Geneva Convention (II)

 

Article 20

Parties to the conflict shall ensure that burial at sea of the dead,
carried out individually as far as circumstances permit, is preceded by a
careful examination, if possible by a medical examination, of the bodies,
with a view to confirming death, establishing identity and enabling a
report to be made. Where a double identity disc is used, one half of the
disc should remain on the body.

If dead persons are landed, the provisions 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 shall be applicable.

Article 21

The Parties to the conflict may appeal to the charity of commanders of
neutral merchant vessels, yachts or other craft, to take on board and
care for wounded, sick or shipwrecked persons, and to collect the dead.

Vessels of any kind responding to this appeal, and those having of their
own accord collected wounded, sick or shipwrecked persons, shall enjoy
special protection and facilities to carry out such assistance.

They may, in no case, be captured on account of any such transport; but,
in the absence of any promise to the contrary, they shall remain liable
to capture for any violations of neutrality they may have committed.

Chapter III

Hospital Ships

Article 22

Military hospital ships, that is to say, ships built or equipped by the
Powers specially and solely with a view to assisting the wounded, sick
and shipwrecked, to treating them and to transporting them, may in no
circumstances be attacked or captured, but shall at all times be
respected and protected, on condition that their names and descriptions
have been notified to the Parties to the conflict ten days before those
ships are employed.

The characteristics which must appear in the notification shall include
registered gross tonnage, the length from stem to stern and the number of
masts and funnels.

Article 23

Establishments ashore entitled to the protection 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 shall be protected from
bombardment or attack from the sea.

Article 24

Hospital ships utilized by National Red Cross Societies, by officially
recognized relief societies or by private persons shall have the same
protection as military hospital ships and shall be exempt from capture,
if the Party to the conflict on which they depend has given them an
official commission and in so far as the provisions of Article 22
concerning notification have been complied with.

These ships must be provided with certificates from the responsible
authorities, stating that the vessels have been under their control while
fitting out and on departure.

Article 25

Hospital ships utilized by National Red Cross Societies, officially
recognized relief societies, or private persons of neutral countries
shall have the same protection as military hospital ships and shall be
exempt from capture, on condition that they have placed themselves under
the control of one of the Parties to the conflict, with the previous
consent of their own governments and with the authorization of the Party
to the conflict concerned, in so far as the provisions of Article 22
concerning notification have been complied with.

Article 26

The protection mentioned in Articles 22, 24 and 25 shall apply to
hospital ships of any tonnage and to their lifeboats, wherever they are
operating. Nevertheless, to ensure the maximum comfort and security, the
Parties to the conflict shall endeavour to utilize, for the transport of
wounded, sick and shipwrecked over long distances and on the High Seas ,
only hospital ships of over 2,000 tons gross.

Article 27

Under the same conditions as those provided for in Articles 22 and 24,
small craft employed by the State or by the officially recognized
lifeboat institutions for coastal rescue operations, shall also be
respected and protected, so far as operational requirements permit.

The same shall apply so far as possible to fixed coastal installations
used exclusively by these craft for their humanitarian missions.

Article 28

Should fighting occur on board a warship, the sick-bays shall be
respected and spared as far as possible. Sick-bays and their equipment
shall remain subject to the laws of warfare, but may not be diverted from
their purpose so long as they are required for the wounded and sick.
Nevertheless, the commander into whose power they have fallen may, after
ensuring the proper care of the wounded and sick who are accommodated
therein, apply them to other purposes in case of urgent military
necessity.

Article 29

Any hospital ship in a port which falls into the hands of the enemy shall
be authorized to leave the said port.

Article 30

The vessels described in Articles 22, 24, 25 and 27 shall afford relief
and assistance to the wounded, sick and shipwrecked without distinction
of nationality.

The High Contracting Parties undertake not to use these vessels for any
military purpose.

Such vessels shall in no wise hamper the movements of the combatants.

During and after an engagement, they will act at their own risk.

Article 31

The Parties to the conflict shall have the right to control and search
the vessels mentioned in Articles 22, 24, 25 and 27. They can refuse
assistance from these vessels, order them off, make them take a certain
course, control the use of their wireless and other means of
communication, and even detain them for a period not exceeding seven days
from the time of interception, if the gravity of the circumstances so
requires.

They may put a commissioner temporarily on board whose sole task shall be
to see that orders given in virtue of the provisions of the preceding
paragraph are carried out.

As far as possible, the Parties to the conflict shall enter in the log of
the hospital ship in a language he can understand, the orders they have
given the captain of the vessel.

Parties to the conflict may, either unilaterally or by particular
agreements, put on board their ships neutral observers who shall verify
the strict observation of the provisions contained in the present
Convention.

Article 32

Vessels described in Articles 22, 24, 25 and 27 are not classed as
warships as regards their stay in a neutral port.

 

Author: international