International humanitarian law, which gives rise to individual criminal responsibility under

international law. IHL is the law of armed conflict. These armed conflicts consist of both
international and internal armed conflicts. IHL regulates the conduct of military action, the
means and methods of force and the protection of the victims of war for instance wounded,
sick, prisoners and civilians and people who do not take part in the war such as medics,
chaplains and aid workers. The objectives of IHL are to protect the individuals and it is the
responsibility of the states to ensure their combatants adhere to IHL. The main body of IHL
was created when states were the only subjects of international law and has thus focused on
international armed conflicts; however the framework of IHL has expanded to include non-
international armed conflicts as well as international. Furthermore, the UN Security Council
has stated that individuals will also be held responsible for committing grave breaches of
IHL.

Historical stages of IHL.

There are two common ways that international lawyers think about the history of
international humanitarian law. One is the story of the humanization of war and law; the
second is a story of imperialism and oppression.

It was not until the 19th century that a movement to codify the laws of war began and modern
international humanitarian law was born.

International lawyers refer to the Lieber Code, written to govern the conduct of Union forces
during the American Civil War, as the first example of the codification of the laws of
war, but they regard the Battle of Solferino in 1859 as the crucial moment in the history of
modern humanitarian law. Henry Dunant, a Swiss citizen, happened to be present. Horrified
by the suffering of injured soldiers, he was inspired to found the Red Cross movement, which
was to become ‘a promoter and custodian of the humanitarian idea and the primary initiation
for its transition into international humanitarian law’. Dunant also instigated the adoption in
1864 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and
Sick in Armed Forces in the Field. This Convention marks the start of the Geneva tradition of
humanitarian law. The orthodox history goes on to list the following inventory of
humanitarian instruments: the 1907 Hague Convention, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and
the 1977 Additional Protocols.

Today’s universal and for the most part written international humanitarian law can be traced
directly back to two persons, both of whom were marked by a traumatic experience of war:
Henry Dunant and Francis Lieber . At almost the same time, but apparently without
knowing of each other’s existence, Dunant and Lieber made essential contributions to the
concept and contents of contemporary IHL.

Dunant and Lieber both built on an idea put forward by Jean Jacques Rousseau in A
Treaties on the Social Contract, which appeared in 1726: “war is in no way a relationship
of man with a man but a relationship between States in which individuals are only enemies
by accident, not as men, but as soldiers” . Rousseau continued, logically, that soldiers may
only be fought as long as they themselves are fighting. Once they lay down their
weapons “they again become mere men”.

Rousseau thus summed up the basic principle underlying IHL i.e. that the purpose of a
bellicose attack may never be to destroy the enemy physically. In so doing he lays the
foundation for the distinction to be made between members of a fighting force, the
combatants, on the one hand and the remaining citizens of an enemy state, the civilians not
participating in the conflict on the other.8 The use of force is permitted only against the
former, since the purpose of war is to overcome enemy armed forces, not to destroy an enemy
nation. But force may be used against individual soldiers only so long as they put up
resistance. Any soldier laying down his arms or obliged to do so because of injury is no
longer an enemy and may therefore to use the terms of the contemporary law of armed
conflict., no longer be the target of a military operation. It is in any case pointless to take
revenge on a simple soldier, as he cannot be held personally responsible for the conflict. The
intellectual foundation for the rebirth of IHL in the 19th century was therefore laid; Henry
Dunant could build on it.

To different people war may have very different meanings. To some it is a plague which
ought to be eliminated, to some, a mistake which should be avoided, to others, a crime which
ought to be punished and still others; it is an anachronism which no longer serves any
purpose. On the other hand, there are some who take a more receptive attitude toward war
and regard it as an adventure which may be interesting, an instrument which may be
legitimate and appropriate, or a condition of existence for which one must be prepared.

Some states have often denied that they are at ‘war’, and preferred to call a conflict
something different.
There are also cases where ‘war’ is used as a figure of speech e.g ‘frozen war’, ‘cold war’,
‘wars of assassinations’

The numerous meanings of war

In pursuing that meaning, a distinction must be drawn between what war signifies in the
domestic law of this or that state and what it denotes in international law.

Oppenheim’s definition of war

War is a contention between two or more states through their armed forces, for the purpose of
overpowering each other and imposing such conditions of peace as the victor pleases.

There are four major constituent elements in Oppenheim’s definition of war:

i. There has to be contention between at least two states.

ii. The use of the armed forces of those states is required.
iii. The purpose must be overpowering the enemy and it may be implied, particularly
from the words.
iv. Both parties are expected to have symmetrical, although diametrically opposed,
goals.

War or Armed Conflict.: Any difference arising between two States and leading to the
intervention of armed forces is an armed conflict, it makes no difference how long the
conflict lasts, or how much slaughter takes place.

The Evolution of Law of War

It is generally concluded that since time immemorial war may have existed, but the nature of
war is nonetheless an issue that continues to perplex humankind. In ancient times, each state
had its own theories and perceptions of how the nature of war should be defined. For
example, in ancient Greece, ‘waging war against barbarians is considered just’. It was Saint
Augustine (354–430 A.D.), and Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225– 1274 A.D.) who first put
forward just war doctrine. To their mind there were so-called ‘three principles’ that govern
the prerequisites for the initiation of war, namely, the authoritativeness of the initiator of war,
just reasons for waging war, and the legitimate intentions of war. Hugo Grotius later
expanded upon the concept of just war, and it eventually became one of the sources of
modern law of war. Inspired by natural law and elaborated upon by theologians, just war
doctrine consistently held prestige within French legal writings, and when the 16th century
ended, it was codified by Spanish jurists such as Francisco de Vitoria and Francisco Suárez.
Just war doctrine regards war as neither a fortuitous event nor a simplistic fact, but a
procedure through which to resolve international conflict.

A just war must accord with four conditions:

(1) in the name of justice that is, a war can only be waged by a legitimate public authority,
consequently private wars in the Middle Ages were condemned;

(2) a just cause that is, a reason predicated upon what is just, but also justifies the damages
caused by war;

(3) necessity there are no other means by which justice can be achieved; and

(4) appropriate conduct that is, war must be conducted in a manner appropriate for the
renewed restoration of order and peace.

International Humanitarian Law

The term ‘international humanitarian law’ refers to the current understanding of the ius in
bello – the laws concerning the conduct of warfare. The ICRC, which is considered to have a
special relationship with international humanitarian law as its guardian and
promoter,5 describes it in the following manner:

International humanitarian law is part of the body of international law that

governs relations between states. It aims to protect persons who are not or are no
longer taking part in hostilities, the sick and wounded, prisoners and civilians,
and to define the rights and obligations of the parties to a conflict in the conduct
of hostilities.

International humanitarian law is, broadly speaking, that branch of public international law
that seeks to moderate the conduct of armed conflict and to mitigate the suffering that it
causes

Purpose of IHL
Purpose of IHL in protecting and assisting war victims is to constrain the damages and
suffering caused by warfare. IHL, therefore, seeks to resolve the practical problems of armed
conflict rather than the reasons for or legality of resorting to armed force. The provisions of
international IHL are applicable to all wars, regardless of causes or whether or not the actions
taken by either or both sides are just. The standards by which aspects of armed conflict are
assessed in IHL stem exclusively from humanitarianism the so called ‘law in time of war’ .
Nowadays, at times of international armed conflict, it is often difficult to determine which
states are in violation of the United Nations Charter. Application of IHL does not involve
condemnation of the transgressing Power at times of war, because the ensuing controversy,
where all parties concerned would claim to be the victims of aggression, would put the law
into a state of paralysis. Moreover, the purpose of IHL is to protect the victims of war and
their basic rights, regardless of which side they are on.

IHL should be applicable to all belligerent parties, regardless of the origins of the conflict.

Histories of IHL

International lawyers refer to the Lieber Code, written to govern the conduct of Union forces
during the American Civil War, as the first example of the codification of the laws of
war, but they regard the Battle of Solferino in 1859 as the crucial moment in the history of
modern humanitarian law. Henry Dunant, a Swiss citizen, happened to be present. Horrified
by the suffering of injured soldiers, he was inspired to found the Red Cross movement, which
was to become ‘a promoter and custodian of the humanitarian idea and the primary initiation
for its transition into international humanitarian law’. Dunant also instigated the adoption in
1864 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and
Sick in Armed Forces in the Field. This Convention marks the start of the Geneva tradition of
humanitarian law. The orthodox history goes on to list the following inventory of
humanitarian instruments: the 1907 Hague Convention, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and
the 1977 Additional Protocols.

Just War Notion Pushed Aside. Positivism, reflecting the rights and privileges of the
modern State, replaced natural or moral law principles. This body of thought held that law is
based not on some philosophical speculation, but on rules emerging from the practice of
States and international conventions.

Introducing International Humanitarian Law

Despite the widespread acceptance of these long histories of international humanitarian law,
both the term ‘international humanitarian law’ and the particular conceptualization of the ius
in bello that it evokes are fairly new. Prior to the 1960s, the term ‘international humanitarian
law’ was not used to describe a field of law, and even when the term started to be used in the
1960s it still denoted quite a different understanding of the law to its current incarnation.
Before this period, common and academic usage referred first to the ‘laws of war’ and later,
in the 1960s, to the ‘laws of armed conflict’ in an attempt to comprehend de facto and
internal conflicts.

The ‘laws of war’ or ‘armed conflict’ was not just a different nomenclature for the same type
of law. Rather, it was an appropriate title for a different concept of law and different rules.
The laws of war were the ‘rules of the Law of Nations respecting warfare’. These rules, as
various editions of Oppenheim’s International Law repeated throughout the first half of the
20th century, contained, as their first principle, the idea that ‘a belligerent is justified in
applying any amount and any kind of force which is necessary for the realisation of the
purpose of war – namely, the overpowering of the opponent’.

The second principle of the law of war, Oppenheim’s International Law continues, is the
principle of humanity, which holds that unnecessary forms of violence – violence that is not
essential for the defeat of a belligerent – are not permitted.

The view that the rules of war must reconcile the ‘contradictory’ principles of humanity and
military necessity persisted throughout the first part of the century. Georg Schwarzenberger,
writing in the 1960s, described the laws of war as an attempt to balance the needs of war with
the standards of civilization. He argued that, while some humanitarian rules protecting
civilization did exist, they would generally only prevail where they did not interfere with
military imperatives. Thus, for the first part of the 20th century, legal commentators
perceived the humanitarian principles of the rules of war as one thread, and often a weaker
thread, of the law of war.

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.
International humanitarian law is founded on the principles of humanity, impartiality and
neutrality.

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 law—known 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 “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 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.

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 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 ship’s 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.
 The Third Geneva Convention The Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of
Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949

A combatant who falls into the hands of an adverse party to a conflict in the course of an
international armed conflict is a prisoner of war. Individuals who fall into the hands of the
enemy during an armed conflict are protected under humanitarian law. If the individual is a
combatant, he or she is accorded protection as a prisoner of war. If the individual is a civilian,
he or she is protected as such. As explained in the ICRC Commentary on the Geneva
Conventions: “nobody in enemy hands can be outside the law.”
In 1977, the definition of a prisoner of war that had been established in 1949 was expanded to
take into consideration the evolving notion of “combatants,” tied to new military techniques.
Under the new definition, prisoner-of-war status is no longer reserved exclusively for
combatants who are members of the armed forces: it may also be granted to civilians who are
members of resistance movements and to participants in popular uprisings. The category of
“unlawful combatants” used by certain countries denies protections that prisoners of war
normally enjoy and has no legal basis in humanitarian law.

Even if a combatant has committed grave violations of humanitarian law, he or she may not
be deprived of prisoner-of-war status and the protections granted by this status.
Determination of combatant and prisoner-of-war status must comply with criteria and
procedures set by humanitarian law. The definition of a prisoner of war is rarely applicable to
internal armed conflicts. However, the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions
Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-international Armed Conflicts (Additional
Protocol II) establishes specific provisions and guarantees of treatment for persons detained
for reasons related to a conflict (APII Art. 5).

The Third Geneva Convention sets out specific rules for the treatment of prisoners of war
(POWs). The Convention’s 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.

Some of the rights of the prisoners of wars are include:

Article 13

Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the
Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its
custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. In
particular, no prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or
scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital
treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest.

Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence
or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.

Measures of reprisal against prisoners of war are prohibited

Article 14

Prisoners of war are entitled in all circumstances to respect for their persons and their honour.

Women shall be treated with all the regard due to their sex and shall in all cases benefit by
treatment as favourable as that granted to men.

Prisoners of war shall retain the full civil capacity which they enjoyed at the time of their
capture. The Detaining Power may not restrict the exercise, either within or without its own
territory, of the rights such capacity confers except in so far as the captivity requires.

Article 16

Taking into consideration the provisions of the present Convention relating to rank and sex,
and subject to any privileged treatment which may be accorded to them by reason of their
state of health, age or professional qualifications, all prisoners of war shall be treated alike by
the Detaining Power, without any adverse distinction based on race, nationality, religious
belief or political opinions, or any other distinction founded on similar criteria.
Art. 17 POWs are required to provide to their captors only their name, rank, date of birth and
military service number. No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may
be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever.
Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any
unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind.

Article 18

All effects and articles of personal use, except arms, horses, military equipment and military
documents shall remain in the possession of prisoners of war, likewise their metal helmets
and gas masks and like articles issued for personal protection. Effects and articles used for
their clothing or feeding shall likewise remain in their possession, even if such effects and
articles belong to their regulation military equipment.

At no time should prisoners of war be without identity documents. The Detaining Power shall
supply such documents to prisoners of war who possess none.

Art. 19 and Art. 20: Prisoners of war must be evacuated, as soon as possible after their
capture, to camps situated away from the combat zones. Such evacuation must be carried out
humanely and in conditions similar to those for the forces of the detaining power in their
changes of station. Prisoners of war must be given sufficient food and drinking water and the
necessary clothing and medical attention.

Art. 22. Premises of internment must provide every guarantee of hygiene and healthfulness
and take into account the climate in the area.

Art. 23. Prisoner of war camps must be clearly marked by the letters PW or PG (for prisoners
of war or prisonniers de guerre ), whenever military considerations so permit.

Art. 25. Prisoners of war shall be quartered under conditions as favorable as those for the
forces of the detaining power who are quartered in the same area. The said conditions must in
no case be prejudicial to their health. The premises must be entirely protected from dampness
and adequately heated and lighted.

Art. 26 The basic daily food rations must be sufficient in quantity, quality, and variety to
keep prisoners of war in good health and to prevent weight loss or the development of
nutritional deficiencies. The habitual diet of the prisoners must also be taken into account.
Art. 29. The detaining power is bound to take all necessary sanitary measures to ensure the
cleanliness and healthfulness of camps and to prevent epidemics. In any camps in which
female prisoners of war are accommodated, separate conveniences shall be provided for
them.

Arts. 30 and 31. Every camp must have a satisfactory infirmary. Prisoners of war shall
receive medical attention, preferably from medical personnel of the power on which they
depend and, if possible, of their nationality. Prisoners of war suffering from serious diseases
or whose condition necessitates special treatment must be admitted to any military or civilian
medical unit where such treatment can be given. Medical inspections of prisoners of war are
to be held at least once a month. They shall include checking and recording the weight of
each prisoner and his or her general state of health, nutrition, and cleanliness.

Art. 33. Members of the medical personnel and chaplains held by the detaining power with a
view to assisting prisoners of war shall not be considered prisoners of war. They shall,
however, receive as a minimum the benefits and protection of the Third Convention and shall
be given all facilities necessary to carry out their work

Arts. 34–38 Prisoners of war shall enjoy complete latitude in the exercise of their religion and
in the practice of sports and intellectual activities (GCIII ).

Arts. 39–42 Every camp shall be put under the immediate authority of a responsible
commissioned officer belonging to the regular armed forces of the detaining power. This
officer must know and implement the provisions of the Third Geneva Convention. Any
regulations relating to the conduct of prisoners—including the text of the Convention—shall
be posted in the camp, in a language the prisoners of war understand.

The detaining power may hire the prisoners of war as workers, taking into account their state
of health, as well as their age, sex, and rank, and only for work that is not for military
purposes.

Arts. 49–57 Non-commissioned officers shall only be required to do supervisory work.

Prisoners of war may not be forced to do dangerous or humiliating work, and their labor must
be paid.

Prisoners’ relations with the exterior are regulated by Articles 69 to 77. The provisions
include the fact that the detaining power must notify the authorities on which the prisoners
depend of the capture, and it must allow the prisoners to receive and send letters—two to four
per month, depending on the model card used. Prisoners are also allowed to receive
individual parcels or collective shipments containing, in particular, foodstuffs, clothing,
medical supplies, and articles of a religious, educational, or recreational character, under the
ICRC’s supervision.

Art. 78 Prisoners of war have the right to make requests to the military authorities in whose
power they are, regarding their conditions of captivity (GCIII).

Article 110

The following shall be repatriated direct:

1. Incurably wounded and sick whose mental or physical fitness seems to have been
gravely diminished.
2. Wounded and sick who, according to medical opinion, are not likely to recover within
one year, whose condition requires treatment and whose mental or physical fitness
seems to have been gravely diminished.
3. Wounded and sick who have recovered, but whose mental or physical fitness seems to
have been gravely and permanently diminished.

Article 118

Prisoners of war shall be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active
hostilities.

The Fourth Geneva Convention: The Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of
Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949

Civilians in areas of armed conflict and occupied territories are protected by the 159 articles
of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Specific provisions include:

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 Hospital and safety zones may be established for the wounded, sick, and aged,
children under 15, expectant mothers and mothers of children under seven.

Art. 18 Civilian hospitals and their staff are to be protected. Civilian hospitals organized to
give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances
be the object of attack, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the
conflict.

States which are Parties to a conflict shall provide all civilian hospitals with certificates
showing that they are civilian hospitals and that the buildings which they occupy are not used
for any purpose which would deprive these hospitals of protection in accordance with Article
19.

Arts. 24 The Parties to the conflict shall take the necessary measures to ensure that children
under fifteen, who are orphaned or are separated from their families as a result of the war, are
not left to their own resources, and that their maintenance, the exercise of their religion and
their education are facilitated in all circumstances. Their education shall, as far as possible, be
entrusted to persons of a similar cultural tradition.

Art. 25 The ICRC’s 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. Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect for their
persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictions and practices, and their
manners and customs. They shall at all times be humanely treated, and shall be protected
especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof and against insults and public
curiosity.
Women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, in particular against
rape, enforced prostitution, or any form of indecent assault.

Without prejudice to the provisions relating to their state of health, age and sex, all protected
persons shall be treated with the same consideration by the Party to the conflict in whose
power they are, without any adverse distinction based, in particular, on race, religion or
political opinion.

Article 33

No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed.
Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.

Pillage is prohibited.

Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.

Article 34: The taking of hostages is prohibited.

Article 40

Protected persons may be compelled to work only to the same extent as nationals of the Party
to the conflict in whose territory they are.

If protected persons are of enemy nationality, they may only be compelled to do work which
is normally necessary to ensure the feeding, sheltering, clothing, transport and health of
human beings and which is not directly related to the conduct of military operations.

Art. 55 Occupying powers are to provide food and medical supplies as necessary to the
population and maintain medical and public health facilities. 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.
Art. 59 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.

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.
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.

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.

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: