// BEGIN editorial data var i = 0; var GenevaConventions = new Array(); GenevaConventions.sName = "GenevaConventions"; GenevaConventions.sPubDate = "11/25/2003 3:36:46 PM GMT"; GenevaConventions.mainsectionID = "NEWS" GenevaConventions.navsectionID = "INTLNEWS" GenevaConventions.appFmt = 2; GenevaConventions.itemsPerPage = 1; GenevaConventions.appWidth = 460; GenevaConventions.appHeader = "FACT FILE| The Geneva Conventions"; GenevaConventions.appNavStyle = 3; GenevaConventions.appLayout = 1; GenevaConventions.headHeight = 50; GenevaConventions.copyHeight = 200; GenevaConventions[i++] = new Array("","","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); GenevaConventions[i-1].body = "In war, humanitarian behavior and international laws must be observed, even between enemies. The International Humanitarian Law is set out mainly in the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and additional protocols set 1977.
For more information, click a topic to above."; GenevaConventions[i++] = new Array("","What are they?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); GenevaConventions[i-1].body = "There have been four Geneva Conventions, each subsequently amended.
  • The first Geneva Convention was adopted in 1864 and provided for protection of sick and wounded soldiers on the field of battle.
  • The second convention, formulated in 1868, extended those protections to sailors wounded in sea battles.
  • The third convention, in 1929, protected prisoners of war. It legislated that prisoners of war were not criminals and should be treated humanely and released at the end of hostilities.
  • The fourth convention, ratified in 1949, rewrote, expanded, and replaced the language of the first three conventions. It brought civilians under the protection of international laws that prohibit murder, torture, hostage-taking, and extra-judicial sentencing and executions. In 1977, two protocols were added to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, extending protection to victims of conflicts not formally declared as wars and to victims of civil conflict within a state. In each category, protection extends to the medical, religious, and humanitarian aid personnel helping affected groups. As of June 1993, 178 states were signatories to the 1949 Conventions, with 61 ratifications. "; GenevaConventions[i++] = new Array("","What are the rights of wounded civilians and soldiers","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); GenevaConventions[i-1].body = "
  • Persons who do not or can no longer take part in the hostilities are entitled to respect for their life and for their physical and mental integrity. Such persons must in all circumstances be protected and treated with humanity, without any unfavorable distinction whatever.
  • It is forbidden to kill or wound an adversary who surrenders or who can no longer take part in the fighting.
  • The wounded and sick must be collected and cared for by the party to the conflict which has them in its power. Medical personnel and medical establishments, transports and equipment must be spared. The red cross or red crescent on a white background is the sign protecting such persons and objects and must be respected.

    "; GenevaConventions[i++] = new Array("","What are the rights of captured civilians and soldiers?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); GenevaConventions[i-1].body = "

  • Captured combatants and civilians who find themselves under the authority of the adverse party are entitled to respect for their life, their dignity, their personal rights and their political, religious and other convictions. They must be protected against all acts of violence or reprisal. They are entitled to exchange news with their families and receive aid.
  • Everyone must enjoy basic judicial guarantees and no one may be held responsible for an act he has not committed. No one may be subjected to physical or mental torture or to cruel or degrading corporal punishment or other treatment. "; GenevaConventions[i++] = new Array("","What are the allowed methods of war?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); GenevaConventions[i-1].body = "
  • Neither the parties to the conflict nor members of their armed forces have an unlimited right to choose methods and means of warfare. It is forbidden to use weapons or methods of warfare that are likely to cause unnecessary losses or excessive suffering.
  • The parties to a conflict must at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants in order to spare the civilian population and civilian property. Neither the civilian population as a whole nor individual civilians may be attacked. Attacks may be made solely against military objectives. "; GenevaConventions[i++] = new Array("","What is the history of humanitarian war?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); GenevaConventions[i-1].body = "First there were unwritten rules based on customs that regulated armed conflicts. Then bilateral treaties (cartels) drafted in varying degrees of detail gradually came into force. The belligerents sometimes ratified them after the fighting was over. There were also regulations which States issued to their troops. The law then applicable in armed conflicts was thus limited in both time and space in that it was valid for only one battle or specific conflict. The rules also varied depending on the period, place, morals and civilization.
    Two men played an essential role in creating contemporary humanitarian law, Swiss philanthropist Jean Henri Dunant and Guillaume-Henri Dufour. The campaign for such laws began with the publication Un Souvenir de Solferino (A Memory of Solferino, 1862; translated 1911) by Dunant, describing the suffering of wounded soldiers at the northern Italian battlefield of Solferino in June 1859. Dunant and Dufor helped to found the ICRC and convened the 1864 Diplomatic Conference, which led to the Geneva Conventions.
    "; GenevaConventions[i++] = new Array("","What are the Red Cross societies?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); GenevaConventions[i-1].body = "The League of Red Cross Societies was founded in Paris, France, in 1919. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a separate Swiss organization empowered with international authority. The symbol of the red cross was chosen in honor of the Swiss flag, with reversed colors to show a red cross on a white background. Several Islamic countries chose to use a red crescent instead and are called the Red Crescent Societies.
    The League of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies, along with the member states of the Geneva Conventions, meets every five years. "; // END editorial data