Geneva Convention (II)

Chapter I

General Provisions

Article 1

The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect
for the present Convention in all circumstances.

Article 2

In addition to the provisions which shall be implemented in peacetime,
the present Convention shall apply to all cases of declared war or of any
other armed conflict which may arise between two or more of the High
Contracting Parties, even if the state of war is not recognized by one of
them.

The Convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total
occupation of the territory of a High Contracting Party, even if the said
occupation meets with no armed resistance.

Although one of the Powers in conflict may not be a party to the present
Convention, the Powers who are parties thereto shall remain bound by it
in their mutual relations. They shall furthermore be bound by the
Convention in relation to the said Power, if the latter accepts and
applies the provisions thereof.

Article 3

In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring
in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to
the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following
provisions:

(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members
of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors
de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall
in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse
distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth
or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at
any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the
above-mentioned persons:

(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds,
mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(b) taking of hostages;
(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and
degrading treatment;
(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions
without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted
court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized
as indispensable by civilized peoples.

(2) The wounded, 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 endeavour to bring into force,
by means of special agreements, all or part of the Other provisions of
the present Convention.

The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal
status of the Parties to the conflict.

Article 4

In case of hostilities between land and naval forces of Parties to the
conflict, the provisions of the present Convention shall apply only to
forces on board ship.

Forces put ashore shall immediately become subject to 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.

Article 5

Neutral Powers shall apply by analogy the provisions of the present
Convention to the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, and to members of the
medical personnel and to chaplains of the armed forces of the Parties to
the conflict received or interned in their territory, as well as to dead
persons found.

Article 6

In addition to the agreements expressly provided for in Articles 10, 18,
31, 38, 39, 40, 43 and 53, the High Contracting Parties may conclude
other special agreements for all matters concerning which they may deem
it suitable to make separate provision. No special agreement shall
adversely affect the situation of wounded, sick and shipwrecked persons,
of members of the medical personnel or of chaplains, as defined by the
present Convention, nor restrict the rights which it confers upon them.

Wounded, sick and shipwrecked persons, as well as medical personnel and
chaplains, shall continue to have the benefit of such agreements as long
as the Convention is applicable to them, except where express provisions
to the contrary are contained in the aforesaid or in subsequent
agreements, or where more favourable measures have been taken with regard
to them by one or other of the Parties to the conflict.

Article 7

Wounded, sick and shipwrecked persons, as well as members of the medical
personnel and chaplains, may in no circumstances renounce in part or in
entirety the rights secured to them by the present Convention, and by the
special agreements referred to in the foregoing Article, if such there
be.

Article 8

The present Convention shall be applied with the cooperation and under
the scrutiny of the Protecting Powers whose duty it is to safeguard the
interests of the Parties to the conflict. For this purpose, the
Protecting Powers may appoint, apart from their diplomatic or consular
staff, delegates from amongst their own nationals or the nationals of
other neutral Powers. The said delegates shall be subject to the approval
of the Power with which they are to carry out their duties.

The Parties to the conflict shall facilitate to the greatest extent
possible the task of the representatives or delegates of the Protecting
Powers.

The representatives or delegates of the Protecting Powers shall not in
any case exceed their mission under the present Convention. They shall,
in particular, take account of the imperative necessities of security of
the State wherein they carry out their duties. Their activities shall
only be restricted as an exceptional and temporary measure when this is
rendered necessary by imperative military necessities.

Author: international