to conflicts not of an
international character.
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 the armed forces who have
laid down their arms and those
placed hors de combat (out of
the fight) by sickness, wounds,
detention, or any other cause, shall
in all circumstances be treated
humanely, without any adverse
distinction founded on race,
color, religion or faith, sex, birth or
wealth, or any other similar criteria.

Summary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949

and Their Additional Protocols
International Humanitarian Law

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, sick and
shipwrecked shall be collected
and cared for.
An impartial humanitarian body, such
as the International Committee of the
Red Cross, may offer its services to the
Parties to the conflict. The Parties to
the conflict should further endeavor to
bring into force, by means of special
agreements, all or part of the other
provisions of the present Convention.
The application of the preceding
provisions shall not affect the legal
status of the Parties to the conflict.

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The Protocols Additional to

the Geneva Conventions of
1949
In 1977, two Protocols supplementary
to the Geneva Conventions were
adopted by an international diplomatic
conference to give greater protection to
victims of both international and internal
armed conflicts.
As of 2010, 170 nations have ratified
Protocol I and 165 have ratified
Protocol II. Any nation that has ratified
the Geneva Conventions but not the
Protocols is still bound by all provisions
of the Conventions.

Protocol I (102 Articles)

Protocol additional to the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949, and
Relating to the Protection of Victims of
International Armed Conflicts
Protocol I expands protection for
the civilian population as well as
military and civilian medical workers in
international armed conflicts.
Specific provisions include:

Arts. 15, 79, Arts. 76-77

Special protections are provided for
women, children and civilian medical
personnel, and measures of protection
for journalists are specified.

Arts. 17, 81
The ICRC, national societies or other
impartial humanitarian organizations
authorized by parties to the conflict
must be permitted to provide
assistance.

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Art. 35
Use of weapons that cause
superfluous injury or unnecessary
suffering, as well as means of warfare
that cause widespread, long-term,
and severe damage to the natural
environment are prohibited.

Arts. 43-44
Protocol I seeks to clarify the military
status of members of guerrilla forces
in the following manner: It includes
provisions granting combatant and
prisoner of war status to members
of dissident forces when under the
command of a central authority. Such
combatants cannot conceal their
allegiance; they must be recognizable
as combatants while preparing for or
during an attack.

Arts. 51, 54
It outlaws indiscriminate attacks on
civilian populations and destruction of
food, water and other materials needed
for survival.

Arts. 56, 53
Dams, dikes and nuclear generating
stations may not be attacked, nor can
cultural objects and places of worship.

Art. 77
Recruitment of children under age 15
into the armed forces is forbidden.

Art. 85
It is a war crime to use one of the
protective emblems recognized by the
Geneva Conventions to deceive the
opposing forces or to use other forms
of treachery.

Summary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949

and Their Additional Protocols
International Humanitarian Law

April 2011

Protocol II (28 Articles)

Art. 4

Protocol III

Protocol additional to the Geneva

Conventions of 12 August 1949, and
Relating to the Protection of Victims of
Non-International Armed Conflicts

Children are to be evacuated to safe

areas when possible and reunited with
their families.

Protocol additional to the Geneva

Conventions of 12 August 1949, and
Relating to the Adoption of an Additional
Distinctive Emblem

Protocol II elaborates on protections

for victims caught up in high-intensity
internal conflicts such as civil wars.
It does not apply to such internal
disturbances as riots, demonstrations
and isolated acts of violence. Protocol II
expands and complements the noninternational protections contained in
Article 3 common to all four Geneva
Conventions of 1949.

Persons interned or detained during

internal conflicts are assured of the
same humane treatment as specified
by the Geneva Conventions.

In December 2005, a third Additional

Protocol to the Geneva Conventions
was adopted that provides for another
distinctive emblem: the red crystal.

Art. 7, 9

The red crystal is an optional emblem,

equal in status to the red cross and red
crescent. The red crystal may be used
in environments where another emblem
could be perceived as having religious,
cultural or political connotations.

Specific provisions include:

Art. 4
Persons who do not take a direct part
or who have ceased to take part in
hostilities are entitled to respect. In all
circumstances, they are to be treated
humanely. Protocol II specifically
prohibits violence to the life, health
and physical or mental well-being of
people. In particular, it prohibits acts of
murder and cruel treatment, terrorism,
hostage-taking, slavery, outrages on
personal dignity, collective punishment
and pillage. These protections are
considered fundamental guarantees for
all persons.

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Art. 5

Strengthens protection of the wounded,

sick and shipwrecked as well as
medical and religious personnel.

Arts. 10-11, Arts. 13-14, Art. 16

Attacks are forbidden on civilians and
on objects indispensable to civilian
survival such as crops, irrigation
systems or drinking water sources,
cultural objects, and places of worship.

Art. 18
Impartial humanitarian relief
organizations, such as the ICRC,
are to be permitted to continue their
humanitarian services.

Summary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949

and Their Additional Protocols
International Humanitarian Law

The Emblems Under

International Humanitarian
Law
Those drafting the Geneva Convention
of 1864 foresaw the need for a
universal symbol of protection easily
recognizable on the battlefield. In honor
of the origin of this initiative, the symbol
of a red cross on a white background
(the reverse of the Swiss flag) was
identified as a protective emblem in
conflict areas. The red crescent and
red lion and sun emblems were later
recognized by nations at a diplomatic

conference in 1929, although the red

lion and sun is no longer in use. In
December 2005, governments adopted
the Third Additional Protocol adding the
red crystal.
Under the Geneva Conventions, the
three distinctive emblems of the red
cross, red crescent and red crystal are
intended to identify and protect medical
and relief workers, military and civilian
medical facilities, mobile units and
hospital ships during armed conflict.
More generally, these emblems are

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also used to identify the programs and

activities of the Red Cross and Red
Crescent national societies.
Widespread understanding and
acceptance of these humanitarian
emblems is crucial to saving lives and
alleviating suffering.

May Be Used Protectively or Indicatively

Red Cross

Red Crescent

Red Crystal

May Be Used Indicatively

Red Shield of David

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