Geneva Convention (IV)

SECTION III

Occupied Territories

Art. 47. Protected persons who are in occupied territory shall not be
deprived, in any case or in any manner whatsoever, of the benefits of the
present Convention by any change introduced, as the result of the
occupation of a territory, into the institutions or government of the said
territory, nor by any agreement concluded between the authorities of the
occupied territories and the Occupying Power, nor by any annexation by the
latter of the whole or part of the occupied territory.

Art. 48. Protected persons who are not nationals of the Power whose
territory is occupied, may avail themselves of the right to leave the
territory subject to the provisions of Article 35, and decisions thereon
shall be taken in accordance with the procedure which the Occupying Power
shall establish in accordance with the said Article.

Art. 49. Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of
protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying
Power or to that of any other country , occupied or not, are prohibited,
regardless of their motive.

Nevertheless, the Occupying Power may undertake total or partial evacuation
of a given area if the security of the population or imperative military
reasons so demand. Such evacuations may not involve the displacement of
protected persons outside the bounds of the occupied territory except when
for material reasons it is impossible to avoid such displacement. Persons
thus evacuated shall be transferred back to their homes as soon as
hostilities in the area in question have ceased.

The Occupying Power undertaking such transfers or evacuations shall ensure,
to the greatest practicable extent, that proper accommodation is provided
to receive the protected persons, that the removals are effected in
satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and that
members of the same family are not separated.

The Protecting Power shall be informed of any transfers and evacuations as
soon as they have taken place.

The Occupying Power shall not detain protected persons in an area
particularly exposed to the dangers of war unless the security of the
population or imperative military reasons so demand.

The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian
population into the territory it occupies.

Art. 50. The Occupying Power shall, with the cooperation of the national
and local authorities, facilitate the proper working of all institutions
devoted to the care and Education of children.

The Occupying Power shall take all necessary steps to facilitate the
identification of children and the registration of their parentage. It may
not, in any case, change their personal status, nor enlist them in
formations or organizations subordinate to it.

Should the local institutions be inadequate for the purpose, the Occupying
Power shall make arrangements for the maintenance and Education , if
possible by persons of their own nationality, language and religion, of
children who are orphaned or separated from their parents as a result of
the war and who cannot be adequately cared for by a near relative or
friend.

A special section of the Bureau set up in accordance with Article 136 shall
be responsible for taking all necessary steps to identify children whose
identity is in doubt. Particulars of their parents or other near relatives
should always be recorded if available.

The Occupying Power shall not hinder the application of any preferential
measures in regard to food, medical care and protection against the effects
of war which may have been adopted prior to the occupation in favour of
children under fifteen years, expectant mothers, and mothers of children
under seven years.

Art. 51. The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to serve in
its armed or auxiliary forces. No pressure or propaganda which aims at
securing voluntary enlistment is permitted.

The Occupying Power may not compel protected persons to work unless they
are over eighteen years of age, and then only on work which is necessary
either for the needs of the army of occupation, or for the public utility
services, or for the feeding, sheltering, clothing, transportation or
health of the population of the occupied country . Protected persons may not
be compelled to undertake any work which would involve them in the
obligation of taking part in military operations. The Occupying Power may
not compel protected persons to employ forcible means to ensure the
security of the installations where they are performing compulsory labour.

The work shall be carried out only in the occupied territory where the
persons whose services have been requisitioned are. Every such person
shall, so far as possible, be kept in his usual place of employment.
Workers shall be paid a fair wage and the work shall be proportionate to
their physical and intellectual capacities. The legislation in force in the
occupied country concerning working conditions, and safeguards as regards,
in particular, such matters as wages, hours of work, equipment, preliminary
training and compensation for occupational accidents and diseases, shall be
applicable to the protected persons assigned to the work referred to in
this Article.

In no case shall requisition of labour lead to a mobilization of workers in
an organization of a military or semi-military character.

Art. 52. No contract, agreement or regulation shall impair the right of any
worker, whether voluntary or not and wherever he may be, to apply to the
representatives of the Protecting Power in order to request the said
Power’s intervention.

All measures aiming at creating unemployment or at restricting the
opportunities offered to workers in an occupied territory, in order to
induce them to work for the Occupying Power, are prohibited.

Art. 53. Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal
property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to
the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative
organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered
absolutely necessary by military operations.

Art. 54. The Occupying Power may not alter the status of public officials
or judges in the occupied territories, or in any way apply sanctions to or
take any measures of coercion or discrimination against them, should they
abstain from fulfilling their functions for reasons of conscience.

This prohibition does not prejudice the application of the second paragraph
of Article 51. It does not affect the right of the Occupying Power to
remove public officials from their posts.

Art. 55. To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying
Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the
population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs,
medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied
territory are inadequate.

The Occupying Power may not requisition foodstuffs, articles or medical
supplies available in the occupied territory, except for use by the
occupation forces and administration personnel, and then only if the
requirements of the civilian population have been taken into account.
Subject to the provisions of other international Conventions, the Occupying
Power shall make arrangements to ensure that fair value is paid for any
requisitioned goods.

The Protecting Power shall, at any time, be at liberty to verify the state
of the food and medical supplies in occupied territories, except where
temporary restrictions are made necessary by imperative military
requirements.

Art. 56. To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the public
Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining, with the
cooperation of national and local authorities, the medical and hospital
establishments and services, public health and hygiene in the occupied
territory, with particular reference to the adoption and application of the
prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of
contagious diseases and epidemics. Medical personnel of all categories
shall be allowed to carry out their duties.

If new hospitals are set up in occupied territory and if the competent
organs of the occupied State are not operating there, the occupying
authorities shall, if necessary, grant them the recognition provided for in
Article 18. In similar circumstances, the occupying authorities shall also
grant recognition to hospital personnel and transport vehicles under the
provisions of Articles 20 and 21.

In adopting measures of health and hygiene and in their implementation, the
Occupying Power shall take into consideration the moral and ethical
susceptibilities of the population of the occupied territory.

Author: international